Final Project, Phase 4; Final Post

Project description: Our project guides people through the handwashing process. It uses measured delays to ensure that there is proper time between each step in the handwashing visual. An indicator, attached to a chain, moves across the top of the visual, stopping in the middle of each picture to guide people through the procedure. The chain is attached to lego gears, one of which is attached to a gear train with a ratio of 1:5. This gear train allows a servo motor’s 180 degree range of rotational movement to translate to linear movement.

            We chose this project because our target audience would benefit from handwashing correctly, but often does not remember steps or spend adequate amounts of time. Our project is also flexible in utility: the visual can be replaced and the code can be slightly changed to alter the lesson of the device.

Video:

In the video, we first see that the LED lights up when a reading of < 30 is detected. After 4.5 seconds, there is nothing there, so the program does not run. The second time, a reading of < 30 is detected, and 4.5s after another reading of < 30 is taken, cueing the process to begin.

Team handwash:

Presenting our project was very rewarding and it was amazing seeing what all of our classmates accomplished in their final projects as well!

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Reflections:

            We had initially wanted to create a “flowering tree” visual to accompany this task. However, I don’t believe that we could have accomplished so much with that type of visual: our project is more effective and appropriate for our target audience now, and we learned a great deal more about the design process while we turned our idealized initial idea into something tangible and developed.

Unlike our previous assignments, this project’s design process did not require one or two minor corrections. Instead, it called for multiple visits to the CSC, observation of our target audience, and multiple structural and electronic changes to our design. This project did not serve to simply function; it was designed with specific people in mind and with the purpose to educate.

Our design process included many discussions about the impact of our decisions on the efficacy of our product, but it also required us to figure out the best way to achieve our goal. We used a range of materials, mechanisms, and programs. We created a gear train and brainstormed about how to attach it to an indicator and whether a gear-chain system was the best approach. We asked about the best visual representation for our audience, received an answer, and changed our code to be consistent with our decision. We designed a box in solidworks, only to realize that it was not conducive to the way we wanted our visual to be mounted – and we had to fix that as well. We thought about the potential issues our project might face, and resolved the most salient one by installing a LED light and program.

In the beginning, we had ambitious and unrealistic ideas. The initial stages of our design process saw us realizing the complications in our ideas only when they were right in front of our faces. But as we became more comfortable with our project, more anticipatory, we were able to preclude some challenges and make more complex changes in an educated fashion. Although the design process demanded more complex changes, it helped our project address more goals and potential issues.

If we had more time, I would definitely have tried to improve a few things on the device and a couple of things about the design process.

For the device, I would have liked to increase the aesthetics. Although we were advised to keep visual distractions to a minimum, I believe that there could have been some subtle way of eliminating the starkness of the white Delrin box against the visual which would not detract from attention to the visual. I would also have liked to find a better way of encasing the sides than plastic wrap. If I could have found suitable glass or clear materials, the sides would be sturdier, more streamlined, waterproof and would allow for easier visual access by curious audience members.

For the design process, I really liked how we approached designing at the end of the process. We were more anticipatory at that time. At the same time, I’m glad that we had to learn to get to that point. If I could go back and change our decisions during design process, I would be more anticipatory. One issue I would have liked to realize sooner was how we would attach the visual to the box. We laser cut the box out first, and only after we put it together realized how we would want the visual to be in front of the gear train and touching the front face of the box bottom (we later moved the peg holes 2cm inward to resolve this). Thinking about the visual sooner would have helped us save materials and time. The other change I would have made would be thinking about how we would want to attach the box to the wall sooner. Although it is unlikely that the CSC would want to put nails in the bathroom wall, nails would be the sturdiest way for the box to hang on the wall. We thought about this after we had heatstaked the box together. We considered using the drill press to bore two holes in the back, but given that the pressure would most likely fracture the Delrin with support only at the edges of the piece, we decided against it. If we had more time, we could have reconstructed the box, but bored the two holes into the back before heatstaking.

I am very happy with our final product. I think it can really benefit the CSC and I liked how we were able to make it very user-friendly and mechanically accessible. It looks neat and I especially liked how we figured out how to use servo’s limited motion to move the indicator across the pictures very exactly.

I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in this than Xi Xi. It was great to get to know her by sharing ideas and talking about other things while working side-by-side in the lab. We definitely played to our strengths, and kept up good communications.

Thank you to Professor Banzaert, Larry, the CSC, and our classmates! You all helped us so much in very different ways. We both appreciate it J