In order to properly fulfill the design criteria listed on the Suction Cup Rubric, Predictions must be made based on calculations made from equations such as the formula for suction force and Newton's Second Law of Motion. These principles are especially important, considering we are testing our prototype on Earth. However, the force of gravity is negligible in the context of the International Space Station.

Through data collected by Katsunori Anezaki and Takeshi Nakano, we found that there is an excessive amount of a chemical known as perfluotonic acid on the ISS which compromises the health of astronauts. This chemical is found from the dust that accumulates on the station. Although the simple solution would be to clean the station more often, the neutral bouyancy of the environment means traditional cleaning methods involving water cannot be applied in cleaning the station. As a result, the design must involve a device that can attach to walls in a neutrally buoyant environment while cleaning. Fortunately, animals such as an octopus can attach to object underwater, an environment which also has neutral buoyancy. Using the basic anatomy of an octopus was used in the design of the kwadropus solution.

Through market research conducted by surveys, the kwadropus team found that the respondents, who are mainly high school and undergraduate students, believe that the sanition of the ISS is important. Additionally, they believe that cleaning on the ISS should be autonomous. Based on the answers given by the survey respondents, many people believe that astronauts do not have the time to throroughly and manually clean the ISS, which is why about 70% of the respondents believed autonomus cleaning is beneficial.

A plethora of patents involving various suction cup systems were examined in the initial planning of the design. Some involved memory metal in attaching or dettaching the suction cup from a surface. Others involved pneumatic pressure to control the suction cup. Much less often, some patents would use a mechanical pump control the cup. For the kwadropus design, we used the pneumatic pressure patents as the main basis for operating the suction cups because of its autonomy and ease of implementation.

Design Specifications and parameters are important measures to understand the limits and conditions in which the product should function. To determine the specifications for our solution, the Suction Cup Team referred to the Suction Cup Rubric on the NASA HUNCH website. The team found that the most important criterion is the solution's ability to attach to smooth and rounded surfaces in the microgravity conditions of the ISS.

Our classmates supported our design. They understood how the solenoids would be used in conjunction with the vacuum pump to autonomously by breaking the seal formed by sealing lip of the suction cup. However, Mr. Gerstner stated that we shoukld focus our efforts on the vacuum pump. He suggested changing the motor to better suit the power needed to create a strong enough vacuum.

Through our academic research along with our market research through surveys, we have concluded that an autonomous cleaning solution is needed on the ISS. Through the study of many different patents involving different suction cup systems, we have concluded that the pump/solenoid design would be optimal for our proposed solution.