Nightclub Watch

March 3, 2022

To practice cognitive flexibility and collaboration, the class had a group project to complete with their teams. We had a class to come up with the idea and built it in a week.

Mission: Come up with an interactive device that takes in input and gives out an output through an external device. During the class time, we only had like 5 minutes to think of ideas, and I impulsively had suggested something to deal with Bad Bunny. He is a singer that my sister was going to his concert soon, so it was in my head the visuals of a concert. A dark arena with lots of music. Kind of like a nightclub... wouldn't it be nice to have an accessory that could react to the brightness of lights or music inside a nightclub?

Our group went ahead with the idea and at first we had wanted to create a "nightclub belt" which would light up with pretty lights if the lights were off, and have useful specifications about it. It could have been a device that could alert someone else if there is some sort of danger, give cues to leave, or just help visualize a certain positive or negative stimulus.

However, since we were very low on time, we could only do so much.

We met on Tuesday night over a zoom call which took a lot of coordination to make happen and cognitive flexibility. WE talked about the capabilities and materials we have to create a solid project. The belt wasn't something that could be possible since we didn't have a spare belt to use. "What about a watch, and someone could wear the circuit board in their wrist which is easier to show around. Then, coming in agreement to meet in Fimble the next day and built the device was set. My job was to code the algorithm since I had idea of what we wanted it to do and how.

Right after ending the call, I got started with the code.

I had wanted the board to react to low levels of light, and whenever that happened, for the neopixels to light up with a random color on each. Our class had worked on homework dealing with making all the neopixels light up all red when the lights went off. So there was a backbone os sample code to work with, which was the idea behind the design process. After a little trial and error with the syntax, I was able to get the results I wanted. My code needed a new variable, use random and values of RGB, to get all the pretty colors of the rainbows.

It was 2 am when my code was completed without bugs and compiled into my circuit board. In the darkness of my room, it was the most beautiful thing to see as a success.

The next day at 9pm, our group met in the Fimble Lab to complete the project.

Since we needed to create a watch, we needed something sturdy to hold on the circuit board (a wrist band), a battery, and things to hold connect the wrist ban together as well as the board. Coming to the lab, we already had an idea of what we needed and wanted since we wanted to decorate the band a bit. This took some discussion because it didn't seem like everyone was in the same place with the plan. So we took some time to discuss the needs of the project and wants of the team. So while two of us were hunting down the materials for the wrist ban, one of us was using wires to create braids with wires to connect to the board and hopefully make it stiffer and add sense of stability to the board when it gets put on the wrist band.

In Fimble, we found some nice think velcro strips, in which we cut only the fuzzy and soft side to a size that would fit around one of our member's wrist. Since this project is a demo we were mostly focused on the basic layouts and design.

After we had the velcro to a good size, the board being braided, and the board already uploaded with the code, we had a little panic since the lab was about to close. The time pressure made us not come up with the best of solutions as first, however this is all part of the self-regulation process.

We found some clip buttons we were thinking would be nice to use to make the watch wearbale and resuasable. However, we would need to sew them in. That was our plan at the start, but the sewing was taking a little to long as I tried to use a thin needle on the thick material. After stopping for a second and evaluated the situation, we reflected that we might need a faster and more efficient solution.

"Omg the velcro stickers," I put my head on the table in shame that it took me so long to come up with that idea even when holding on to velcro already. Here was where cognitive flexibility came again to make itself known as a great tool to use. Letting go of the original plan of the buttons to use velcro that would save us lots of time and effort.

"On it!" Maya said and went to get them. Rossi was finishing the wires, and I went to get the battery ready.

Once the board was ready with already its own velcro sticker at the bottom from a previous project, we only need to use two circles. One fuzzy size on top of the wrist band to connect the board, and the prickly size that could connect to the fizzy part of the wrist band itself! Maya figured that out because I was even adding a sticker to the fuzz and being like "???"

Putting everything together and Boom! Nightclub Watch that doest tell time but indicates if you are in a Nightclub with its pretty lights.

The circuit board: Yes, you are in the dark. Therefore, it is my time to shine!

In the 20 years of being alive in a difficult society and growing up in a large family, there are two things that are needed every day and in whatever it is one does.

1. Respect

2. Compromise

How does (not) having multiple perspectives impact your problem-solving?

Having multiple perspectives is always enriching and can help in varies of ways as I've explained in previous reflections. There are ideas that I couldn't have come up with or quicker conclusions that someone else can come up with on the spot and can help in solving a task. Everyone has different strengths and embracing this can create a stronger community or team. Like in this specific group project, there were times were I could contribute and times I couldn't. Making space for others to add and evolve plans is what create this sort of magic of intention. In the end, better results than one could have imagined can come out of a situation where multiple perspective are collaborating. It's important to know when to step back, encourage others to step in, or step forward to help, or be brave enough to share your thoughts. 20 years of experience has taught me the beauty in collaboration. IDesign taught me the strength and worth of cognitive flexibility that can happen in such environment.

The question also brings up the point of the contrast of having multiple or no different perspectives. There are a lot of cons to not having more than one brain to think things through, however coming back to the second thing I've learned: compromise.

Sometimes, compromise can be limiting and frustrating when you first start learning this.

Compromise a daily experience back at home, so I'm used to it. However, learned to having a healthy level of compromise is the harder thing to learn.

In a group project, it might mean not being to see your vision fully come to life because everyone has a different one. This calls for coming together and building one that can fulfill all ideas and maybe having to leave parts of everyone's out. This can impact my problem-solving by trying to satisfy others while putting the effort of satisfying part of my own.

In the past, I used to be very silent and just going with the flow in group projects. "Yeah, that's fine," "We can go with your idea."

This would more avoidant approach which I needed in the past, however taking a small step forward to say, "Well, how about this," and working to compromise is a more complex level of problem-solving in my opinion.

Can you think of a time when you were committed to a plan, but could have been more effective by pivoting to a new plan? what would you tell your former self?

"For someone calls themselves really impulsive, you sure are stubborn," is something I would go tell myself back in November 2020 - April 2021. It took me that much time to let go of a plan I had to create project with a group of friend that was affecting negatively in basically all aspects of life. It wasn't a bad project, it was fun most of the time and cute since we were writing a book. However, from the start I knew it would be a really bad idea to do it and continue doing so. I sacrificed so much sleep, so much time thinking about plots, small details, and trying to please other people that I left myself forgotten. I knew what I was doing that was the worst of things. My excuse back then was to distract myself with the project instead of other things.

I was so committed to the plan, I wrote about ninety thousand words in a few months, and planed to write hundreds of thousands more for a novel that was killing me mentality. I had only myself to blame honestly.

Which is why, it took me some time, but I eventually got to the point where I said enough, and stopped my participation.

I had my own stories I wanted to write and tell, and I had my own future to improve. Sadly, it took my mother falling really ill to get me to realize and stop and thing.

When it comes to me, I unfortunately don't really think about the lengths of damage it might from me. My family always comes first, and I had to think about them more than running away from the effects the pandemic had on me.

I got out my computer science notes the next day, watched lectures, and started studying math for the semester to come.

If I had paused earlier, I probably would have stayed the same place I had been before working on the project. Which was not a good place. Sadly, I recognize I needed that tiny spark to create a fun story with my friends, to get me to start doing the thing I love but didn't think I was capable of. Even during the difficult experience of working on the project, I got to develop my writing skills, got constant feedback, and realized maybe I shouldn't let my insecurities stop me.

Maybe, I should have pivoted shortly right after the projected stopped serving me and instead was damaging. It hard to break promises and commitments, but it taught me that if its for the best of me, I should do it.

I learned so, so much during that experience and gained a lot of fond memories. Now, to this day I have my own book finished and ready to get started on the publishing process. That tiny spark helped me get up from a place of having already succumbed. In the dark, anyone tries to find even the smallest amount of light.

All everyone has to do, is do the next right thing.

Once the place is bright enough, maybe the next right thing is to pause and not be afraid to follow a new light leading to a different path.

To my former self, "You did the best you could. Next time you'll have more courage and be more aware. Don't ignore the stubborn side of you and don't let it win."