Beamers

The tour of BMW was a fantastic look at the modern assembly line. I was really surprised by the level of technology that was involved with the line. The robots on the line were really impressive. The versatility of the robots, which had six joints, made them able to move in nearly every possible way. The robots could also open the hood, trunk, and doors. This made me a bit worried thinking about robots with intelligence. Our tour guide told us that men could not do the accurate welding that the robots could do and that helped increase the speed of the line with less flaws to the vehicle. It was really fascinating to see the robots in action. In contrast, near the end of the line it was all people doing the final work like installing the interior. This kind of surprised me, hut then I realized that the end of the line work was more intricate with the individual accessories needed in each specific car. Overall, I was really impressed with the tour of the plant.

Munich Planetarium

Although the weather wasn't ideal, our trip to the Munich Planetarium was really fun! We started off by going into a projector room with a rather entertaining tour guide. Not only did we learn more about the stars and planets, but we got to listen to Pink Floyd too. The guys who run the planetarium are some quirky people, but you can tell they are very passionate about what they do. Seeing their enthusiasm made me more interested in what they had to say.

I really liked getting to see the telescopes, even if we didn't get to actually use them. I thought it was funny that the "newer the telescope, the smaller the building". The newest telescope was really interesting, because it doesn't look like a traditional one. Our guide for that part of the tour was pretty awesome as well. Not only did he like to sing, but he held an obscure World Record! Overall, a cool experience. 

Planetarium in Munich

On Monday night we went to a little observatory. It was really neat to see an observatory that was run by a small group of astronomers as a club. For being a club I was surprised at just how much they had at their place but I think the coolest thing was their planetarium.

The first thing we did at the observatory was go to this planetarium where one of the club members took us on a tour of the night sky. He was very knowledgeable in the way that he turned the lights down a little to let us adjust and then turned off all the lights to bring out the stars perfectly. The entire experience was astounding and I'm glad that we were able to be in that room for so long touring the night sky from all over the world.

Max Planck Institute for Physics

The Max Planck Institute for Physics was probably one of the most academic based tours we had on our trip. It was very interesting to learn about the complex experiments that they are conducting, even if it went above my head quite a few times. It was fascinating to learn how their experiments may have large impacts on the way we thing about particles.

What I found difficult to wrap my head around was the precision needed to conduct their experiments. I think that it is crazy that they can create a setting where particles will collide at an exact location. I didn't realize that that kind of planning and precision was possible. I also found it very interesting to hear about all the thought put in to setting up an experiment, that the researchers have to compromise the ideal settings for their experiments to make it possible to create the settings. Overall, I thought this tour was a very interesting look into the true workings of physics research.

Max-Planck-Institute for Physics

On our last day in Munich, we visited the Max Planck Institute for Physics. Upon arriving, we sat through an hour long, essentially physics lecture, on the history of the institute and the projects that were being worked on. The whole time I was nerding out about particle physics! We got to see a model of the ATLAS experiment and learn about all the sensors that made it up. One example was the silicon semiconductor tracker which measures the trajectories of charged particles and finds their momentum. After the tour, I chatted with the guide to possibly get a tour of CERN while I'm on my trip...how awesome!!! Hopefully that all falls into place. Overall, it was really cool to see the things that I've learned about in my classes coming to life! It was especially cool to see the scientist's labs were as messy as our labs on campus!

To Be, or Not to Be a "Beamer"

The BMW factory tour was by far one of the coolest experiences on this trip from a technology standpoint, as it showcased what a modern (as well as prestigious) company is capable of in terms of manufacturing. From their incorporation of nearly 900 multipurpose robot arms to using electrostatically-charged emu feathers to clean the car exterior before each coat of paint, there are many ways how this company sets itself apart from the rest.
We received a walking tour of parts of the two mile long factory line, and saw procceses like the chassis being assembled, body being painted, components getting assembled onto the vehicle, and even the final product driving off the line into the rail car for transport.
Another cool aspect of the company in their painting section is that they do not use air pressure to paint the exterior of the vehicle body. Instead, the paint is simply flung out of a rotary nozzle, and implemented with a positive charge, making the paint cling towards the body (which was previously negatively charged)  and apply extremely even and smooth.
Overall, the BMW facility lived up to the hype, and I definitely see why they are coined with the motto, "The Ultimate Driving Machine".

BMW Plant Tour

The BMW plant tour was everything I hoped for and more. It was amazing to see what makes BMW vehicles so outstanding. From the materials they use to all the technology they are using to make these vehicles. It was really cool to actually see the reinforced steel on the side of the care before it was all covered up with other metal and trim. It was interesting that they do not make one model at a time. Instead, they are all mixed up for painting and timing purposes. For instance, it will take longer to make a car that has more accessories than a base model so they put those two close together to average the time.

The showroom was really cool too. It was cool to see all the different cars they make. I had no idea BMW made Rolls Royce. I am a huge fan of BMW's M series and they had almost every one of those on the floor except the M3 which is one of my dream cars. In all, the BMW tour was awesome and now I understand what makes BMW's the "ultimate driving machine." Plus it was really cool that we had class between the BMW factory and the Olympic stadium.