Want a real-life example of space science impacting your everyday life? You can thank the Mars rover program for Engineer Matt Walliser’s much improved coffee brewer. Matt was a summer intern at NASA’s Ames Research Center during high school and college, working on the a class of control systems called PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controllers.
These controllers work by continually monitoring and correcting the output of the system through feedback loops. PID controllers allow the rover to move along varying terrains at constant speeds by continually adjusting to the changing environment.
What does this have to do with your cup of joe? Baristas have long known that the proper temperature is critical for the perfect cup of coffee, typical coffee machines will control temperature within 5-10 degrees, but even the average coffee drinker can tell the difference between coffees brewed within 2-3 degrees.
Matt’s Blossom One Brewer keeps the water temperature within 1 degree, and more importantly controls the temperature within the coffee grounds in a much tighter range, and automatically adjusts for altitude, barometric pressure and ambient temperature!
I love that Matt credits the freedom interns have while working in the NASA labs for the innovations he’s developed.
He says, “Being able to do engineering in a self-directed manner isn’t an experience you usually get in high school, or even college. Having that kind of real-world experience really allowed me to excel in school and build the skills I have today.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m off to have a cup of coffee.
