February Update
The first half of February was quite the whirlwind for Mira Loma’s Inventeam. It has been three weeks straight of working, testing, planning, and practicing, and we’re more excited than ever to present our design at our Mid-Grant Technical Review at the end of the month.
First Prototype:
We have officially completed the first iteration of the Coolar!
The hardware and software teams worked in tandem to put the final details on the device on February 2nd, and by the end of our team meeting, we had a fully functioning prototype to test!
Testing period
Thus began a series of tests. We used a model dog and heating pad to test the device rather than a real dog just yet. Almost immediately, the hardware team detected an issue with the sensor’s inconsistency in communicating data. They considered issues including the solder not being secure enough, the wire being compromised, or a software problem.
After working through a myriad of potential solutions, they ultimately discovered the problem and were able to resolve the issue.
Presentation to Mr. Westlake
Simultaneous to testing the prototype, we were also planning out our presentation for the Mid-Grant Technical Review at the end of this month.
On February 9th, we ran through a “rehearsal” of our presentation and listened eagerly to his feedback. The way we initially had laid our event out consisted of a lot of technical talks, and Mr. Westlake suggested that we provide more context into our issue and why we chose our specific invention as a feasible and effective solution before diving headfirst into the technicalities and details of the design.
He also provided smaller feedback about the presentation and what we need to add that we swiftly incorporated into an updated script.
Since then, the team has continued to practice both within smaller groups and in larger groups. We have a final run-through scheduled for Monday, February 27th which should mirror the actual event as closely as possible.
End of February Goals
The main priority now is ensuring everything is taken care of for our Mid-Grant Technical Review event. We’ve been coordinating with administration, promoting the event with posters and brochures, and social media, and sending emails to local news organizations to highlight our accomplishments. KCRA is already confirmed to be present at the event on Tuesday, and our team is very excited by this opportunity. In addition, we are more than grateful to have Congressman Dr. Ami Bera, representative of the 6th district of California, and several Lemelson-MIT representatives, including Dr. Stephanie Couch, Ms. Leigh Estabrooks, and Mr. Mark Westlake, in attendance!
As the day of February 28th draws near, our excitement grows for the moment that we’ll be able to share our invention with our guests and go PUBLIC. We’ve kept our project a secret for the past few months, but now we get to scream it from the rooftops.
As always, for more updates, follow us on our social media accounts @mlhsinventeam and for inquiries, email us at mlhsbioengineering@gmail.com.
