Capstone Project Update #1, 2

evidence of work

For this year-long project, Conor, Sahasra, Sola, and I are creating the ElectraSleeve: an ankle sleeve that compresses electronically to fit anyone's compression needs. We are now in the prototyping phase and we were given $210 to work with from the STEM Board. We have been researching the market and possible customers, sketching possible designs, and creating demand and wish lists for our product.

decision matrix

We used a decision matrix with weighting and value to further determine which type of product we should use. This has further shown that we will be choosing the lace function.

demand and wishlist

demand and wish list

Using our feedback from the customer surveys, we have more knowledge of the market and what customers are looking for.

classification scheme selection and report

classification report

We created three different designs using wires, laces, and conductive material. From there, we sketched how each of the parts would function and ended up choosing the laces column because of the comfort and accessibility level.

progress #2

progress report #2

This details all of the work we have been doing on our prototype and what our next steps are.

Market Research Report Presentation

market research report

We gave this presentation to our class on the market we're working in and our mentor feedback.

content

customer survey -

questions sent out to the public that help us determine what features are wanted
helps us think about a price range, what aspects are more important than others, and what kind of customer we need to market to

prototype -

the preliminary model of something, that all other models are worked off of
we are currently working on a prototype, but we need to figure out our entire electrical system first since that is the base

demand and wish list -

a list of things divided between what is necessary for our product and what we would like to include
based on categories including performance, geometry, materials, and cost

reflection

So far, working on our Capstone Project has been very hard and frustrating. It feels like every time we think we can start working on it, we need to buy another piece and then we get set back even more. Also, we feel like we have no idea what we're doing. We understand it conceptually, but we don't know how to actually build it, and we've struggled in the mentor department.

Something I've excelled in during this project is critical thinking. My group and I have thought really hard about the steps of getting a stepper motor to work and how to program the code to get it to turn in the way we want. Also, we have continued to collaborate well. Even when we're going through a hard time together, we work together well and motivate each other to do what we can.

However, we could work on time management. Since we don't know exactly what to work on, it's very hard to feel productive or stay on track with our project. We also need to work on our communication with our mentors. We feel bad reaching out to them so much because we don't want to bother them, but we really do need their help, and I think we will be utilizing them more in the future.

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