BLOG #4 - February: A Journey of Creativity and Collaboration

Tech Department Updates - a Peek Behind the Scenes 🛠️

2/1/24 

Suhani was hard at work today configuring the Raspberry Pi for the 1st design group’s concept.

Here’s a glimpse of the day:

• We hooked up the Raspberry Pi to a monitor…well, sort of! The monitor was HDMI-deprived, so we had to get creative with a temporary TV setup
• Despite efforts, the Raspberry Pi seemed a bit camera-shy and didn’t show its desktop upon booting

2/3/24

Saturday's meeting was a goldmine of insights as Suhani met with Chris from Toyota to brainstorm over our design concepts!

Specifically, we wanted to determine if a scissor mechanism design or a hydraulic cylinder design is better to fulfill our design’s lifting capability.

From the discussion we…

• Received valuable feedback on both design options!
• Scissor mechanism design - pretty sturdy but might pose a pinching hazard with its multitude of links 
• Hydraulic cylinder design - a bit wobbly on its own, needing extra support
• After much deliberation, we’re exploring a new design avenue that promises stability and safety without the complexities of our previous options

Meeting #16 - Polishing Prototypes & Prepping for Presentation

2/4/24

Mid-Grant Technical Review Presentation prep mode: ACTIVATED! 💥 We dove headfirst into… 

• Finalizing the MGTR preparations
  • We merged department presentations and began the Finance Department presentation

Also, with valuable feedback from our mentor Chris from the meeting Suhani had yesterday, we…

• Discussed design feasibility based on the feedback
  • Focused on design specifics for stability
    • Researched existing designs for inspiration
    • Considered possible leg dimensions + number of legs
• Identified suitable parts for our design

To catch you up to speed, we decided to pursue the 1st design group’s design, while including some features from the 2nd design group.

Oh, and Suhani deserves a shoutout for reaching out to 30 restaurants for potential support --- fingers crossed for some bites!🤞

Suhani and Weiran building a prototype for the MGTR

Tech Department Updates (the Sequel)

2/7/24

Suhani shared our project with Joe Conners today! Today was all about narrowing down specifications to the design we are pursuing.

From the discussion with Joe, we’re leaning toward a design using an “A” frame due to its stability.

We will need to specify our device’s abilities and requirements for use.

SPARKing Success: Showcasing Innovation at the MGTR!

2/11/24

Mid-Grant Technical Review day finally arrived at SPARK! We had a blast presenting to guests who joined us both online and in person. Kudos to everyone who joined us, and a big thank you to SPARK for hosting us! 🎉

First, we presented our team operations, along with our progress and plans. Next, we held an intermission for networking and food! Following that, we split into two separate sessions (with a feedback session in between) to present on the other four departments:

Session 1

• Technical 🤖
  • Suhani talks about our design process & plans for future development
• Communications 🗣
  • Amy & Jennah present on current efforts & organization in this department

Session 2

• Sustainability 🌍
  • Amy shares on team efforts to make the design & its process eco-friendly
• Finance💲
  • Weiran & Jacob speak on fundraising & the budget (pictured below)

We’re extremely grateful for the avalanche of feedback from our guests! We received lots of input through both conversations and written feedback on the whiteboards provided with the presentation slides for each department.

We’ve also been connected to a major local media outlet that might be a great source to spread the word and get support! 📰 

Meeting #17 - Streamlining Solutions

2/26/24

The focus was on our most recent design concept and ironing out some technical wrinkles. Here’s what went down:

• Incorporated elements to ensure stability and portability into our latest design.
• Worked on the V-Model
  • Added user requirements
  • Edited system + architecture requirements
• Raised questions for our mentor Chris regarding increased portability, stability, and manufacturing
• Established max height and weight for product use based on research
• Got down to the nitty-gritty of seat dimensions for optimal comfort using biometric data

The team working on the V-Model and finalizing design aspects. Featured (from left) are Suhani, Dr. Vivek, and Weiran. Amy is off-camera, taking this picture.

Also, we will be presenting at Washtenaw Community College’s STEAM Week on the 28th! Suhani and Weiran are preparing the posters for this event. We’re super excited to share on our project and also see the projects others have made! 🚀