Q:  How did this project come to exist?

A:  I learn best through seeing.  Ironic as it is (given my visual impairment), but it is a true statement.  I needed a portable distance camera to see the board in my lecture classes, one that would be powered solely by a laptop.  The problems is that some classes do not have a good place to put such a device so that I can use it and it still be in an effective location.   Also, the product that I needed would cost me around $3l,000 (which is a substantial amount of cash for me).  Both of these concerns led me to derive the initial design of what is now The Micron in my head.  It would later be a semester project, then a multi-year research investment.

Q:  What gave you the original ideal to make the device robotic?

A:  I realized that I would need to make it remotely operated so that way it could be placed away from me and in a more useful location within the lecture hall.  I got my initial experience with Hobby Servo Motors (what allowedThe Micron to be used remotely) in this video:  http://revision3.com/systm/talk.  This video introduced me to the Microcontrooller, the brands Arduino and Parallaz, and gave me the fundemental idea of how simple robots work.

Q:  How did the name “The Micron” come about?

A:  Towards the end of the time in which I was doing this as a semester capstone project for ECE 101, I informally formulated the name “UVAT I” (Unnamed Vision Accessibility Tool 1).   I already knew that the hardware configuration had to be changed drastically in order for the device to be durable enough for students to carry around (The original design can be featured in this video [link?]).  When regrestratition for the 2012 EOH rolled around, I needed an actual name.  I compiled a list of words that are metaphoric to very small.  I originally settled with “nano”, but feared a lawsuit from Apple.  I then decided to stick with Micron, and the rest is history…