The skit's finished! Just in time for December break. We'll make some changes as time goes on, but the bulk of the writing is done. We'll post the script after the final presentation.
Merry early Christmas!

We're still having trouble getting the elbonic claw to pick up things. There's nothing wrong with the idea, the problem is that we've built it out of Legos...

We have our idea for the skit settled, but the actual writing is going to take some time. Here's what we have so far: It'll be a two-part skit, with the first part as an interview on a talk show and the second half as an infomercial telling the judges about our innovation.
The parts will be divided like this:
TALK SHOW INTERVIEW:
Hannah: Medical professional
Scott: Talk show host
Ryan: Politician
Owen: Store owner

INFOMERCIAL:
Hannah: Engineer
Scott: Announcer
Ryan: Senior
Owen: Assistant

Now that our innovation is completed, all we have to do is figure out how we're going to present it to the judges. We figure some kind of skit, but we haven't decided how we want to do it yet. Possibly an interview, like a medical show? Or a commercial about our elbonic claw?

Scott's been having trouble getting his claw prototype to stay attached to the cane, so we voted and decided to use Ryan's idea. It still needs some fine-tuning, but it's really the idea that's important. After all, we might have a pretty hard time trying to build a fully-functioning elbonic claw out of spare legos... (Elbonic- like elbow. Because that's how it moves. See what we did there?)

We've decided on our innovation! Our final choice was a claw/cane combo that lets seniors pick up things without having to bend over.

Ryan and Scott had slightly different ideas for how to build the claw, so they each put together a prototype to demonstrate to Owen and Hannah how their idea would work.

Here's a website we found while we were doing research for our innovation: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/KayeSI
The writer has a lot to say about taking care of Seniors, like her mother. The ideas on this website helped us understand what it was like to live with a Senior.

Things we've learned:

Did you know that nearly 47,000 seniors in the U.S. are hospitalized each year due to cane and walker-related accidents?
Or that Seniors are 7x more likely to be injured in an accident with a walker than with a cane?
Or that 50% of elderly patients who are hospitalized for a broken hip die within two years due to related issues, like blood clots?

However our innovation works, we'll have to make sure it's safe for people to use.

Last week we went over some of the basic problems affecting Seniors. Here's a more detailed list on some of the problems and their causes, as well as some solutions that are in place today.

• Hearing loss: Often as people grow older, their nerves become less sensitive. Many people have hearing damage sustained over a lifetime of popped balloons and lawnmowers. (Ever heard a ringing noise in your ears, even when there's nothing to cause it? You might have hearing damage too!)

• Vision problems: Ranging from cataracts (clouding of the eyes, sometimes treatable with surgery), to glaucoma (damaging of the optic nerve), to ordinary myopia (gotcha! This one just means near-sightedness), vision problems can seriously affect a Senior's life.

• Dementia: Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, is a common ailment that usually affects people aged 65+. Symptoms include memory troubles, confusion, irritability, and trouble speaking.

• Osteopenia: Osteopenia is basically a less serious form of Osteoporosis, or low bone density. It's caused when existing bone cells are being broken down faster than new ones are being made, leading to dangerously thin bones.

• Arthritis: Inflammation of the joints, resulting in pain and difficulty flexing the affected joints.

• Depression: Often due to loneliness or feeling unable to participate in previously enjoyed activities, depression is hard to treat, though Senior centers provide somewhere for elderly people to get together and have a good time.

• Low income: If Seniors don't have enough money saved for retirement, they may not be able to afford the medical care they require. They may also try to save money by eating cheaper food rather than healthy food.


Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org
Ryan's Dad (he's a biomedical engineer!)

(This blog will mostly focus on the innovation and reports that the Robohawks create. The actual programming and building, while fun to do, are not nearly as much fun to read about.) 

Today we talked more about what problems seniors are facing today. Here's a basic list we came up with:

• Hearing loss

• Vision problems

• Weakened immune system

• Trouble or pain when walking

• Arthritis

• Balance problems

• Osteopenia/Osteoporosis

• Blood clots

• Dementia/Alzheimers

• Memory loss

• Depression/Loneliness

We've decided that we're going to spend the months before Christmas working on our innovation. We're going to have to take a break for a while near December, because Ryan's going to be a big brother again and the Percells are adopting two kids from China. So December and January are going to be pretty busy :)

Today at only our second meeting with our new team, we met with our Senior Partner Mr. Michael Lau. He's also Ryan's Grand-Uncle. Together we talked about many of the problems that Seniors are facing today. Mr. Michael was very helpful, and we learned a lot about what it's like to be a Senior.

Robohawks Team Rules

1. Listen to the person who's talking (no interrupting)
2. No making fun of anyone's idea
3. Respect your coaches and team members
4. Treat other teams with consideration and respect
5. Stay focused
6. Constructive feedback only
7. Have fun!

Today was our first team meeting. Ryan came over to the Percell's house, and we did some activities to help up experience what it would be like to be old. We started out by putting tape on our fingers, to simulate arthritis. Then we bandaged up our knees, to make it feel like they were stiff and to make it harder to walk. Finally, we put in earplugs and wore clouded glasses to get a feel for how the senses deteriorate over time.

Welcome to the Robohawks team blog! We are a team of homeschoolers participating in the FLL Senior Solutions robotics competition, using Lego NXT robots. For more information on FLL, click here. :)