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Industry Connect

Discovering Opportunities in Data, AI, and Automation

LaunchBoard and Code Black Indy have proposed an automation lab to continue the momentum of the Industry Connect program. Learn more here >

LaunchBoard and Code Black Indy offered the Industry Connect program to raise awareness about STEM career paths and provide hands-on experiences with robotics and data analytics for high school students in the Arlington Woods neighborhood of Indianapolis. The founding cohort of students chose to follow one or both program tracks to develop entry-level skills that provide an on-ramp to engaging industry opportunities, like internships and further certifications. Stay tuned as more opportunities are offered through Industry Connect.

Industry Connect Founding Cohort: November 2023 - September 2024

The founding cohort of Industry Connect was made possible through funding from the Fifth Third Foundation Neighborhood Investment Program focused on empowering black futures.

Team

and provide depth of experience in STEM education and industry to usher students into high-demand careers.

Automation Lab

Proposed Automation Lab

The proposed ROCK Automation Lab provides a path to raise awareness about STEM opportunities, support project-based learning, and facilitate technology-specific training leading to professional certification opportunities.

Lab Functions

STEM Awareness Events

Visit the Industry Connect lab at the ROCK for thoughtful demonstrations and quick hands-on experiences with emerging technology and industry practices. A curated set of demonstration videos and short articles will be posted soon that align with these experiences, providing broader reach and continued engagement.

Project-based Learning

Local high school teachers and students may visit the Industry Connect lab at the ROCK to collaborate on projects over an extended period of time. The lab provides access to collaborative space and technology like robots and a 3-D printer -- as well as project templates and guidelines to help jump-start projects.

Technology-specific Training

Local students are invited to complete technology-specific training sessions that provide a thoughtful lead-in to professional certifications in current and emerging skills.

Robotics
AI
Data Analytics
CAD and 3-D Printing

Lab Resources

Founding Cohort

Program Details

Discovering Data Analytics & Robotics Opportunities

Description

The Industry Connect program will raise awareness and provide hands-on experience in career paths related to 1) robotics and 2) data analytics for high school students in the Arlington community of Indianapolis in our founding cohort. After students engage the introductory material, they can choose to follow one or both program tracks to learn and practice entry-level skills that provide an on-ramp to engaging industry opportunities, like internships and further certifications.

The founding cohort program runs from November 2023 through September 2024.

Data Analytics

The primary focus of the data analytics path will be coaching and pacing students through the . ()

$92,000+ median U.S. salary for Data Analytics¹
483,000+ U.S. job openings in Data Analytics¹
75% of certificate graduates report positive career outcome²
¹Lightcast™ US Job Postings (median salary with 0-5 years experience), Jan. 1, 2022 - Dec. 31, 2022). ²Positive career outcome (e.g., new job, promotion, or raise) within six months of completion. Based on program graduate survey, United States 2022. Excerpt from 1/11/24:

Robotics

This program will focus on training with a collaborative robot (cobot) -- specifically the . ()

"one of the strongest robotics trends in 2023 is the rise of collaborative robots – a class of automated machines dubbed cobots, which are designed to work alongside humans and can accurately perform repetitive tasks."
Source: What are cobots used for? Robotics trends in 2023,

Program Format

Weekly In-Person Sessions

The program begins with five months of weekly in-person sessions, where students will engage content and exercises with instructors from January to May of 2024. Depending on the student track, these sessions will focus on:

hands-on experience with a collaborative robot to acquire a customized entry-level certification that prepares them for further industry-level certification as an operator or technician.
hands-on experience with data analytics techniques using spreadsheets and SQL that provide a jump start in skills and an on-ramp to coursework leading to the Google Data Analytics Certification.

Coaching with the Google Data Analytics Certification Coursework

Instructors will provide coaching with online certification pathways, like the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, to help students with motivation, pacing and overcoming any hurdles with the content. Support will be provided during the weekly in-person sessions as well as through an online messaging platform, like Slack, throughout the week. Coaching will guide students to achievable and valuable progress, whether that is a complete certification or partial completion that can then be continued through later months.

Curated Online Program Material

Curated online program material will also be available for students to review concepts and explore topics further through readings, video, or tutorials. This will also include carefully customized conversation chatbots that supports deeper learning instantly that is coherent with the in-person learning experience.

Education and Career Planning

Throughout the program students will be provided guidance and instructions on preparing a personalized plan for learning and career objectives, including a pathway to entry-level experience with internships.

Internship Preparation

The program staff will be actively seeking local opportunities for internship experiences for the summer of 2024. The training will be adapted to best meet the needs of local entry-level opportunities. Students will also be provided support and coaching throughout any summer experience.

Learning Objectives

Robotics Track

demonstrate proficiency in operating a cobot to complete tasks commonly found in industry settings
demonstrate conversant skills with concepts related to the applications, safety, and mechanics of robots
investigate and develop a personal plan for career preparation related to robotics

Data Analytics Track

demonstrate proficiency in core technical skills related to spreadsheets and SQL
demonstrate conversant skills with concepts related to the applications and techniques of data analytics
investigate and develop a personal plan for career preparation related to data analytics

Policies

Attendance

Given the limited number of sessions in the program, consistent attendance is of utmost importance. Absences will affect the level of progress negatively. It is the responsibility of the student to promptly communicate any absences and request pathways for staying on track with the program.

Behavior and Academic Integrity

Students are expected to:

Be present and engaged during all sessions - no distractions from phones, side conversations, etc.
Listen respectfully when others are speaking and follow all instructions.
Handle equipment and technology with care - no horseplay or misuse.
Work cooperatively with your group - take turns, share tasks, and help each other.
Clean up work areas and put away all equipment properly after sessions.
Follow all safety protocols.
Ask questions when unclear about instructions or unfamiliar with equipment.
Be honest in your work - do not copy others or misrepresent your contributions.
Treat instructors, volunteers, and fellow students with courtesy and respect at all times.
Any damage to equipment, inappropriate use or poor behavior may result in loss of program privileges.

Program Tech Skills Schedule

Below is a basic outline for building the technical skills in this program. Each week will also explore professional practices for problem-solving, collaboration, communication, planning, and execution.

Week

Robotics Track

Data Analytics Track

Introduction

Thinking in 3D / Point to Point Movement

Spreadsheets: Working with CSV Files and Creating Charts

Looping and Logic / Working in Patterns

Spreadsheets: Functions and Formulas

Precision and Repeatability / Grabbing and Releasing Objects

Spreadsheets: Formatting

Seeing Paths / Subflows and Object Clearance

Spreadsheets: Summary Tables with Functions

Adapting to Uncertainty / Landmarking Techniques

Spreadsheets: Pivot Tables for Aggregation and Grouping

Vision / Object Recognition

SQL: SELECT, FROM, ORDER BY

Review and Assessment

SQL: WHERE, LIKE, LIMIT

Working with Pallets and Bin Boxes

SQL GROUP BY and Functions

Placement Processes / Fixtures for Repeatable Precision

SQL: JOIN

Tending Machines / Working with Other Processes

Independent Certification Planning, Goals, and Execution

Team Projects

Cont.

Certification

Cont.

Google Data Analytics Pacing

Successfully completing the eight Coursera courses for the earns you a professional certificate issued through Credly, like . While you can complete the courses at your own pace, we have outlined a pacing guide to help ensure you make diligent progress towards completion.

Your Learning Strategy

Develop a learning strategy that works for you. Consider the points below as you plan your work.

What days of the week and times of the day do you intend to make progress? Consider when access to a computer and the internet is consistent, and recognize where the environment (e.g. noise-level and table space) is conducive to getting things done.
Who are your advocates? Of course the Industry Connect team is advocating for you, but you will want others to cheer you on with your effort and progress in this program. Plan to share your progress with a family member, coach, or teacher. They will likely remind you to stick with it and see it through.
Don't hesitate to find help. Be quick to ask for help on Slack or during our Friday meetings -- whether you have technical questions or you are facing some other hurdle. Lean on your advocates for help and encouragement.

Pacing Schedule

Remember, if you fall behind, you can always catch-up. These are not hard deadlines.

Course

Target Completion Date

Kaggle Tutorial Pathway & Pacing

Your Learning Strategy

Develop a learning strategy that works for you. Consider the points below as you plan your work.

What days of the week and times of the day do you intend to make progress? Consider when access to a computer and the internet is consistent, and recognize where the environment (e.g. noise-level and table space) is conducive to getting things done.
Who are your advocates? Of course the Industry Connect team is advocating for you, but you will want others to cheer you on with your effort and progress in this program. Plan to share your progress with a family member, coach, or teacher. They will likely remind you to stick with it and see it through.
Don't hesitate to find help. Be quick to ask for help on Slack or during our Friday meetings -- whether you have technical questions or you are facing some other hurdle. Lean on your advocates for help and encouragement.

Sequence & Pacing Guide

There are . Each short course earns a certificate.

Course

Target Completion Date

Weekly Sessions

W1 January 12 ✓

Welcome! 👋 This week we will discuss an innovator's journey, get started with the core tools for the program, and begin to imagine how data and automation may intersect your future. Let's go! 🚀

Agenda

Summary of the Industry Connect Program

The Team, the Objectives, and the Schedule
About Data
About Robotics
Connecting to Industry

Get Started with the Tools

Coursera (For Data Track)

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Verify successful enrollment in first data course on Coursera.

A Look to Next Week

Vision to Action

Anticipating your future
Growth mindset
Developing a personal vision

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Future Self Paragraph(s)

An Innovator's Journey

Problem Solving and Innovation
The steps in the journey
Some examples
Group discussion: Imagine the journey of an inspirational person or product.

✔️ Group Deliverable: Your chosen innovator's journey.

W2 January 19 ×

Industry Connect did not meet due to the closure of the ROCK Community Center.

W3 January 26 ✓

Agenda

Let's hit the ground running! 👟 This week we will get into our groove with training. Let's go!

Slack Setup

We will use Slack for online messaging. "Slack organizes conversations into channels, where everyone can come together in one place to share ideas, make decisions and move work forward. It helps teams operate faster and stay in sync, wherever they are." --

Use slack to:

Ask questions about the data analytics and robotics training
Ask questions about career and college options
Share interesting things you find related to STEM

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Say hello 👋to the group in Slack and add a profile photo 🖼️.

Breakout into Data Analytics and Robotics

Spreadsheets: Working with CSV Files & Creating Charts

Exercise

Today we are going to do a very common and incredibly useful task for data analysts -- import a CSV file into a spreadsheet and create charts. This also aligns with the Google Data Analytics Certificate coursework.

Preparing the Movie Data

Create a new Google Sheets file on Google Drive
Download our (CSV) and import it into your Google Sheet.
Review the column names and data.

Creating a Bar Chart

Create a bar chart of the top ten movies displaying the budget.
Format the budget column in dollars.
Format the chart with a clear title and axis label.
Review the chart. Does the data tell a story or raise any questions?

Creating a Scatterplot

Create a scatterplot comparing the revenue and vote_count.
Format revenue column in dollars.
Format the chart with a clear title and axes labels.
Review the chart. Does the data tell a story or raise any questions?

Creating a Histogram

Create a histogram of the runtime for all of the movies.
Format the chart with a clear title and axes labels.
Review the chart. Does the data tell a story or raise any questions?
Arrange the three charts for easy viewing.

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Link to your Google Sheet.

Review the

Thinking in 3D / Point to Point Movement

Intro to the Cobot

Demo

Robot startup.
TM Flow Project Interface
Robot Stick
Safety Review

Creating a Point-to-Point Flow

Demo

3D coordinate system.
Creating point nodes.
Step running the flow.
Playing the flow from start.

Challenge

In groups discuss how you would create a flow to trace the challenge pattern with the robot arm.
Each group will program the cobot flow to trace the challenge pattern, step-run the flow, and run the flow from the start.
Discuss questions and possible adaptions to techniques.

Using Move Nodes

Demo

Creating move nodes.

Challenge

In groups discuss how you would create a flow to maneuver the in-and-out challenge with the robot arm.
Each group will program the cobot flow to maneuver the in-and-out challenge, step-run the flow, and run the flow from the start.
Discuss questions and possible adaptions to techniques.

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Reflection on exercises.

W4 February 2 ✓

Agenda

Reflections and Personal Updates

What have you done/learned? Recall last week and anything since then.
What are you doing/learning next? Take a quick look ahead in the program and consider your personal goals.
What roadblocks do you have? Explain anything that may be hindering your progress.

✔️ Optional Individual Deliverable: Share anything new you have learned on Slack that may help others.

Breakout into Data Analytics and Robotics

Spreadsheets: Functions and Formulas

Exercise

In this exercise we will practice how to make simple calculations and use functions in spreadsheets to make processing easier. We will continue to use the Google sheet of movie data we created in .

Review Last Exercise

Open your spreadsheet from the last exercise and review we accomplished.
Continue to use your spreadsheet for this exercise. If you missed the last exercise and need to jump into this one, use this link below and make a copy of the template spreadsheet. 🔗

Using a Formula to Generate a New Column of Data - Profit

In the column to the right of the genres_description column label the column profit for calculating profit.
In the first cell below the profit label, enter a formula for calculating the profit. =F2-E2This formula simply subtracts the movie budget from the revenue.
Copy that formula for all rows in our movie table. It is likely that Google Sheets offered to do this for you by asking your approval. If not, you can select the cell you want to copy and drag the corner down to the bottom of the column to quickly fill the rest of the table. There is also a double-click trick you can use.
That's it. Do a quick check to verify that the calculation is working as you expect on several movies. What other calculations do you think might be useful?

Using a Function to Calculate Averages

To the right of our table create a label in cell K1 by entering All Movies Vote Average
In the cell below our label, K2, enter the following function to calculate the average vote for the whole movie dataset: =AVERAGE(C:C) There are several ways to do this that we will cover in the demonstration.
Let's say we want to find the average vote for all drama movies. Create another label in L1 and enter All Dramas Vote Average.
In the cell below this label, L2, enter the following function to calculate the average vote for all the dramas in our movie dataset. =AVERAGEIF(H:H,"*Drama*",C:C) The H:H directs the functions to search the genres_description column to look for any movies containing the word "Drama" in the genre. It then averages the vote_average column, C:C, for matching movies. The * is a wildcard that allows the function to accept the word "Drama" even if there is text before or after the word.
That's it. Now consider how you would calculate the average for comedies or how you migh find the total revenue for action movies. Discuss how you might do that.

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Link to your Google Sheet.

Review

Reference

Working with Patterns / Looping and Logic

Demo

Initializing the Set Up: An Index Variable with Starting Point

Manager > Variables
Discuss Data Types
Add a Name and Value (int i = 0)
Add a "Set" Node
Edit the Set Node - Select Variables > ADD Expression (var_i = 0)
OK ... out
Add a Point for our Home Point and Set the Position
Note: Can use Point Manager > Overwrite New Pose to this Point

Adding a Conditional If Statement

Add an "If" node
Select Variables and Add (+) an Expression
Build expression var_i < 5
OK ... out

Display var_x Value and Increment var_i by 1

Add a Display node to the Yes path of If node
Edit Display to
- Title: "Index Value"
- Content: var_i
Add a Set node to increment var_i by 1 (var_i =+ 1)

Add the Movement and Set Up Loops

Add a Move node
- Set Y to 50 mm
- Base is current robot base
Loop from the Move node to the If node
Loop the If no path back to our initializing Set node

Challenge

In groups discuss how you would create a flow to increment upwards 8 times by 25mm then loop to the beginning.
Program the cobot flow, step-run the flow, and run the flow from the start.
Discuss questions and possible adaptions to techniques.

Challenge Bonus

In groups discuss how you would create a flow to move through a checkerboard pattern row by row with the robot arm.
Draw the logical flow on paper.
Discuss questions and possible adaptions to techniques.

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Reflection on exercises.

W5 February 9 ✓

Agenda

Quick Discussion

Industry Connect 2024 Web Link on Phone (QR Code above)
Slack and the Slack Canvas
How to Use Notes Feature on Coursera
Review the Program Format
- Data Analytics
  - Friday Skills Sessions (Spreadsheets and SQL)
  - Coursera Courses (8) for Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate
- Robotics
  - Friday Robot Lab Work
  - Research and Design work (Starting Feb 23)
Consider for Completing Coursera Content

Breakout into Data Analytics and Robotics

Spreadsheets: Formatting

Exercise

In this exercise we will format our table to improve readability and highlight important data. This will build off of the Google sheet of movie data we created in .

Review Last Exercise

Open your spreadsheet from the last exercise and review we accomplished.
Continue to use your spreadsheet for this exercise. If you missed the last exercise and need to jump into this one, use this link below and make a copy of the template spreadsheet. 🔗

Basic Formatting

Select the column names at the top of the spreadsheet, cells A1:I1. Format names with a blue background and white bold text.
- Select the paint can icon and choose a dark blue color for the background.
- Select the text icon ("A") and choose white for the text.
- Select the Bold icon ("B") to emphasize the text
Select the budget, revenue, and profit columns and format as currency by selecting the $ icon. Then round to the nearest dollar by reducing the decimal places. Find the button below in the toolbar and click it 2 times to remove the cents from the dollar amount.
Decrease the decimals in the vote averages you generated from last week. Select the values of All Movies Vote Average and All Drama Vote Average. Round the values to the nearest decimal point (see 2. above).

Conditional Formatting

Select profit column. Let's color-code this column so that any movies that lost money are highlighted in red and any movies that made at least $1 billion are highlighted in green. Select Format > Conditional Formatting in the top menu bar.
For movies that made at least $1 billion dollars, change the format rules in the side panel as shown below. Select Done when you are finished.

Click on +Add another Rule in the side panel. For movies that lost $, change the format rules as shown below. Select Done when you are finished.

Which movie has the highest profit? Lowest?

✔️ Individual Deliverable: Submit a Shareable Link to Your Spreadsheet

Review the

Precision and Repeatability / Grabbing and Releasing Objects

Demo

Initializing the Set Up (Basic)

Add a Home Point: Add a Point Node and set the point position for our home point. Center it at a high level above the working surface.

Move Towards and Grab the Test Object

Move to Position Above Object: Add a Point Node above the object such that the gripper is positioned to drop downward to grab the object.
Move into a "Grabbing" Position: Add another Point Node or a Move Node that brings the gripper down into a position for grabbing the object.
Grab the Object: Add a Grip Node to grip the object.
Evaluate Precision: Evaluate how well the gripping motion worked. Does it produce a firm grip on the object? Did the grip action cause the object to move or shift unnecessarily? Refine the flow if needed.

Move the Object to the Destination and Release It

Move object up: Add a Point Node or a Move Node that brings the object up to clear any constraints (like a containing box).
Move Object to Point Above Destination: Add another Point Node or a Move Node that moves the object above the destination, clear of any obstacles etc.
Move into a "Releasing" Position: Add another Point Node or a Move Node that brings the gripper down into a position for releasing the object.
Release the Object: Add a Release Node to release the object.
Evaluate Precision: Evaluate how well the release motion worked. Does it position the object accurately? Did the release action cause the object to move or shift unnecessarily? Refine the flow if needed.

Loop Back to Home Point

Loop to the Home Point: Use a Goto Node to return the flow to our home point.

Challenge

In groups discuss how you will program a flow to grab and move an object similar to the demo.
Program the cobot flow, step-run the flow, and run the flow from the start.
Discuss questions and possible adaptions to techniques. How easy would it be to adapt your flow to work with different starting and ending positions?

✔️ Team Deliverable: Completed Challenge

W6 February 16 ×

Industry Connect will not meet due to the Rooted High School schedule.

W7 February 23 ✓

Agenda

During Lunch
- Techpoint Xplore Program (https://youtu.be/nDRxF7g1VGU)
- Indy Modern Apprenticeship (https://youtu.be/4GF1o0jLYWw)
Recognize Perfect Attendance
Explain Upcoming Incentives
- Data Analytics
  - Complete First Two Coursera Courses by March 8 👕
  - Complete the Full Google Data Analytics Cert and Capstone by July 12 💻
- Robotics
  - Pass Cobot Programming Level 1 Challenge and Quiz by March 8 👕
  - Complete the Full LaunchBoard Cobot Certification by July 12 🎁
Computer Checkout Policies
⭐ Sign Up / Apply ⭐
- https://indymodernapprenticeship.com/
- https://www.techpointyouth.org/xplore/

Data Analytics

We will focus on Coursera today by discussing strategies and making progress.

Notes and preparing for challenges (quizzes).
Use these summaries for first two courses if you would like.
Completing the challenges — "open book" and retries.
Set short sprint goals.
⭐ Get the first module (week 1) complete to build momentum. ⭐

Robotics

See the Robotics tab for today's challenge.

Adapting a Flow with a Vacuum Gripper Loop

Demos

Quick demo of the vacuum gripper attachment. It can be controlled much like the finger gripper.
Demo of the flow that individually picks tiles placed in a row and drops each in a cup.
Demo of how to modify the flow to adapt to different positions of the cup and tiles.

Screen Images for Reference

Challenge

In this challenge we will use a programmed loop to place objects in a container. Your challenge will be to adapt the program to changing conditions.

Modify the "hover" point node to a position above the first tile in the row.
Modify the set point node that increments the position in each cycle of the loop.
Modify the point node to a position above the cup.
Play the flow to test your modifications.
Edit as needed.

Spreadsheets: Summary Tables with Functions

Exercise

In this exercise we will create and format two tables which will provide summary statistics for the movie data. This will build off of the Google sheet of movie data we created in the last exercise.

Review Last Exercise

Open your spreadsheet from the last exercise and review we accomplished.
Continue to use your spreadsheet for this exercise. If you missed the last exercise and need to jump into this one, use this link below and make a copy of the template spreadsheet. 🔗 Spreadsheet 3 Exercise

Create a Summary Table of Statistics for All Movies

Before you begin, make sure your graphs from the previous exercises are NOT in columns K-Q. If they are obstructing any of the those columns, move them over to the right past column Q.
Starting in column K5, build the 2 table structures below:
- The top table will contain the statistics for all movies. Add the Title in cell K5 - Table 1: Summary Statistics for All Movies.
- The bottom table contains the statistics for only Drama and Action movies. Add the Title in cell K12 - Table 2: Summary Statistics for each Movie Genre.
- Highlight the table headers in K6:P6 and K13:P13 and fill the cells in light blue

Now let's start filling in the table with the statistics for All Movies:
- In field M7 calculate the Average (all data) for budget using the formula: =average(E:E)
- In field M8 calculate the Average (no 0's) for budget using the formula: =averageif(E:E, ">0")
- In field M9 calculate the Min (no 0's) for budget using the formula: =minifs(E:E, E:E, ">0")
- In field M10 calculate the Max for budget using the formula: =max(E:E)
- Highlight and copy the cells (Edit > Copy) of all the calculations you just generated for budget(M7:M10)
- Paste the formulas in the Revenue, Runtime, and Profit columns by highlighting cells N7-P10 and pasting (Edit > Paste). Change the columns in the formulas to match the column in the table header. So for example you would change =average(E:E) to =average(I:I) for Profit.
Observe the difference between the Average (all data) and Average (no 0's) values. Why do we remove the 0's from the averages and minimum values? Which do you think is more accurate? Why?
Now let's fill in the Table 2 for movie genres Drama and Action:
- In field M14 calculate the Average (no 0's) budget for Drama movies only using the formula: =averageifs(E:E, E:E, ">0", H:H, "*Drama*").
- Can you do the same calculation for Action movies only in cell M15? Hint: Copy the formula first. Where have you seen this before? It should be familiar because we did this in week 3's assignment!
- Now complete Table 2 by copying and pasting the formulas to the other cells and changing the column references to reflect the table headers. Hint: For revenue change E:E which references the budget column to F:F.
- CHALLENGE: Can you create the same summary statistics for the genres Comedy and Thriller?

✔️ Individual Deliverable: TBD.

Review the Pacing with the Coursera coursework

W8 March 1 ✓

Agenda

During Lunch: Custom GPT Demo with Audio 🗣️
Review Progress on Coursera and Summer Opportunities
Breakouts into Data Analytics and Robotics 🚀

SQL: SELECT, FROM, ORDER BY

Exercise

Today we will use Structured Query Language (SQL) to pull data from a movie database. SQL, like spreadsheets, is an indispensable tool for data analysts.

Demo: SELECT, FROM, ORDER BY, ASC, DESC

Practice: Constructing SQL Statements

Construct the appropriate SQL statements to satisfy each of the following requests. Use the LaunchBoard SQL Lab to test your statements.

List all movies in the movies table. Include all columns.
List all movies, but include only title and year columns.
List all movies by ascending year. Include all columns.
List all movies by descending vote_count. Include only title and vote_count columns.

✔️ Demonstrate your executed SQL statements with an instructor.

Continue work on the Data Analytics Certificate on Coursera (Pacing)

Using Cobot Vision to Recognize and Pick Objects

Demo

We will demonstrate how to define a visual servoing job to a cobot flow to recognize the position of objects. This will create a base that we can use to then pick up the object and move to another location. We will also use a subflow to separate functions.

Challenge

Work in small groups to modify the demo flow.

Create a new visual servoing job that picks up a different object. This will require learning the new pattern to match
Update the point node to position the cobot vacuum gripper above the object.
If needed, adjust the move node to grip the object.
Test your updated flow.

✔️ Demonstrate your solution.

W9 March 8 ✓

Agenda

During Lunch Review Coursera course structure, pacing, and incentives 👉
Survey: T-shirt Sizes and Summer Plans https://form.jotform.com/240674228249057
Data Students Complete the data analytics exercise
Robotics Students Review the concepts for the Cobot Node Novice badge and complete the assessment
Data Students Continue Progress on Coursera

SQL: WHERE, LIKE, LIMIT

Exercise

Today we will continue to use Structured Query Language (SQL) to pull data from a movie database. This time we will learn basic filtering techniques.

Demo

WHERE, LIKE, LIMIT

Constructing SQL Statements

Construct the appropriate SQL statements to satisfy each of the following requests. Use the LaunchBoard SQL Lab to test your statements.

List movies since the year 2000 in ascending alphabetical order. Include title and year columns.
List all movies containing the string "night" anywhere in the title. Include the title and year columns.
List movies before 2000 ordered by ascending vote_average. Show only the top 30. Include all columns.

✔️ Demonstrate your executed SQL statements with an instructor.

Continue work on the Data Analytics Certificate on Coursera (Pacing)

Cobot Node Novice Assessment

Today you will demonstrate your understanding of the cobot concepts we have applied in the program to date to earn the Cobot Node Novice badge.

Review

Assessment

W10 March 15 ✓

Agenda

Updates and Important Housekeeping
- New Kaggle pathway for data analytics. More Info >
- Absent Last Week? Complete the Survey: T-shirt Sizes and Summer Plans https://form.jotform.com/240674228249057
- Apply for Techpoint Xplore Program ⌛ https://techpoint.org/xplore-students/
Data Students Complete the data analytics exercise (more SQL) then continue progress on Coursera or Kaggle
Robotics Students
- Didn't Pass the Badge Quiz Last Week?: You can still do it. Review the slides from last week and complete the assessment 🚀
- Cobot training: Working with Pallets and Bin Boxes

SQL: Functions and GROUP BY

Exercise

Today we will use Structured Query Language (SQL) to pull data from a movie database. SQL, like spreadsheets, is an indispensable tool for data analysts.

Demo

COUNT, SUM, AVG, GROUP BY

Constructing SQL Statements

Construct the appropriate SQL statements to satisfy each of the following requests. Use the LaunchBoard SQL Lab to test your statements.

Determine the number of movies released by year. Order by year.
Determine the total number of votes collected (vote_count) for all thriller movies by year. Order by year.
Determine the total revenue for adventure movies by year. Order by descending total revenue.
Determine the average of the vote_average for all comedies by year. Order by descending vote average.
Determine the average profit for adventure movies by year. Remember that profit is calculated as (revenue - budget). Remove revenue and budget values that are < 0. Order by descending profit.

Review the Pacing with the Coursera coursework

Working with Pallets

Demo

Challenge

✅ Every student will position and program the cobot to cycle through positions of a pallet (or bin box) using the Pallet node.

W11 March 22 ×

Industry Connect will not meet due to Rooted High School schedule.

W12 March 29 ×

Industry Connect will not meet due to Rooted High School Spring break.

W13 April 5 ✓

Agenda

Updates

Review Progress and Accomplishments
- Be sure to complete Coursera courses in order. See the .
- Stay diligent on making consistent progress. 💪
Review Objectives for April and May
- Robotics

Today

Data Students Focus on making progress on Coursera.
Robotics Students
Didn't Pass the Badge Quiz?: You can still do it. Review and 🚀

Focus on Coursera Progress

Badge Testing

Review and 🚀

Experimentation

While others are re-testing, small groups can experiment with the cobot. You have had a good amount of experience with the cobot. So, it is a good time to do a little experimenting on any curiosities you have about the robot functionality.

W14 April 12 ✓

Agenda

Progress and Updates

Progress

Coursera Course 1 Complete: Amare, Khyjah, Jaianna
Cobot: Monty, Caleb, Davion, Johnathan, Jaianna
Kaggle Progress : Greg

Updates

ROCK Summer Counselors (more info on April 26)
Paid Summer Micro-Internships (June 10 - 21, 4 hours a day)
Any other news?

Tasks

Discuss Linked In Profiles and Accomplishments
🔗
Review Instructions for and
Data Students 1) Continue progress on Coursera and 2) complete .
Robotics Students
1) Practice upcoming "Cobot Programmer Badge" challenge and 2) complete

W15 April 19 ✓

Agenda

Progress and Updates

Progress Dashboard
ROCK Summer Counselors (more info on April 26)
Paid Summer Micro-Internships (June 10 - 21, 4 hours a day)
Any other news?

Tasks

LinkedIn Presence (Example Post)
- Photos
- Profiles & Accomplishments
Data Project
- Data Uploaded to the SQL Lab -> Practice SQL to Spreadsheet Chart
- Complete data project survey if needed.
Data Students: Continue progress on Coursera or Kaggle
Cobot Project: complete cobot project survey.
Cobot Students: Demonstrate "Cobot Programmer Badge" challenge.

W16 April 26 ✓

Agenda

Progress and Updates

Progress Dashboard
Reminder: Paid Summer Micro-Internships Opportunity (June 10 - 21, ~4 hours a day)
Any interest in further cobot training this summer?
Any other news?
ROCK Summer Counselors Opportunity
- Application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJ5KZYF
- Job description below:

2MB

1-STEM@theROCK Summer Employee Job Description_v.2_4.16.2024.docx

Tasks

LinkedIn Presence (Example Post)
- Photos
- Profiles & Accomplishments
Data Project: Data Uploaded to the SQL Lab and video demonstration added to instructions.
Data Students: Continue progress on Coursera or Kaggle
Cobot Project: Form teams, discuss project challenge, and complete cobot project survey.
Cobot Students: If needed, demonstrate "Cobot Programmer Badge" challenge or review the slides from March 15 and complete the assessment for the "Cobot Node Novice Badge"

W17 May 3 ✓

Agenda

Attendance Awards
Data Analytics
- Work on Data Analytics Course Progress
- Questions and work on Data Project
- Optional Resource for preparing for Coursera Courses https://docs.idew.org/gda-cohort-1/a801YJyWh1IWZBYOdSXN/
Summer Opportunities
- Complete the Industry Connect Survey for Summer Micro-Internships
- ROCK Summer Counselors Opportunity Application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJ5KZYF Job description below.
LinkedIn Profile Updates, as needed
Robotics
- Collaboratively Work on Challenge

2MB

1-STEM@theROCK Summer Employee Job Description_v.2_4.16.2024.docx

W18 May 10 ✓

Agenda

Attendance Awards
Cobot Badge Certificates
Summer Micro-Internships, AI, and Contact Info: ★ APPLY NOW
Data Analytics
- Work on Data Analytics Course Progress
- Questions and work on Data Project
- Optional Resource for preparing for Coursera Courses https://docs.idew.org/gda-cohort-1/a801YJyWh1IWZBYOdSXN/
LinkedIn Profile Updates, as needed
Robotics: Jenga Challenge

W19 May 17 ✓

Agenda

Please fill this form out with contact info, even if not applying for micro-internships! Summer Micro-Internships, AI, and Contact Info:
- We still strongly encourage you to apply for the micro-internships.
- We will continue to support you through the summer learning.
- We want to give you premium-level access to AI tools.
- We want to be able to deliver things to you as needed -- like t-shirts when they are finished.
Data Analytics: Continue work on data analytics courses.
Make LinkedIn profile updates, as needed

Projects

Data Analytics Project

Demonstrating data-driven decision-making

It's time to demonstrate your new knowledge by applying it to a real-world scenario. Specifically, you want to demonstrate a data-driven decision-making process by applying spreadsheet and SQL skills. This is an individual project, but you can help each other out.

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate skills in filtering and sorting data using SQL
Demonstrate skills in creating well-formatted spreadsheet charts
Compose a short report applying a data-driven decision-making process

Resources

SQL Lab for Ready-to-Go Data: https://sql.launchboard.app/
Report Template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18qyWfMSiyTQIM8daPGdSCb-1sYZv8dk6HTitKrWW0Fk/edit?usp=sharing

Instructions

1. Research the Problem Domain

Determine a domain you are interested investigating. (e.g. movies, sports stats, health data, financial data, etc.)
Define a scenario for your project that includes decisions — or questions that need answered. For example, an upstart movie production firm wants to investigate what genre of movies they should focus on, and they may use recent data on movies, including budget, sales, genre, location, etc. Formulate at least two well-defined questions.
Identify potential data sources You can use thoughtful internet searches or use platforms like Kaggle to look for data. You may also find organizations that post data on specific topics.

2. Process the Data

Filter, sort, and clean the data as needed with SQL and spreadsheets The process you use will be unique to your project, but you will need to do drill down to the data you want to look at related to your questions.

3. Chart the Data and Tell the Story

Create at least two charts that visually help answer your project questions. Ensure that you format and label them well. They should be easy to view and provide a concise representation of the data.
Compose a short report that explains the purpose and analysis of your project. Follow this basic outline. One to two pages should be sufficient.
- Title
- Introduction to the project background
- Data sources
- Charts with an explanation of each
- Conclusions

Example Layout

Cobot Project

Prototyping a Process

Let's use our cobot skills to prototype a process. This will be a team effort — teams of two or three.

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate skills programming the cobot
Demonstrate an understanding of the cobot capabilities
Develop a prototype process that investigates the feasibility of an idea.

Instructions

A challenge will be presented to teams that involves packaging products into a container in an efficient and repeatable manner.

1. Brainstorm Solutions to the Challenge

Determine the resources need to demonstrate the idea What additional materials will you need? Are they attainable or easily constructed?
Develop a plan for execution This could be a combination of a simple outline, drawing, and/or diagram. Use paper or whiteboard (take a photo).

2. Implement the Plan

Implement, step-wise, your plan Once you have the needed materials. Test your plan in chunks. Experiment as needed.
Refine your solution Consider how to make your solution more robust and elegant.

3. Prepare to Present your Prototype Process

Determine how the team can contribute Get everybody involved in a short demonstration.
- Background of Project
- Demonstration
- Challenges and Recommendations for Improvement
Practice and Record Video

Reference

Cobot Reference

Nodes in Techman's TMflow Software

Below is a review of important nodes in the TMFlow software for the .

Point and Move Nodes

These nodes are used to define the positions and movements of the Cobot. Point nodes set specific coordinates in the workspace, while Move nodes define the path the Cobot will take between points. These nodes are essential for programming the robot's motion and positioning.

Set Nodes

Set nodes are used to assign values to variables or properties within the program. They can be used to set parameters like speed, acceleration, or other configurable settings for the Cobot's movements or actions.

If Nodes

If nodes introduce conditional logic into the program flow. They allow the program to execute different actions or sequences based on certain conditions being met or not met. This enables more complex and adaptive programming for the Cobot.

Goto Nodes

Goto nodes are used for program flow control, allowing the program to jump to a different part of the sequence based on certain conditions. They can be used in conjunction with If nodes to create loops or skip sections of code as needed.

Vision Nodes

Vision nodes integrate the Cobot's vision system, enabling it to locate and identify objects or features in its workspace. These nodes can be used for tasks like part recognition, alignment, or quality inspection.

Component Nodes for Grippers

The TMflow software includes specific nodes for controlling the Cobot's attachments, such as the RG2 Finger Gripper and the VGC10 Vacuum Gripper from OnRobot that enable the Cobot to perform various pick-and-place or material handling tasks.

RG2 Finger Gripper Nodes: Nodes that control the gripping and releasing of the RG2 Finger Gripper, allowing the Cobot to grip and release objects securely.
VGC10 Vacuum Gripper Nodes: These nodes activate the vacuum suction of the VGC10 Vacuum Gripper, enabling the Cobot to grip or release objects with flat surfaces that work well with vacuum suction.

Files

Starter Movie Dataset

🔗

Google Sheet Resources

Info and Waiver

Your Learning Strategy

Completing the Google Data Analytics Certification requires you to spend time working through Coursera content outside of our weekly training sessions.

We want you to develop a learning strategy for completing the data analytics program. Ultimately it is your decision how you will manage your time, but we want you to start with a plan that makes sense for you. You can always adapt your plan later as you experience the content.

How will you schedule your time to complete the coursework on Coursera?

The coursework is a combination of short videos, reading, hands-on tasks, and quizzes. So it makes it pretty easy to break up your time in a way that works with your schedule or learning style. Describe where you plan to do this work as well -- whether at home, in a library, or somewhere else. It is recommended that you avoid really long periods of staring at your screen -- consider getting outside a little bit and moving around at intervals.

How will you "take notes"?

How you decide to note important concepts is up to you, but it is important that you have a system that works for you. You may choose to do traditional hand-written notes, draw concept maps, or use the note feature in Coursera to highlight important concepts. Having some type note-taking strategy will help you understand and retain the concepts presented before you complete quizzes.

Who will be your personal advocate(s)?

Of course the Industry Connect team is here to help and encourage you the whole way, but it will really help to have a family member, friend, or mentor encouraging you along the way providing some accountability. This person does not need to understand data analytics, just somebody to cheer you on and keep you moving forward.

What aspect of data analytics interests you most?

Begin to develop your unique perspective on data analytics. Your views will change as time goes on, but try to make the experience personal. Are you interested in how data is used in a particular domain -- like fitness, health, business, marketing, science, environment or gaming? Data analysts participate in a range of tasks that include working with people and with computers. Data analysts practice soft skills like interviewing, collaborating, and presenting; and of course they apply "hard" skills in programming and math as well. So all these skills are necessary, but some may be your primary interests that draw you in. Ultimately you want to slowly develop your "voice" and how you will contribute to a team's effort.