Author: Yehyun Lee, Email: leey93@unlv.nevada.edu
Date Last Modified: 02/03/2025

Time is flying, and the Growth Track is already halfway through. Over the past two weeks, we’ve had the chance to experience machining processes that we had only learned about in theory, which has been incredibly exciting.

This is a photo of the phone stand we worked on using a CNC machine this week. After waiting for about 40 minutes, the part completely broke apart! At first, I felt a bit disappointed, but I realized that going through these hands-on experiences will help me be more careful when machining the phone stand I designed myself. As the saying goes, “Mistakes are proof that you are trying.” Every failure teaches something, and I’m learning a lot through these experiences.

This week, I met my buddies from the Buddy Program for the first time. Back in Korea, I saw my friend make lasting friendships with exchange students through the Buddy Program, and they still keep in touch. Seeing that, I really wanted to participate in the program and make friends like that too. The three buddies on my team—Dominic, Gabe, and Nghi—were incredibly kind! They took me to an American restaurant, and I was happy to finally have some spicy food after a long time. Over dinner, we shared our hobbies and even made plans to try them together next time. Some of the activities we talked about include hiking, snowboarding, and racing. I’m really looking forward to what’s ahead!

I’m still struggling to adapt to the tipping culture in the U.S. When I went to a Korean restaurant with other international students, I happily enjoyed my meal and paid the bill. The staff handed me a receipt with a pen, so without a second thought, I added an 18% tip and returned it. Later, I realized there was already an 18% service charge included. In the end, I paid $40 for my meal😢. I guess this is how I slowly learn more about American culture.

I used to think I wasn’t someone who enjoyed new experiences, but being here, I’ve realized I actually do. Meeting new people has been especially fun—every conversation reveals a different side of them, and my impression of them keeps changing in interesting ways.At first, I felt a bit nervous in the lab. Since it was a new environment and I was meeting everyone for the first time, I wasn’t sure how to approach them. But over time, I realized how kind they are—they genuinely help me and always greet me with a bright smile.

I’ve also started to enjoy trying new things. Whether it’s working on research projects or joining a book study group, I’ve been taking on challenges I never tried before, and it’s made me realize how much I’m growing. Discovering unexpected sides of myself through these experiences has been really exciting, and I look forward to exploring even more.

This week, I studied quadcopter dynamics and control principles. I focused on how yaw, pitch, and roll are controlled through motor speed adjustments and analyzed the control flow from sensor data → state estimation → PID control → motor commands. I also reviewed Quad Rotorcraft Control (Ch. 2–3) to learn more about flight dynamics and control, but I still need to study it further.

While working with MATLAB/Simulink, I came across the Parrot minidrone simulation and decided to analyze it. The program allows for PID-based hovering, real-time flight visualization, and flight data logging (.mat files) for post-analysis and graph plotting. It helped me understand control principles more deeply, but I need to analyze the simulation blocks further. I also looked into whether this could be applied to a Lego-based quadcopter. The basic control flow seems compatible, but some adjustments will be needed. However, since the simulation takes too long to run, I’m considering looking for an alternative simulator or modifying it to make it more efficient.

Next, I plan to study the dynamics equations in more depth, analyze the Simulink blocks, and modify the simulation to better suit the Lego-based quadcopter.