how to build homework machine

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How To Make DIY Pen Plotter / Homework Writing Machine at Home

This Drawing Robot/Pen Plotter/Drawing Machine is similar to the commercially available AxiDraw. It is powered by an Arduino Uno controller, uses a CNC Shield, and GRBL firmware.

The cost to build the Drawing Robot is between $75 and $100 depending on where you buy your parts and whether you already own some of the parts such as the Arduino.

Parts and Materials Required

• 2 x Nema 17 Stepper Motors
• 2 x Linear Rod M8 x 450mm for X Axis
• 2 x Linear Rod M8 x 350mm for Y Axis
• 2 x Linear Rod 3mm for Z Axis (you can get it from old CDROM)
• 1 x Threaded Rod M8 x 480mm
• 8 x LM8UU Bearings
• 1 x Servo Sg90
• 1 x Spring 5m (from ball point pen)
• 2 x GT2 Pulley, 16 teeth
• 5 x Bearing 624zz
• 1 x 2000mm GT2 belt
• 1 x Arduino Uno
• 1 x CNC Shield
• 2 x A4988 Stepper driver with heatsink
• 6 x Jumpers
• 1 x 12V 2A Power Supply
• 4 x 5/16in-18
• 13 x Phillips M3-0.5 x 16mm
• 4 x Phillips M3-0.5 x 6mm
• 5 x Phillips M4-0.7x 35mm
• 1 x Hex M3-0.5 x 20mm
• 4 x 5/16in washer
• 4 x M3 washers

3D Printing

• Download the files from Thingiverse
• Open the 3D models in Cura or any other slicer(Sli3er, Simplify 3D, etc.)
• Use 75% infill on all the parts (An infill of 70 – 100% will work as well)
• Printed all the parts with 0.10 – 0.20 mm layer height
• Printed with Hatchbox Red PLA
• Use supports on the Penholder, Slider, X_Support_L and the X_Support_R

Note: The longest part took around 9hrs and the shortest took 30 minutes to print

3D Printed Parts

Cut your Linear Rods

Use a measuring tape and sharpie to mark the spots where the rods need to be cut

• Use a vise to hold the rods in place when you cut them
• Remember that you need (2) 350mm and (2) 450mm long linear rods
• On the threaded rod, mark your cutting point at 470mm

Assemble the X-Axis (Linear/Threaded Rods)

Take the (2) 450mm linear rods and insert them into either x-support part

• Use may need to use a round file to smooth out the holes that you insert them in
• Also, you can use a rubber mallet to help insert the rods

Now take the threaded rod and insert it in the hole below. Feed a 5/16in washer and 5/16in nut on both sides of the x-support part

Assemble the X-Axis (Bearings)

Now you want to push the LM8UU bearings into their place on the top and bottom clamshell (The top and bottom clamshell take (4) bearings each)

Take (4) 624zz bearings and push them through the 3D-printed idler pulleys. Leave the 5th bearing for later when you assemble the Y-axis

Assemble the X-Axis (Carriage)

• Get (4) M3-0.5 x 20mm screws, (4) M3 nuts, (4) M3 washers and (4) 624zz bearings with the idler pulleys installed
• Take one screw and feed a washer through it, the washer will rest on the bearing. The nut will be at the bottom of the carriage, which will secure the bearing in place

Assemble the X-Axis (X-Support)

• Slide the clamshell through the 450mm (X-axis) linear rods
• Use a rubber mallet again to attach the last X-support on the linear rods
• Make sure that the rods stick out equally on both sides
• Slide the other end of the threaded rod through the hole on the X-support
• Put on the last set of nuts and washers to hold the X-support in place
• Now that the X-axis is complete, you can use (2) Phillips M3-0.5 x 16mm screws per X-support to help keep the linear rods from sliding

Assemble the X-Axis (Stepper Motors)

• Use an appropriate sized allen wrench to attach the 16 teeth pulleys on the stepper motor shafts
• Flipping the entire chassis around will make it easier to attach the stepper motors
• Use (8) M3-0.5 x 6mm screws and a Phillips screwdriver to attach the (2) stepper motors

Assemble the Y-Axis (Clamshell)

(Optional if you have problems keeping belt on bearings)

• Grab (4) M4-0.5 x 35mm screws and (4) M4 nuts
• Make sure that you have the (4) idler pulleys ( Download from Thingiversa ) and the (4) washers printed
• Insert the washers in between the two clamshells, with a screw in between
• Screw the top and bottom clamshells together

Assemble the Y-Axis (Y- Back/Front)

• Take the (2) 350mm linear rods and insert them the Y-back piece by using a rubber mallet
• Get (1) M4-0.5 x 35 screw, (1) M4 nut and the 5th 624zz bearing
• Get (2) M3-0.5 x 16 screws to secure the linear rods
• Slide in the bearing when inserting the screw through the Y-back piece
• Slide the the linear rods/Y-back piece through the LM8UU bearings and attach the Y-front piece using a rubber mallet

Assemble the X-Y Axis (Belt)

• Use a pair of needle nose pliers to help guide the GT2 belt more easily through the clamshell
• Take the two ends of the belt and slide them through the “teeth” on the Base Slider
• The belt should be tight and not loose
• Note that once the GT2 belt is on, it is normal for the clamshell not to move easily

Belt Diagram

Assemble the Z-Axis

• Get (2) 3mm linear rods and the following 3D printed parts (Slider, Pen Holder, Base Slide, 3MM Metric Thumb Screw)
• Get (1) Hex M3-0.5 x 20mm screw and the Metric Thumb Screw and push them together. Use superglue to keep it together.
• Get (3) M3-0.5 x 16mm screws which you will use the secure the Base Slide to the Y-Front part. You may need to use (3) M3-0.5 nuts in order to hold it in place
• Push the Slider and Pen Holder together to make one piece
• Now take that new part and the (2) 3mm linear rods and slide the rods through the holes. Place a small spring in between the two parts so there is a little bit of pressure to lift the Slider. You may need to cut the spring a bit until there is an adequate amount of pressure on the slider.

Step By Step Video

The Original Instructions by Henry Arnold Jonathan K

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12 thoughts on “ How To Make DIY Pen Plotter / Homework Writing Machine at Home ”

i constructed all the machine but when i press X+ the both X and Y axis are moving what is the problem

double check the steppers wiring

Have you solved it? I have the same problem with my machine, when I press X+, it’s necessary both motors move at same time, but, only one of them move…

Did you solve this problem?

Same problem how to solve ,?

Is it true that you didn’t use the microswitches in the final design?

Hello how to co figurę this machine to RUN on GRBL. What I mean is that GRBL interprets commands for x axis and y axis independently and if I look on your belt diagram it looks like both Motors have to run at the same time in order to move the carriage along y axis… How did you do that?

Have you solved it?

Thank you, thank you. It’s a very good built.

Is it possible to modify it to draw using brush ang oil based paint ?

Could you please tell what software/plug in and which version do you use to generate g-code for this machine?

Hello, what is the width of your belt? 6mm or 10mm? Thanks!

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Homework Writing Machine with Arduino and Servo Motor

Homework writing machine is an auto writing machine through which you can make your your work easy by programing your project. As per the title this is a simple project using Arduino to make Homework writing machine at your home.This machine can draw any design and write any type of fonts.You can see sharpness and perfection of writing in photos. The machine uses a gantry to move the writing tip along the X and Y axes. The flexible-nib pen is mounted on a servo motor which rotates the tip onto the writing surface, taking care of the third axis.

Mechanical Kit will be shipped to you and you can learn and build using tutorials. You can start for free today!

1. 3D Printer

2. Automobile Prototyping

3. CNC Machine using Arduino

4. Project Management with Primavera

Homework writing machine project description:

• Servo Motor: A servomotor is a rotary actuator or linear actuator that allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity and acceleration.It consists of a suitable motor coupled to a sensor for position feedback. It also requires a relatively sophisticated controller, often a dedicated module designed specifically for use with servomotors. 1 threaded rod
• Wood: Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression.

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• Arduno uno: Arduino is an open source computer hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and control objects in the physical and digital world. The project's products are distributed as open-source hardware and software, which are licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) or the GNU General Public License (GPL),permitting the manufacture of Arduino boards and software distribution by anyone. Arduino boards are available commercially in preassembled form, or as do-it-yourself (DIY) kits.
• Grbl shield: =The Arduino grblShield is a complete hardware solution for Dank's CNC motion control system called grbl. Compatible with the Uno and other 328p versions of the Arduino development platform. (Note: grbl 0.6 is not compatible with 168-based Arduinos (nor will it ever be), and currently grbl does not support the Arduino Megas).
• Driver motors : = motor driver is a little current amplifier; the function of motor drivers is to take a low-current control signal and then turn it into a higher-current signal that can drive a motor.
• 9 gram servo : = A servomotor is a rotary actuator or linear actuator that allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity and acceleration.[1] It consists of a suitable motor coupled to a sensor for position feedback. It also requires a relatively sophisticated controller, often a dedicated module designed specifically for use with servomotors. Benbox software

Skyfi Labs helps students learn practical skills by building real-world projects.

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• Arduino uno
• Servo Motor
• Grbl shield
• Driver motors
• Benbox software

Homework Writing Machine

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How to Build a DIY Homework Station

November 16, 2020.

It’s been a weird year. In March 2020, everything shut down. We transitioned to “online learning” and spent A LOT of time at home. We realized that with two grade-schoolers at home, we needed a dedicated homework space. Our two girls and both have small rooms (in our small house), so fitting a desk in their bedrooms wasn’t ideal. We decided to renovate our family room space in the basement and add a DIY homework station into an unused nook in the back of the room!

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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Table of Contents

A Built-In Homework Nook

We didn’t want to spend a fortune, so we hacked some Ikea pieces to make a built-in homework station with plenty of space for both kids. They adore having their own workstations complete with file folder systems, drawers and pegboards! It made me so happy to see them just a little more excited about staying home.

The layout of our basement space was actually quite awkward (you can see the full renovation and details HERE ). We put the homework station in a weird little nook at the back of the room. The space has a low ceiling (ductwork runs above it) and no lighting, so we didn’t really use it at all before! It was just wasted space.

I love how finished it makes the room feel now and how much function it adds! The girls can come down here and do their homework and then lounge and relax when they are finished.

We used EKBACKEN Ash effect laminate counters from Ikea as desktops. They are inexpensive but surprisingly heavy and nicely made.

TIP: I’ve seen quite a few DIY homework spaces that use shelves as desktops. I personally don’t find this ergonomic. The space is too narrow to work comfortably. The 24″ deep countertop gives enough space to really spread out and work without feeling cramped.

The space is about 11 ft wide so we had to use two countertop pieces and cut them down to size. We put the cut ends against the wall so that the finished, uncut edges would make a clean line/join in the centre. We added a support bracket in the middle to help hold the weight, and rested the pieces on 1 x 2 supports fastened to the walls underneath.

Each station is exactly the same (because… siblings) with a SKADIS peg board . I love the SKADIS system . It has so many fun options to add to the pegboards to store pens, papers etc…You can move the accessories easily as well, which is nice since my girls love to organize things! There are even little clips to hang their artwork or current math or spelling words.

Office Drawer Units/ Filing Cabinets

The ALEX drawer units have their own built in filing drawer, which is perfect for storing art projects, report cards or anything else we want to save over the school year.

Floating Shelves

We added some white LACK floating shelves from Ikea for extra storage above each desk. We did the same thing that we did with the counter and used 2 shelves cut down to fit the length. They come with hardware that attaches to the wall to mount them without brackets.

We were going to add built-in wall sconces and decided that we would just keep it simple and use traditional desk lamps! These were actually in our bedroom before, but they work much better in this space! I love when you can shop your home and save money!!

This DIY homework station was quick, easy and didn’t break the bank. But it’s made a huge difference in how we use this space…aka we actually use it now!!

I hope this DIY homework station gives you some inspiration for using an overlooked space in your own home! You can add function to pretty much every inch of space, no matter how awkward with a little creative thinking!

MORE GOOD READS:

• DIY Custom Closet on a Budget
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Hey there! Love this — we’re doing something similar in our basement thanks to your inspiration! Just wondering, what type of bracket did you use for the middle? We only have a wall on one side so we’ll need a bracket for the middle and one for the other end too. Love the triangle look of yours cuz it seems sturdy and adds to the style.

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The Homework Machine

50 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

The Homework Machine , written by acclaimed American author Dan Gutman was first published in 2007 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and is the first of a two-book series. The second book, The Return of the Homework Machine , was published in 2011. Gutman is primarily a children’s fiction writer who has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including 18 for The Homework Machine alone. Gutman is best known for his humorous series, My Weird School , in which there are more than 70 books. He lives in New York City with his family.

The paperback edition used for this study guide was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007.

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Plot Summary

The Homework Machine is told from the perspectives of multiple characters in the format of tape recordings for a police report.

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The four main characters are fifth-grade students who are grouped at the same classroom table because their last names start with D: Sam Dawkins (Snik), Kelsey Donnelly , Judy Douglas , and Brenton Damagatchi . Other than sharing the same last initial, the students have nothing in common. Snik is the cool class smart aleck; Kelsey is laid back and doesn’t care about school; Judy is conscientious and in the gifted program; and Brenton is a loner and genius who designs software and studies psychology in his spare time. Snik pushes people’s buttons, and one day he pushes Brenton too far—implying that Brenton spends all his free time doing homework. Brenton retorts that he doesn’t spend any time doing homework and lets slip that he has invented a homework machine.

Snik calls Brenton a liar, so Brenton invites Snik, Judy, and Kelsey to his house to see for themselves. The group are stunned when Brenton’s machine prints out perfectly completed homework in Brenton’s handwriting. Brenton agrees to let Snik, Judy, and Kelsey join him after school to “do” their homework and even rewrites the software to accommodate their handwriting. The unlikely foursome spends every afternoon together, but they insist that they are not friends and that the only reason they tolerate each other is to use the homework machine, which they name Belch. Judy feels guilty about cheating but enjoys getting A’s and uses the extra time to take up ballet. Kelsey’s vastly improved grades earn her privileges, such as a belly-button piercing, from her mother. As the weeks pass, the D Squad becomes addicted to using Belch and the boundaries between their various social identities begin to blur. Snik shows an interest in “boring” chess, which Brenton plays, and Judy tries to be complimentary about Kelsey’s piercings (while finding them disgusting). Everything seems to be going well. However, things start to rapidly fall apart halfway through the year. Judy and Kelsey’s other friends resent their new associations and “unfriend” them, and their teacher, Miss Rasmussen , suspects that they are cheating.

In addition, a strange man has been stalking the group ever since Brenton designed software to instigate a hugely successful social media-driven “red socks day” that spread across America. Miss Rasmussen springs a surprise test on the class to see whether the D Squad really knows their schoolwork. Sure enough—Kelsey and Snik fail, and Judy gets a C, confirming Miss Rasmussen’s suspicions. Before Miss Rasmussen can report them, Snik’s father, who is in the military, is killed in the Middle East. This tragic event diverts Miss Rasmussen’s attention from the cheating, which seems trivial in comparison. The bond between the D Squad strengthens as the stress of keeping Belch secret increases.

Together they decide to shut Belch down, only to discover that Belch has taken on a life of its own and will not power off. They throw Belch into the Grand Canyon and feel relief as they watch it disappear. However, when backpackers find computer pieces at the bottom of the canyon, the D Squad is called into the sheriff’s office where they confess to everything. The case is closed, but their unlikely friendships continue to strengthen and grow. The stalker turns out to be someone scouting Brenton to offer him a job as an influencer for his company. The company’s clients want to market their products to kids. Brenton simply offers him an idea he would like to influence kids with: “Do your homework” (146).

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curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• Design and Build a Rube Goldberg

Hands-on Activity Design and Build a Rube Goldberg

Grade Level: 8 (7-9)

Note: 25 minutes one day, 50 the next day

Expendable Cost/Group: US $1.00

Group Size: 3

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Physical Science, Science and Technology

NGSS Performance Expectations:

Curriculum in this Unit Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Nested under units are lessons (in purple) and hands-on activities (in blue). Note that not all lessons and activities will exist under a unit, and instead may exist as "standalone" curriculum.

• A Simple Solution for the Circus
• Tools and Equipment, Part I
• Machines and Tools, Part II
• The Magician's Catapult

TE Newsletter

Engineering connection, learning objectives, materials list, worksheets and attachments, more curriculum like this, pre-req knowledge, introduction/motivation, vocabulary/definitions, troubleshooting tips, activity extensions, activity scaling, user comments & tips.

Designing and building is essential to engineering. Engineers follow the steps of the design process to help them create the best possible solutions to real-world problems. These challenges may be simple or complex and the wide variety of solutions can also cover a range of effort for the user. In general, complex designs require more effort to develop than simple ones. Rube Goldberg designs are meant to show the unnecessary complexities in machines, which sometimes result from modern technology.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• List the general steps of the engineering design process .
• Think critically about the importance of the machines they encounter in life.
• Use their knowledge of simple and compound machines to design and build a small Rube Goldberg machine.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science, common core state standards - math.

View aligned curriculum

Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

State standards, colorado - math, colorado - science.

During the first part of the activity, which is the design of the machines, tell the students that the following materials will be available for them. Anything else they think of requires teacher approval, for example, dominoes, an egg, a wooden dowel, wheels, etc.

• construction paper
• small paper cups (such as Dixie cups)
• paper towel tubes
• jumbo paper clips
• rubber bands

In order to understand compound machines, it is helpful if students are familiar with the six individual simple machines and their abilities to make work easier, as discussed in lessons 1-3 of this unit. Compound machines are described in Lesson 4 . This activity works is intended as a finale to the simple machines unit.

We have been learning about simple and compound machines, calculating mechanical advantage and thinking about machines as a part of society. What is a simple machine? A simple machine makes work easier for people. We also know that engineers build complex machines upon a foundation of knowledge of simple machines. Now we will look at how all of these things that we have been studying come together, as we take on the role of the engineers who design machines. We are not going to design just any machine though; we are going to invent Rube Goldberg machines. Recall that a Rube Goldberg is a contraption that accomplishes a simple task in a fantastically complicated way.

Several steps compose the process of inventing, regardless of the type of machine you want to create. Who knows the first step in the engineering design process ? The first step in designing a good solution is to define the need and the audience. You will need to work with your team to decide what you will be designing. What is the problem you are trying to solve, and who are you designing it for?

Next, an engineer thinks about information that might help to solve the problem. Needed information might include the constraints or limitations on the problem, such as materials or time or safety. For this project, we have some materials already available and we want to use at least three simple machines. We definitely have limited time to our class period, and we want to make sure our contraption is safe.

After all of these things have been decided, engineers brainstorm design ideas. With your team, you will come up with many different simple machine ideas that could be used to accomplish your final task. Then your engineering team will choose which ones to use and create a plan or drawing of the design.

Why is it important to design your machine first, either as a drawing or a clear idea in your mind? (Answer: To just start building could lead you to a machine you don't like or doesn't work, and we don't want to waste materials and time.)

Make sure your machine has many different steps and motions in order to complete the end function and look like a Rube Goldberg. Professional engineers draw their inventions before the thing is built, so we will do that, too. Remember to include a materials list.

Once you have a drawing and materials list, and the design has been approved by the teacher, begin building. Remember that good engineers try not to use more material than necessary and are interested in an attractive product that works as designed. After everyone is finished, we will rotate through and see all the machines in action.

Before the Activity

• For Part 1, gather paper and pencils for students to draw their designs and list any additional materials.
• Gather all materials, including any additional materials requested by groups.

With the Students

Part 1: Design the Rube Goldberg Machine (25 minutes)

• In groups of three, have student engineering teams decide on simple tasks to create machines for, intended audiences, and any information they know that will help them solve the problem.
• With every group member contributing ideas, have students brainstorm ideas about how they will accomplish the simple task (such as getting a marble in a cup one meter away) in an overly complex way. Remind them that they must use at least three simple machines in their final designs.
• Next, have each team collectively produce machine drawings that include dimensions.
• Have teams include materials lists, including any special-request materials.
• Teams show their designs and materials lists to the teacher for approval.
• Have students make design alterations if not immediately approved. After approval, make the design more specific or the drawing more detailed as other groups finish up their designs.

Part 2: Build the Rube Goldberg (50-60 minutes)

• Have students spend a few minutes reviewing their drawings from Part 1 before starting to build.
• Have student teams gather their materials and begin to build their designs.
• Emphasize that each group member participates.
• Direct the students to follow the planned design as closely as possible.
• Once teams, have completed their designs, have them test their machines. Evaluate competing design solutions to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• Allow student teams to return to their seats and make adjustments, as necessary. Re-test any re-designs.
• Have each engineering team display its Rube Goldberg contraptions to the class during the last 10 minutes of the period.

design: To form a plan.

Rube Goldberg: Cartoonist and engineer who poked fun at overly complicated machines; a machine that operates in a complicated way in which the procedure could have been much simpler.

specification: An exact and detailed statement of something to be built.

Pre-Activity Assessment

Discussion Questions : Solicit, integrate and summarize student responses.

• What is a Rube Goldberg? (Answer: A machine that does a simple task in a complicated way.)
• Do such machines exist in the world? (Answer: Sure, otherwise Rube Goldberg would not have made it to the dictionary. They are any wacky looking device that seems too complex for its own good; moreover, it probably does a task you don't really need done in the first place.)

Activity Embedded Assessment

Activity Discussion : Review and discuss the activity with the entire class. Use the answers to gauge students' mastery of what it means to design and build. Be sure to cover both the process and the purpose of its design.

• How does Rube Goldberg fit in to all of this? (Answer: His cartoons help us think about the meaning of machines in our society.)

Engineering Design Process : Have students acknowledge each step of the engineering design process as they are completing them. Write the steps on the board for student reference. The steps include: Define the problem, gather information, brainstorm ideas, select the most promising idea, explain your design, build and test your design, and redesign for improvement based on what you have learned from testing.

Post-Activity Assessment

Rube Goldberg Worksheet : Use this worksheet to assign students to take a closer look at a Rube Goldberg cartoon and, drawing upon previously learned concepts, develop arguments that say the machine could in fact work.

Remind students that the Rube Goldberg cartoon machines would probably never work in the real world, so they should not design something that closely resembles his cartoon, because they probably would not be able to build it.

Have students explain how they would find the mechanical advantage of their Rube Goldberg machines.

• For lower grades, designate a specific function for the machine. Students' machines should include at least three steps to completing the task.

Through the cartoons of Rube Goldberg, students are engaged in critical thinking about the way his inventions make simple tasks even harder to complete. As the final lesson in the simple machines unit, the study of Rube Goldberg machines can help students evaluate the importance and usefulness of th...

Students expand upon their understanding of simple machines with an introduction to compound machines. This lesson encourages students to critically think about machine inventions and their role in our lives.

Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and builders of the great pyramids.

Students research and learn about simple machines and other mechanisms through learning about a Rube Goldberg machine. Student teams design and build their own Rube Goldberg devices that incorporate at least six simple machines. This project is open-ended with much potential for creativity and fun.

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

This digital library content was developed by the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program under National Science Foundation GK-12 grant no. 0338326. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: April 1, 2021

Cicada map 2024: See where to find Brood XIX and XIII − and where they've already been spotted

For many Americans, the cicadas are here .

Trillions of periodical cicadas are already emerging in a rare, two brood event across multiple states , with more expected to come in the following weeks. Thanks to warm temperatures and good conditions, these 13- or 17-year cicadas are emerging from their underground habitats to eat, mate and die, making a whole lot of noise in the process.

Broods XIX and XIII have not emerged together since 1803, and after this year, won't emerge together again until 2245. While they are largely in different states, they are both emerging in parts of Illinois and Iowa.

So if you've seen one cicada or hundreds of cicadas, here's where you can expect to see more this year.

Are cicadas dangerous? Busting myths on the harmfulness of the noisy pests.

Are cicadas already out in 2024?

Adult periodical cicadas from Brood XIX have been spotted by users in multiple states across the Southeast and Midwest including in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Illinois, according to  Cicada Safari , a cicada tracking app developed by Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Through Cicada Safari, users can confirm their sightings of cicadas with pictures, look at a map of other cicada sightings, join a leaderboard with other users and learn more information about cicadas.

2024 cicada map: Check out where Broods XIII, XIX are projected to emerge

The two cicada broods are projected to emerge in a combined 17 states across the South and Midwest. They emerge once the soil eight inches underground reaches 64 degrees, expected to begin in many states in May and lasting through late June.

The two broods  last emerged together in 1803 , when Thomas Jefferson was president.

What is a brood?

According to the  University of Connecticut , broods are classified as "all periodical cicadas of the same life cycle type that emerge in a given year."

A brood of cicadas is made up of different species of the insect that have separate evolutionary histories. These species may have joined the brood at different times or from different sources. These different species are lumped together under the brood because they are in the same region and emerge on a common schedule.

Why do cicadas make so much noise?

You'll have to thank the male cicadas for all that screeching. Male cicadas synchronize their calls and produce congregational songs, according to  Britannica , which establish territory and attract females. There is also a courting call that they make before mating.

Unluckily for us, the 13-year and 17-year brood cicadas  are the loudest , partially because of the sheer number of them that emerge at once.

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Drawing Robot/Pen Plotter/Drawing Machine is an Open Hardware version of the famous machine AxiDraw which it is a pen plotter, capable of wr

Make DIY Homework Writing Machine at Home

Step 1: parts and materials required, step 2: 3d printing, step 3: assemble the x-axis, step 4: assemble the x-axis bearing, step 5: assemble the y-axis.

• Step 6: Assemble the X-Y Axis (Belt

Step 7: Assemble the Z-Axis

Step 8: ​electronics, step 9: software, step 10: drawing machine at work.

• Comments (8)

Things used in this project

• Buy from Newark
• Buy from store.arduino.cc
• Buy from Adafruit
• Buy from Arduino Store
• Buy from CPC

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Drawing Robot/Pen Plotter/Drawing Machine is an Open Hardware version of the famous machine AxiDraw which it is a pen plotter, capable of writing or drawing on almost any flat surface. It can write with pens, permanent markers, pencils, and other writing implements to handle an endless variety of applications.

Its unique design features a writing head that extends beyond the machine, making it possible to draw on objects bigger than the machine itself. The biggest advantage of the machine is that it can be placed over the book because of the core XY extending design of the machine.

This Drawing Robot/Pen Plotter/Drawing Machine is similar to the commercially available AxiDraw. It is powered by an Arduino Uno controller, uses a CNC Shield, and GRBL firmware

The cost to build the Drawing Robot is between $75 depending on where you buy your parts and whether you already own some of the parts such as the Arduino.

You can find all of my projects on https://www.diyprojectslab.com/

Maximum drawing area 24 * 30 CM.

Thank You NextPCB

This project is successfully completed because of the help and support from NextPCB. Guys if you have a PCB project, please visit their website and get exciting discounts and coupons.

Free shipping 0$ PCB Prototype： https://www.nextpcb.com/pcb-quote?act=2&code=Romeo...

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2 x Nema 17 Stepper Motors Amazon.com

2 x Linear Rod M8 x 450mm for X Axis Amazon.com

2 x Linear Rod M8 x 350mm for Y Axis Amazon.com

2 x Linear Rod 3mm for Z Axis (you can get it from old CDROM)

1 x Threaded Rod M8 x 480mm8 x LM8UU Bearings Amazon.com

1 x Servo Sg901 x Spring 5m (from ball point pen) Amazon.com

2 x GT2 Pulley, 16 teeth Amazon.com

5 x Bearing 624zz Amazon.com

1 x 2000mm GT2 belt Amazon.com

1 x Arduino Uno Amazon.com

1 x CNC Shield Amazon.com

2 x A4988 Stepper driver with heatsink Amazon.com

6 x Jumpers Amazon.com

1 x 12V 2A Power Supply Amazon.com

• 4 x 5/16in-18
• 13 x Phillips M3-0.5 x 16mm
• 4 x Phillips M3-0.5 x 6mm
• 5 x Phillips M4-0.7x 35mm
• 1 x Hex M3-0.5 x 20mm
• 4 x 5/16in washer
• 4 x M3 washers

Download the files from Thingiverse

Open the 3D models in Cura or any other slicer.

Use 75% infill on all the parts (An infill of 70 – 100% will work as well)

Printed all the parts with 0.10 – 0.20 mm layer height

Printed with PLA

Use supports on the Penholder, Slider, X_Support_L and the X_Support_R

Note: The longest part took around 10hrs and the shortest took 30 minutes to print

PLA is fine for this design. I print at 200C on BuildTak. None of the parts require rafts or brims. I suggest supports only for the pen holder and the Z axis end plate which is standing up.

Remember that you need (2) 350mm and (2) 450mm long linear rods

Take the (2) 450mm linear rods and insert them into either x-support part

• Use may need to use a round file to smooth out the holes that you insert them in
• Also, you can use a rubber mallet to help insert the rods

Now take the threaded rod and insert it in the hole below. Feed a 5/16in washer and 5/16in nut on both sides of the x-support part

Now you want to push the LM8UU bearings into their place on the top and bottom clamshell (The top and bottom clamshell take (4) bearings each)

Take (4) 624zz bearings and push them through the 3D-printed idler pulleys. Leave the 5th bearing for later when you assemble the Y-axis

Assemble the X-Axis (Carriage)

• Get (4) M3-0.5 x 20mm screws, (4) M3 nuts, (4) M3 washers and (4) 624zz bearings with the idler pulleys installed
• Take one screw and feed a washer through it, the washer will rest on the bearing. The nut will be at the bottom of the carriage, which will secure the bearing in place

Assemble the X-Axis (X-Support)

• Slide the clamshell through the 450mm (X-axis) linear rods
• Use a rubber mallet again to attach the last X-support on the linear rods
• Make sure that the rods stick out equally on both sides
• Slide the other end of the threaded rod through the hole on the X-support
• Put on the last set of nuts and washers to hold the X-support in place
• Now that the X-axis is complete, you can use (2) Phillips M3-0.5 x 16mm screws per X-support to help keep the linear rods from sliding
• Take the (2) 350mm linear rods and insert them the Y-back piece by using a rubber mallet
• Get (1) M4-0.5 x 35 screw, (1) M4 nut and the 5th 624zz bearing
• Get (2) M3-0.5 x 16 screws to secure the linear rods
• Slide in the bearing when inserting the screw through the Y-back piece
• Slide the the linear rods/Y-back piece through the LM8UU bearings and attach the Y-front piece using a rubber mallet

Step 6: Assemble the X-Y Axis (Belt)

• Use a pair of needle nose pliers to help guide the GT2 belt more easily through the clamshell
• Take the two ends of the belt and slide them through the “teeth” on the Base Slider
• The belt should be tight and not loose
• Note that once the GT2 belt is on, it is normal for the clamshell not to move easily
• Get (2) 3mm linear rods and the following 3D printed parts (Slider, Pen Holder, Base Slide, 3MM Metric Thumb Screw)
• Get (1) Hex M3-0.5 x 20mm screw and the Metric Thumb Screw and push them together. Use superglue to keep it together.
• Get (3) M3-0.5 x 16mm screws which you will use the secure the Base Slide to the Y-Front part. You may need to use (3) M3-0.5 nuts in order to hold it in place
• Push the Slider and Pen Holder together to make one piece
• Now take that new part and the (2) 3mm linear rods and slide the rods through the holes. Place a small spring in between the two parts so there is a little bit of pressure to lift the Slider. You may need to cut the spring a bit until there is an adequate amount of pressure on the slider.

ELECTRONICS

I prefer you can use Arduino uno CNC Shield

Ready to your all circuit

1) 4pcs A4988 Stepper Motor Driver

2) Expansion Board A4988 Driver

3)Arduino UNO First of all take hit sink and stick on A4988 motor Driver.

4pcs A4988 Stepper motor driver connect on expansion board A4988 driver module, then connect the arduino with expansion board and connect all wiring The shield also has a built-in micro stepping control - meaning that instead of using full steps or half steps like a large CNC would do, we can make the motors move by 1/16 or 1/32 of a step to make the laser move with the maximal precision possible. However, the motors will consume more electricity: they will get hot quicker.

To use the micro stepping modes, short some of the mode pins together. Different combinations give different resolutions. Take a look at the chart for the different configurations possible. When the shield is programmed, add the A4988 drivers to it and wire up the rest of the electronics.

To find the coils of the stepper motors, use a multimeter. If there's resistance between the two wires, you have a coil. On the schematic, the coils are represented by two wires of the same color.

Inkscape which is the graphics design software (draw or import graphics)

Inkscape MI GRBL Extension (convert graphics to G-Code)Universal G Code Sender (sends the G-Code to the robot causing drawing motion)GRBL which is the Arduino firmware (programmed into the Arduino Uno)

Arduino: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software

Universal G-code sender: https://winder.github.io/ugs_website/...

Inkscape: https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape..

4xiDraw & km laser: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YO8-...

Processing: https://processing.org/download/

drawing to G-code processing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PIFx...

watch video for full setup

hookup_QLVR1z3Ob1.jpg

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Watch CBS News

More than a decade after a stroke, Randy Travis sings again, courtesy of AI

By Lee Cowan

May 5, 2024 / 9:10 AM EDT / CBS News

Even if you're not into country, you can't help but bathe in the baritone that is Randy Travis. His voice goes down like whisky – always has, ever since his first album, "Storms of Life," in 1986.  "I thought if we sold 40,000 copies they might let us make a second record." said producer Kyle Lehning.

They ended up selling four million . "So, I'm a genius!" Lehning laughed.

Randy Travis and that voice helped build Warner Music Nashville into what it is today. "How do you describe the thing that just hits you in the center of your chest and unconsciously makes you feel full, and familiar, and known?" said Cris Lacy, the label's co-chair and co-president. "How do you describe something like that?"

His was a God-given talent … and then, fate took it all away.

In 2013 Travis suffered a massive stroke . He was given just a 2% chance of survival. "I thought we were going to lose him," said Lehning.

Lacy said, "It felt like it could be the end of an era."

Besides the paralysis, the area of his brain that controls speech and language was hit the hardest. Randy's wife, Mary, said, "Music is what he's made of. Music is his heart, it's his soul."

Mary does most of the talking these days. She said Randy know what he wants to say, but it just doesn't come out.

Asked if he'd made peace with that, Randy replied, "Yep. Yep."

Three years after his stroke, with Mary at his side, Travis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and gave "Amazing Grace" new meaning . There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

In his absence, though, he's heard a lot of AI-generated fakes of his voice. A simple Google search brings up sites that promise to covert anyone's vocal into a Randy Travis sound-alike. "It doesn't sound good, and it doesn't sound real, because it's not," said Lacy.

And that got his record label to thinking. Lacy said, "We started with this concept of, what would AI for good look like for us? And the first thing that came to mind was, we would give Randy Travis his voice back."

There were more than a few skeptics – Kyle Lehning, for one. "It sounded like a parlor trick or something," he said.

But Lehning (with Randy's blessing) decided to try. He and Warner Music started by pulling 42 Randy Travis tracks from the vault, like the original recording of his hit "1982." And then, they stripped away the music, leaving only the vocal.

That was half the recipe. The other half needed to be provided by a donated, or "surrogate," voice. In this case, that voice came from country music singer James DuPre.

The AI program – the "secret sauce" – takes Travis' voice and overlays it on top of DuPre's singing. It's hardly an exact science.  "It's not about how it sounds; it's about how it feels ," Lehning said.

And that is not something a computer can figure out. "Not yet!" Lehning laughed.

He knows Travis' voice almost better than Randy does; they've worked together for 40 years.  This time, though, the task was to take a computer-generated voice and give it Randy's country heart.  "Him being here and him being able to be a vital part of the decision-making process makes all the difference to me," said Lehning.

In the end, they landed on something they felt worthy of a voice no one but those who knew him best could replicate.

According to Lacy, "It's Randy Travis. Randy's on the other side of the microphone. It's still his vocal. There's no reason he shouldn't be able to make music, and to deprive him of that, if he still wants to do that, that's unconscionable to me."

Two months ago, Warner Music gathered a small circle of fellow musicians into a recording studio. Randy sat with a Cheshire Cat's grin, and then they hit "play."

Listen to Randy Travis' "Where That Came From":

The reaction to his first new song in more than a decade was a mix of joy and wonder. 

For his wife, tears. For Randy's country friends, like Grammy-winning superstar Carrie Underwood, there was confusion. ("How? How? How?!? ") For Cole Swindell, who just won three ACM Awards, it reminded him of why he became a country singer in the first place. ("For you all to let me hear it, that means a lot. Damn, I'm glad to hear you sing!") And veteran country star Clay Walker was simply over the moon.

Even Randy's own family hadn't heard it until two weeks ago.

It was perfection ... with a caveat.  "We don't exactly know how to get here again," said Cris Lacy.

The second song they're working on is proving a harder nut to crack. There's still work to be done, and a lot of questions to answer about what this all means going forward.

But revel in this: After a decade-long absence, Randy Travis is back on the radio. His post-stroke debut song, "Where That Came From," was released this past week.

For Randy, it's not just a single, it's a victory. And as Mary says, "It's a life inspiration. Speak kindly, love fully, live completely, and leave the rest to God."

Sounds like there's a song in there somewhere. We can only hope.

      For more info:

• Order  "Where That Came From"  by Randy Travis
• randytravis.com

      Story produced by Reid Orvedahl. Editor: Lauren Barnello.

Lee Cowan is an Emmy award winning journalist serving as a national correspondent and substitute anchor for "CBS Sunday Morning."

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How biopic "Back to Black" puts Amy Winehouse "right back in the center of her story"

Bill Maher on not pulling punches

Book excerpt: "What This Comedian Said Will Shock You" by Bill Maher

Artificial intelligence in strategy

Can machines automate strategy development? The short answer is no. However, there are numerous aspects of strategists’ work where AI and advanced analytics tools can already bring enormous value. Yuval Atsmon is a senior partner who leads the new McKinsey Center for Strategy Innovation, which studies ways new technologies can augment the timeless principles of strategy. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, he explains how artificial intelligence is already transforming strategy and what’s on the horizon. This is an edited transcript of the discussion. For more conversations on the strategy issues that matter, follow the series on your preferred podcast platform .

Joanna Pachner: What does artificial intelligence mean in the context of strategy?

Yuval Atsmon: When people talk about artificial intelligence, they include everything to do with analytics, automation, and data analysis. Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of artificial intelligence research in the 1960s, talked about AI as a “suitcase word”—a term into which you can stuff whatever you want—and that still seems to be the case. We are comfortable with that because we think companies should use all the capabilities of more traditional analysis while increasing automation in strategy that can free up management or analyst time and, gradually, introducing tools that can augment human thinking.

Joanna Pachner: AI has been embraced by many business functions, but strategy seems to be largely immune to its charms. Why do you think that is?

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Yuval Atsmon: You’re right about the limited adoption. Only 7 percent of respondents to our survey about the use of AI say they use it in strategy or even financial planning, whereas in areas like marketing, supply chain, and service operations, it’s 25 or 30 percent. One reason adoption is lagging is that strategy is one of the most integrative conceptual practices. When executives think about strategy automation, many are looking too far ahead—at AI capabilities that would decide, in place of the business leader, what the right strategy is. They are missing opportunities to use AI in the building blocks of strategy that could significantly improve outcomes.

I like to use the analogy to virtual assistants. Many of us use Alexa or Siri but very few people use these tools to do more than dictate a text message or shut off the lights. We don’t feel comfortable with the technology’s ability to understand the context in more sophisticated applications. AI in strategy is similar: it’s hard for AI to know everything an executive knows, but it can help executives with certain tasks.

When executives think about strategy automation, many are looking too far ahead—at AI deciding the right strategy. They are missing opportunities to use AI in the building blocks of strategy.

Joanna Pachner: What kind of tasks can AI help strategists execute today?

Yuval Atsmon: We talk about six stages of AI development. The earliest is simple analytics, which we refer to as descriptive intelligence. Companies use dashboards for competitive analysis or to study performance in different parts of the business that are automatically updated. Some have interactive capabilities for refinement and testing.

The second level is diagnostic intelligence, which is the ability to look backward at the business and understand root causes and drivers of performance. The level after that is predictive intelligence: being able to anticipate certain scenarios or options and the value of things in the future based on momentum from the past as well as signals picked in the market. Both diagnostics and prediction are areas that AI can greatly improve today. The tools can augment executives’ analysis and become areas where you develop capabilities. For example, on diagnostic intelligence, you can organize your portfolio into segments to understand granularly where performance is coming from and do it in a much more continuous way than analysts could. You can try 20 different ways in an hour versus deploying one hundred analysts to tackle the problem.

Predictive AI is both more difficult and more risky. Executives shouldn’t fully rely on predictive AI, but it provides another systematic viewpoint in the room. Because strategic decisions have significant consequences, a key consideration is to use AI transparently in the sense of understanding why it is making a certain prediction and what extrapolations it is making from which information. You can then assess if you trust the prediction or not. You can even use AI to track the evolution of the assumptions for that prediction.

Those are the levels available today. The next three levels will take time to develop. There are some early examples of AI advising actions for executives’ consideration that would be value-creating based on the analysis. From there, you go to delegating certain decision authority to AI, with constraints and supervision. Eventually, there is the point where fully autonomous AI analyzes and decides with no human interaction.

Because strategic decisions have significant consequences, you need to understand why AI is making a certain prediction and what extrapolations it’s making from which information.

Joanna Pachner: What kind of businesses or industries could gain the greatest benefits from embracing AI at its current level of sophistication?

Yuval Atsmon: Every business probably has some opportunity to use AI more than it does today. The first thing to look at is the availability of data. Do you have performance data that can be organized in a systematic way? Companies that have deep data on their portfolios down to business line, SKU, inventory, and raw ingredients have the biggest opportunities to use machines to gain granular insights that humans could not.

Companies whose strategies rely on a few big decisions with limited data would get less from AI. Likewise, those facing a lot of volatility and vulnerability to external events would benefit less than companies with controlled and systematic portfolios, although they could deploy AI to better predict those external events and identify what they can and cannot control.

Third, the velocity of decisions matters. Most companies develop strategies every three to five years, which then become annual budgets. If you think about strategy in that way, the role of AI is relatively limited other than potentially accelerating analyses that are inputs into the strategy. However, some companies regularly revisit big decisions they made based on assumptions about the world that may have since changed, affecting the projected ROI of initiatives. Such shifts would affect how you deploy talent and executive time, how you spend money and focus sales efforts, and AI can be valuable in guiding that. The value of AI is even bigger when you can make decisions close to the time of deploying resources, because AI can signal that your previous assumptions have changed from when you made your plan.

Joanna Pachner: Can you provide any examples of companies employing AI to address specific strategic challenges?

Yuval Atsmon: Some of the most innovative users of AI, not coincidentally, are AI- and digital-native companies. Some of these companies have seen massive benefits from AI and have increased its usage in other areas of the business. One mobility player adjusts its financial planning based on pricing patterns it observes in the market. Its business has relatively high flexibility to demand but less so to supply, so the company uses AI to continuously signal back when pricing dynamics are trending in a way that would affect profitability or where demand is rising. This allows the company to quickly react to create more capacity because its profitability is highly sensitive to keeping demand and supply in equilibrium.

Joanna Pachner: Given how quickly things change today, doesn’t AI seem to be more a tactical than a strategic tool, providing time-sensitive input on isolated elements of strategy?

Yuval Atsmon: It’s interesting that you make the distinction between strategic and tactical. Of course, every decision can be broken down into smaller ones, and where AI can be affordably used in strategy today is for building blocks of the strategy. It might feel tactical, but it can make a massive difference. One of the world’s leading investment firms, for example, has started to use AI to scan for certain patterns rather than scanning individual companies directly. AI looks for consumer mobile usage that suggests a company’s technology is catching on quickly, giving the firm an opportunity to invest in that company before others do. That created a significant strategic edge for them, even though the tool itself may be relatively tactical.

Joanna Pachner: McKinsey has written a lot about cognitive biases  and social dynamics that can skew decision making. Can AI help with these challenges?

Yuval Atsmon: When we talk to executives about using AI in strategy development, the first reaction we get is, “Those are really big decisions; what if AI gets them wrong?” The first answer is that humans also get them wrong—a lot. [Amos] Tversky, [Daniel] Kahneman, and others have proven that some of those errors are systemic, observable, and predictable. The first thing AI can do is spot situations likely to give rise to biases. For example, imagine that AI is listening in on a strategy session where the CEO proposes something and everyone says “Aye” without debate and discussion. AI could inform the room, “We might have a sunflower bias here,” which could trigger more conversation and remind the CEO that it’s in their own interest to encourage some devil’s advocacy.

We also often see confirmation bias, where people focus their analysis on proving the wisdom of what they already want to do, as opposed to looking for a fact-based reality. Just having AI perform a default analysis that doesn’t aim to satisfy the boss is useful, and the team can then try to understand why that is different than the management hypothesis, triggering a much richer debate.

In terms of social dynamics, agency problems can create conflicts of interest. Every business unit [BU] leader thinks that their BU should get the most resources and will deliver the most value, or at least they feel they should advocate for their business. AI provides a neutral way based on systematic data to manage those debates. It’s also useful for executives with decision authority, since we all know that short-term pressures and the need to make the quarterly and annual numbers lead people to make different decisions on the 31st of December than they do on January 1st or October 1st. Like the story of Ulysses and the sirens, you can use AI to remind you that you wanted something different three months earlier. The CEO still decides; AI can just provide that extra nudge.

Joanna Pachner: It’s like you have Spock next to you, who is dispassionate and purely analytical.

Yuval Atsmon: That is not a bad analogy—for Star Trek fans anyway.

Joanna Pachner: Do you have a favorite application of AI in strategy?

Yuval Atsmon: I have worked a lot on resource allocation, and one of the challenges, which we call the hockey stick phenomenon, is that executives are always overly optimistic about what will happen. They know that resource allocation will inevitably be defined by what you believe about the future, not necessarily by past performance. AI can provide an objective prediction of performance starting from a default momentum case: based on everything that happened in the past and some indicators about the future, what is the forecast of performance if we do nothing? This is before we say, “But I will hire these people and develop this new product and improve my marketing”— things that every executive thinks will help them overdeliver relative to the past. The neutral momentum case, which AI can calculate in a cold, Spock-like manner, can change the dynamics of the resource allocation discussion. It’s a form of predictive intelligence accessible today and while it’s not meant to be definitive, it provides a basis for better decisions.

Joanna Pachner: Do you see access to technology talent as one of the obstacles to the adoption of AI in strategy, especially at large companies?

Yuval Atsmon: I would make a distinction. If you mean machine-learning and data science talent or software engineers who build the digital tools, they are definitely not easy to get. However, companies can increasingly use platforms that provide access to AI tools and require less from individual companies. Also, this domain of strategy is exciting—it’s cutting-edge, so it’s probably easier to get technology talent for that than it might be for manufacturing work.

The bigger challenge, ironically, is finding strategists or people with business expertise to contribute to the effort. You will not solve strategy problems with AI without the involvement of people who understand the customer experience and what you are trying to achieve. Those who know best, like senior executives, don’t have time to be product managers for the AI team. An even bigger constraint is that, in some cases, you are asking people to get involved in an initiative that may make their jobs less important. There could be plenty of opportunities for incorpo­rating AI into existing jobs, but it’s something companies need to reflect on. The best approach may be to create a digital factory where a different team tests and builds AI applications, with oversight from senior stakeholders.

The big challenge is finding strategists to contribute to the AI effort. You are asking people to get involved in an initiative that may make their jobs less important.

Joanna Pachner: Do you think this worry about job security and the potential that AI will automate strategy is realistic?

Yuval Atsmon: The question of whether AI will replace human judgment and put humanity out of its job is a big one that I would leave for other experts.

The pertinent question is shorter-term automation. Because of its complexity, strategy would be one of the later domains to be affected by automation, but we are seeing it in many other domains. However, the trend for more than two hundred years has been that automation creates new jobs, although ones requiring different skills. That doesn’t take away the fear some people have of a machine exposing their mistakes or doing their job better than they do it.

Joanna Pachner: We recently published an article about strategic courage in an age of volatility  that talked about three types of edge business leaders need to develop. One of them is an edge in insights. Do you think AI has a role to play in furnishing a proprietary insight edge?

Yuval Atsmon: One of the challenges most strategists face is the overwhelming complexity of the world we operate in—the number of unknowns, the information overload. At one level, it may seem that AI will provide another layer of complexity. In reality, it can be a sharp knife that cuts through some of the clutter. The question to ask is, Can AI simplify my life by giving me sharper, more timely insights more easily?

Joanna Pachner: You have been working in strategy for a long time. What sparked your interest in exploring this intersection of strategy and new technology?

Yuval Atsmon: I have always been intrigued by things at the boundaries of what seems possible. Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s second law is that to discover the limits of the possible, you have to venture a little past them into the impossible, and I find that particularly alluring in this arena.

AI in strategy is in very nascent stages but could be very consequential for companies and for the profession. For a top executive, strategic decisions are the biggest way to influence the business, other than maybe building the top team, and it is amazing how little technology is leveraged in that process today. It’s conceivable that competitive advantage will increasingly rest in having executives who know how to apply AI well. In some domains, like investment, that is already happening, and the difference in returns can be staggering. I find helping companies be part of that evolution very exciting.

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My Favorite Espresso Machine Is Only $110 Right Now

Make your own lattes without leaving the house with this Gevi espresso machine.

As a mom of a toddler, I need caffeine to get me through the day and I prefer it in the form of a latte. As a gift last year, I received this  Gevi espresso machine , which makes lattes that rival what I can get at my favorite coffee shop. And the best part is I don't have to get myself and my 1-year-old ready to leave the house. It's on sale for $110 right now.

How I use the Gevi espresso machine

The Gevi is easy to use once you get the hang of using it to craft your favorite drink. If you're an avid latte drinker, I recommend finding a homemade recipe for whatever sauce you like -- for instance, caramel or vanilla. I always add the caramel first, then brew the espresso over it so it blends well. Then I pour the steamed milk through the center. (You'll need a milk frothing pitcher -- I have this one .) It tastes exactly the same as when the coffee shop makes it, but I just make mine less sweet.

Pro tip: Don't forget to clean your steam wand after every single use. If you don't, expect to chisel away at dried up milk -- yeah, it's as gross as it sounds. Also, if your steam wand isn't working, insert the steam wand cleaning pin into the outlet to clear it out. 

Why I like having an espresso machine at home

Now that I have an espresso machine at home, instead of spending $35 each week on fancy coffee drinks, I buy a bag of ground espresso beans for $20 every few weeks. I do recommend buying a canister to keep your coffee grounds fresh -- this is the one I bought . Also, if you don't have espresso cups, these are a great option . 

I've now had the Gevi espresso machine for nearly a year now, and I'm still impressed with it. 

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Column: Michael Cohen is boring, and that’s trouble for Trump

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Happy Tuesday. There are 174 days left until the election, and in honor of Mother’s Day, we’ll start with Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, who seems intent on freaking people out, even in her own party.

Britt, you may recall, gained fame for her GOP rebuttal speech to President Biden’s State of the Union speech, in which she tried to go all caring-mom but came across so uncanny valley, even her own party trolled her for her weirdly timed smiles and creepy-earnest vibe.

She’s baaaack!

Last week Britt made another video to introduce her More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) act , which will never go anywhere. Not because of its anti-abortion hard line, or even its data collection on pregnant women. But because it would allow women to collect child support for their “unborn” children.

Fetus support payments.

To which her male congressional colleagues on both sides of the aisle mentally screamed, “Oh, hell no!”

Congratulations, Katie! You’ve created bipartisan agreement in a contentious reproductive rights issue.

But now back to the Donald Trump trial, which has me screaming, “Oh, hell no!” Will this never end?

The Don apparently kept his eyes closed for most of Michael Cohen’s testimony on Monday. I hate to break it to you, Donald, but he’s still there even if you can’t see him.

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The Wayback Machine

Everyone knows this trial is about whether the $130,000 payment made by Cohen to Stormy Daniels was election interference. But eight years after the fact, with so many Trump traumas rattling our brains, it’s hard to remember why we would have cared about one more terrible thing he did or said.

So let’s jump back: October 2016.

It’s one month before the election, Barack Obama is still president, and no one on the left really thinks Trump is going to win. Not that they shouldn’t believe it, just that they can’t.

Polls say Hillary Clinton is leading, ahead by double-digits among women . That’s a problem for Trump.

Then, on Oct. 7, the Washington Post publishes a bombshell audio recording of Trump and Billy Bush from a 2005 taping of the TV show “Access Hollywood.”

The tape is old but the mic is hot.

This is the now-infamous “Grab them by the pussy” recording in which Trump seemed to imply he could and did sexually assault any woman he wanted because he was famous and could get away with it, then pops a couple Tic Tacs.

It dropped two days before a debate with Clinton, where she went after him on stage for it. And according to Cohen’s testimony, it was a big deal in Trump world — he and his advisors, including Cohen, feared it would turn off more female voters.

Cohen testified that Trump thought , guys may “think it’s cool,” but feared, “women are going to hate me.”

“This is going to be a disaster for the campaign,” Cohen recalled Trump saying.

Trump was so worried about it that he did the unthinkable: apologize .

So when Stormy Daniels at the same time threatened to go public with her account of having sex with him just after Melania Trump gave birth to Barron, Trump really wanted to quash that story. At least until after the election.

In hindsight, we know that Trump voters literally do not care what the guy does. But back then, their cult-like loyalty was only forming and Daniels’ threat felt real.

Boring is good

This is the world Cohen took the jurors back to in somewhat uneventful testimony on Monday, staying calm and collected — a level of boring-ness that seemed effective and compelling.

Without a doubt, Cohen is both the most important and most troubled witness in the trial, because only he can provide the information necessary for a guilty verdict, but also, he’s a self-confirmed liar who went to prison and super-duper hates Trump, the way you can only hate someone you’ve loved.

But the entire conviction rests on whether Trump:

A) Told Cohen to make the payment (and paid him back) and; B) Wanted it made to keep those female voters from being grossed out by endless tales of his womanizing

That would be election interference.

Cohen walked the jury through both of those points. He testified that he did not, in fact, leverage $130,000 on his home equity line of credit to pay Daniels just because he felt like it. Instead, he told the court that he’d tried to get others in Trump’s orbit to foot the bill in a way that couldn’t be traced back to the big man, but everyone else slunk out of it.

So he was stuck paying himself.

The HELOC, Cohen said, was the fastest way he could get the money without his wife knowing. Because, presumably, Mrs. Cohen was not in the business of using a loan against their home to keep Trump out of trouble. Go figure.

Cohen also detailed conversations with Trump’s inner circle, including Hope Hicks, about how to spin the “Access Hollywood” tape.

Cohen said it was Melania Trump’s idea to label it “locker room talk.”

Trump has long claimed that he didn’t have sex with Daniels and didn’t tell Cohen to pay the bill to keep her quiet. But also, he says if it’s true he didn’t want the story out, it’s because he didn’t want to upset Melania — nothing to do with the election.

But here’s the takeaway: Cohen delivered.

Cohen sounded truthful. He had the receipts, literally. With every witness, it becomes harder for the jury not to take this walk with prosecutors.

The cross-exam will likely start Tuesday — we’ll see if he holds up.

Audience matters

But while the star witness was on the stand, the audience at the Trump trial is worth noting as well. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance showed up, then spent some time bashing the proceedings to press and on social media. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) was with him.

A few days ago, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) did his time in the gallery, then attacked the judge’s family out front.

With Trump under a gag order, he’s been using his closest allies — and vice presidential contenders — as surrogates.

Which sycophants are willing to trek to a Manhattan courtroom to score some points with their dear leader is worth keeping an eye on — like Cohen once was, these are the people who might do anything for him.

What else you should be reading

The must-read : Democrats hold leads in 4 crucial races that could decide Senate control The justice matters : Exclusion of Jewish jurors prompts review of California death row cases The L.A. Times Special : Supreme Court denies California’s plea for immunity for COVID-19 deaths at San Quentin

Stay Golden, Anita Chabria

P.S. The Northern Lights made it to California

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Anita Chabria is a California columnist for the Los Angeles Times, based in Sacramento. Before joining The Times, she worked for the Sacramento Bee as a member of its statewide investigative team and previously covered criminal justice and City Hall.

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