Decisions, Decisions, Decisions - February/March
In the month of February our team worked to finalize some major features of our invention’s casing and circuitry.
Sharon De La Cruz, an artist and our past team leader, and Olga Geletina, a recent graduate of Harvard School of Design, both showed our team how to design and print our own circuits. We used Eagle, Illustrator and our mini CNC machine. Through their workshops we understood how important the placement of our components will be, and we began to appreciate the balance we’d have to strike between design and functionality.
Additionally, we were led through two device tear-downs by Joe Gonzalez, an Industrial Designer at Tomorrow Lab. He walked us through some key design choices for an old Game Boy Color (I believe, I’m too young) and a Nook Simple. In order to get more perspective on our own invention’s casing, we were shown the differences between each device’s enclosure and why they mattered.
Lastly, our team was able to finish the color design and click-through functionality of our figma for the app that accompanies our invention.
All this was in preparation for March.
In the month of March our team presented the beta works-like and prototype looks-like version of our invention! We got to show what we learned to our community, friends, and some of our workshop leaders. The audience was quite excited about a product like ours going to market. This reassured us of the need and proved our research. The audience also provided crucial feedback about the wearability of our product in different real-world scenarios. We also received resources for materials and hardware components needed for the future works/looks-like versions of our invention.
Now, the circuits team is focused on getting some new hardware components (video recording camera, and better microphone). After, they will move on to the placement of each component in respect to the traces on the custom circuit board we will be creating. Our enclosure team is focused on making our device more compact and real-world functional, researching materials and closely reviewing the feedback we received. Finally, the software team is waiting to incorporate any necessary changes that may come once the circuit and enclosure team finalize their additions and updates.
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The progression of the COVID-19 virus has hit our communities hard. New York City is at a kind of stand still
Our team here in the Bronx would like to say that there is always sun, hope, and light! We hope you all are well, and we are proud of all the hard work everyone has put in!
Peace and Love <3
