Committee Updates - March Progress
What a crazy month! From Mid-Grant Technical Review, to meeting with firefighters, our whole team has been working tirelessly this whole month! We are so proud of all the amazing progress that has been made!
Programming App:
With everything they’ve learned from the Mid-Grant Technical Review, Programming App made amazing progress in March! After working for more than a month to connect Hydra and the app, they have successfully allowed the app to send messages to the physical Hydra! Both Programming App and Programming Motion worked so hard to connect the app and Hydra, and we are so proud of their success. Programming App also worked on the interface of the app, making the questionnaire page that appears when the app is first downloaded, and the maintenance page. They hope to use spring break as a time to research and recharge, so they can come into April ready to finish the questionnaire page and the home page, along with making the app functional.
Programming Motion:
After a successful Mid-Grant Technical Review, Programming Motion continued to test and troubleshoot code, specifically their stepper motor code and object tracking code. They have been doing this through raspberry pis that were shipped to members of the committee. Since not all members have a raspberry pi, Programming Motion is working on a way to connect raspberry pis to their computers so that everyone can see the screen. Also, Programming Motion worked on successfully connecting Hydra with the app with the Programming App committee. In the future, Programming Motion hopes to continue to troubleshoot, fix errors, and perfect stepper motor code, object tracking code, and other incomplete codes as well as find a way to more efficiently collaborate with raspberry pis.
Communications:
In March, Communications focused heavily on outreach. They reached out to news outlets and firefighters, hoping to set up meetings in order to receive coverage and feedback on Hydra. We were lucky to have the chance to meet with firefighter David Salhus to get important feedback and insight about our project and suggestions for improvements. Speaking of feedback, Communications received feedback given to us by our Mid-Grant Technical Review audience and passed it to committee leaders to read over and apply. Finally, Communications worked on our business card, and kept our social medias up to date! In April, Communications hopes to meet with more firefighters to get feedback on Hydra, and reach out to more news outlets to get Hydra’s story out to the community!
Engineering:
Following the Mid-Grant Technical Review, the Engineering committee has been hard at work researching the final parts we need in order to start prototyping. They looked into flow sensors, water pressure monitors, and an emergency, internal battery. Along with this, after receiving valuable feedback from firefighter David Salhus on possible areas of improvement for the device, they started refining, designing, and considering spaces for improvement. Among these changes are possibly adding an additional nozzle to guarantee no embers make their way into vents, as well as having more water flow into the device initially to improve water pressure. In the upcoming months, Engineering hopes to begin prototyping and partnering with Programming Motion to get the device up and running, so they can begin testing on actual flames.
CAD:
During March, CAD worked closely with engineering on the plumbing of Hydra, and we are so excited to say they finished the water/plumbing system design on fusion. CAD also began to sketch the 3D rotating frame that will hold Hydra’s nozzle and the bottom base that will hold the plumbing system. They are nearing completion with the 3D rotating frame, and hope that they can finish the fusion sketch of it very soon. They also are learning more about fusion 360 as they head into different parts of the 3D, such as the base of Hydra. Next month, CAD wants to work on the outer shell of Hydra by creating and making a 3D design shell that will eventually be constructed in fire-proof materials for the panels of the device’s exterior shell. CAD also hopes to have more meetings with committees such as Engineering and Programming Motion to create the water nozzle!
Budget and Purchasing:
Although they have made a lot of purchases in past months, budgeting in purchasing didn’t make any purchases this month. However, they have continued to check in with groups about future purchases, such as helping Engineering look for water sensors and pressure transducer sender sensors. Both the water sensor and the pressure transducer sender sensor will be purchased in early April. So, Budgeting and Purchasing hopes to order the sensors for Engineering and continue to check in with all committees in the next months!
Following the MId-Grant Technical Review, all the committees have been working tirelessly to implement the feedback given to us, as well as continuing to make progress on the construction of our device. We can't wait to see and share our progress in April!
