Category: Week11

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Week 11 – Update the project

This week, we looked back at all the process we have made throughout the semester and planned how to move forward.

The class on Wednesday was mainly broken down into two components. The first component was updating with the Milestones Lab. All the teams reported their progress to the Milestones Lab in team order, and Milestones provided feedback on the updates and the overall design. For groups that were not presenting at the moment, they brainstormed on the material list and resources needed for the upcoming Makeathon event.

The session with Milestones was truly insightful, and we have received much useful feedback. For instance, although we had decided the functions we wanted our design to include, we were considering too many actions that we would like our product to accomplish, and it made it hard to come up with the solution. We had some preliminary sketches, but we were not sure how to make it work physically. However, Milestones provided us with a different perspective; Milestones suggested to us that we didn’t need to consider all the actions users would involve in when they ate with the design at this point. Rather, we could focus on two main actions first and dive deep with the mechanism of the actions. This way, we could simplify our design and enable the product to accomplish the two activities perfectly before we moved forward with other functions and actions. In addition, we could take modularity into consideration. This could accommodate different utensils and shapes of hands. At the same time, it’s possible that we could add more functions and actions easier if the design includes modularity. Another idea that we didn’t consider was not to restrict the model to gloves. Previously, we used the word gloves to communicate the purpose of our product easier. As time went by, we focused on the concept of gloves and didn’t take other forms into consideration. Milestones suggested us to break the restriction and think broader. They also provided us with some pictures of existing pictures. Those helped us brainstormed better.

For the material and resources list, we came up with a preliminary list that we are going to order. It was hard for us to come up with the list because we haven’t finished stretching. We were discussing how to realize our ideas physically during the class and had some potential ways that we would explore later. However, we still need more time to finalize the actual design.

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Final Preparations

There is only one week left until all of our work is put to the test at Make-a-Thon. So this is an especially important week as there were many parts of the project that needed to be finalized and prepared so we can be ready for the main event coming next weekend.

In class this week we were once blessed again with a guest speaker, Valerie, to share with us another entrepreneur opportunity program on campus. The difference of the program is that it is a 10-week commitment during summer with the requirement of members being current students on campus here at the University of Illinois. The participants then will receive $10,000 funding for their project.

Later in the course, we again met with Milestone Labs to give them an update on our project. We explained how we are trying to implement a mechanism similar to the one found on a pangolin toy or a wooden snake to provide more ankle/foot movement. Milestone Lab suggested that we should make more prototypes so that we can test functionality.

Finally we met with a CAD expert, William, at MakerLab on Friday to work on our Fusion360 Model. William provided more sketches that more closely mimics the movement of a foot and we are looking to make it into a functional prototype.

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Week 11 Pre-Make-a-thon

This week in preparation for the make-a-thon in class we planned out what materials we would need and what we wanted to prototype. Our group decided that we would work on creating a way for the cover on the hand ring to be more easily replaced. This is turn would allow the team to experiment with materials.

Our idea is to use snap enclosures to experiment with different materials on the hand ring to identify which can help improve an athletes’ grip in bad weather conditions. In order to attach the snap enclosures, we found one with screws and we plan to drill into the aluminum ring. This is the part we are most unsure of for our plan and if anyone has any advice or can help please let us know!

In terms of materials, we are starting by using a latex free TPE which is the material in yoga mats. We decided it would be easiest to order a thin yoga mat to experiment with during the make-a-thon. Yoga mat’s are slip resistant so we are interested to see how this works. We also are ordering a bath mat for a more durable water resistant material.

Finally, Elisa and I were able to meet with Dr. Goodman, our old material science professor to get advice for our project. Dr. Goodman gave us a ton of great ideas that we can look into especially for our project in the long term. One of the things I found most interesting was a spray paint for truck beds to protect them from getting wet or ruined. Dr. Goodman suggested seeing if we could buy this spray paint and use it on the ring! It could create a coating in seconds! This is definetly something we want to look into and tell Arielle and Adam about

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Preparing for the Make-a-thon

I was unable to attend class this week due to sickness, but I have been working with my team, Evinco , to ensure that we are able to create a proper prototype once the Make-a-thon comes. This week, my team had the pleasure to meet with an old materials science professor of mine, Matthew Goodman. He taught my introduction to MSE course, in which I learned about the properties of a variety of materials. That being said, some of my former classmates and I thought speaking with him about our projects and potential materials we could use to create the best functioning prototype for our client.

When discussing our project with Professor Goodman, he had a multitude of ideas that we had yet to come upon throughout our research. The options he mentioned were very helpful, but he told us to focus on materials’ properties. Professor Goodman stated that we should look for a material with a high coefficient of friction when wet, to ensure that the material would withstand the rain throughout a race. An example of some coefficients of frictions are portrayed in the table below.

Professor Goodman said utilizing the same material on the glove and the handrail could be helpful because when the materials press up against one another, they “want” to stick to material that is the same as itself. He recommended running short tests on the subjects when both dry and wet to help us get an idea of materials that may be better in multiple conditions. It was suggested that we do research on certain objects that are utilized for their stickiness or water resistance so we can potentially reuse this material on our handrail. A few objects mentioned were goalie gloves, bath mats (which we had previously researched), RainEx for windshields and undercoating which is used for lining steel. Although they currently are utilized for completely different reasons, we believe that they could be tested to help benefit the racers. Hopefully we will be able to test out these ideas before the Make-a-thon so we can come prepared with our idea and prototype.

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Week 11!

This week was the final stretch before the week of the Make-a-thon. Class began with Professor Vishal clearing up everything regarding the Make-a-thon. The expectation and resources available during this event were explained. Once Vishal finished up we were given a presentation from social innovation representative Valerie. Valerie introduced to the class an opportunity to continue furthering their innovative ventures, while receiving non dilutive funding. This opportunity is provided by a program called the iVenture Accelerator. Which is a startup incubator. It’s a 10 week summer commitment and a full academic year seminar course. Participants receive $10,000 of funding and stipends throughout the summer. They not only provide this funding but have a pool of resources ranging from experts to additional funding opportunities. I am actually apart of the iVenture Accelerator. They really dive deep and help further your idea. They’ve introduced us to so many useful/helpful people. It’s really like a family. They bring you along and you become apart of this amazing ecosystem.

After Valerie’s presentation we met with Milestone Labs to give them an update of our progress to date. My team and I are team Solstice (team 1) so we went first. The folks at Milestone gave some good feedback and advice. They were delighted with our interviews and direction we’re going in. One thing we didn’t do was provide as much of our product as possible. We still have to do more sketches and ideation around a few key details regarding our product. From this meeting my team and I reconviented to brainstorm, reflect, and conduct a list of materials we need for the actual Make-a-thon. As a team we found this material called hydrophilic rubber, which is usually used in winter tires. We have a meeting with a material science professor to give us even more insight on materials and such. Also I have a professor who is a shoe cobbler on hi own time and he pointed us to a few materials as well. None the less we’re super excited for this event and our more refined product prototype!

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One Week Until Makeathon

The Makeathon starts 5 days from today! All teams are working diligently to finalize their ideas and prepare for next weekend. Each team met with Milestone Labs for about 10 to 15 minutes to discuss the progress of our projects. After speaking with them, my team realized we needed to do more research on the type of materials we would like to use for our tread. We also need to focus on the user experience and talk with Jenna and other users to understand each part of the experience.

After our meeting with Milestone Labs, the class broke out into our teams for another brainstorming session. We were tasked with creating a list of materials that we would need/want for the Makeathon. Each team was given the budget of $150 dollars of materials that would be ordered for the Makeathon, and we will also have the materials and tools at the Fab Lab, the MakerLab, the Architecture building, and School of Art and Design available for use during the Makeathon.

During this thought session, my team decided to alter the design of our tread. Instead of doing our original idea of metal cleats on the bottom of the tread, we want to design the tread so that its pattern and material help prevent slipping on icy terrains. Thus, the focus will now be on the shape, placement, and pattern of the tread in addition to the best material to utilize

We also had a guest speaker during class this week. Valerie, a representative from Social Innovation, shared with us the opportunity to continue our work from the Makeathon. She explained how iVenture, an accelerator for top student startups at the University of Illinois, will support us to continue working on our projects. This is a fantastic opportunity for underclassmen in the course who are entrepreneurial or would like experience with a startup.

I cannot describe how incredible this opportunity is. I have never seen so many students, colleges, organizations, and resources from all parts of campus come together like this. I am grateful to be a part of the first Makeathon of this kind, and I look forward to seeing how it transforms in the future.

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Prototype Development

As the date of the Make-a-thon approaches, my team and I are trying to narrow down on our options for the prototype. With selecting one or two prototypes to continue as our objective of the week, we shared our ideas to Milestone Labs to receive their feedback. From the bridge-style and an armadillo-style to a molding idea, we had a wide range of ideas for the cover of the joystick for a power wheelchair. Although we liked the idea of providing a molding kit to the user so that the cover can be customized for the specific wheelchair along with the possibility of adding grooves for the grips or using different colors, we realized that this method is most likely out of our reach to achieve for the make-a-thon event. Therefore, we decided to continue with the prototypes that we can make further progress with.

During the discussion with Milestone Labs, we shared our findings on the market research and how the current joystick protectors on the market are ugly as seen below.

However, when we came up with other ideas with better designs, we discovered the challenge of making the product fit with different types of chairs in order to increase the user base. When we shared this problem with Milestone Labs, they told us to focus on our direct user, Ryan, first and see how it goes from there on.

After consulting with Milestone Labs, we came together as a team to have a discussion about our prototypes. Our original prototypes were made to protect the joystick itself, but after reviewing Ryan’s power chair, we decided that it would be important to also protect the screen and the buttons on the arm of the chair. Therefore, we developed an idea of a protective sleeve that would fit around the arm of the power chair tightly for the improved appearance compared to the ones in the market. The design is shown in the sketch below.

After the sketch, we discussed the potential materials that can be used for the product. There were many things we needed to consider, including:

  1. Is the material waterproof? Will it be able to withstand a lot of rain?
  2. Can it withstand a variety of weather conditions including but not limited to rain, snow, cold, humid, hot, and direct sunlight?
  3. Is it transparent so that the user can see the buttons and the screen through the cover?
  4. Is the material affordable?
  5. Is the material durable yet flexible enough that it can be molded around the joystick as well as the arm of the power chair?

Considering such questions, we developed a list of materials, which can be seen in the picture above on the top right corner of the whiteboard. We also discussed the mechanism for wrapping the sleeve around the arm of the chair, including buttons, zippers, and velcro. We talked about whether one method was easier to perform than the other as well as the effectiveness of it as both factors are crucial for the users.

Although we had many ideas before, we were unsure which route to take for the project. This week, we were able to narrow it down and come up with solid details for the product, so I am very happy with the progress that has been made. We are excited to get our hands on the materials and start working on the prototype. In the meantime, we are planning on meeting with Ryan again to measure dimensions of his chair as well as developing low-fidelity prototypes using papers and fabrics.

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Preparing for the Make-a-thon

This week we spent most of the class period receiving feedback from Milestone Labs and identifying the materials we wanted to work with for the Make-a-thon. This class was a helpful time to talk with our team and all get on the same page as we prepare for next weekend.

Classroom Session

Our class started with a talk from Valerie who is plugged into the entrepreneurship scene on campus. She was kind enough to sponsor Milestone Labs’ visit to our Make-a-thon this upcoming weekend. She came in and talked to us about the entrepreneurship resources on campus and encouraged us to apply for the iVenture accelerator program with our prototyped products. I am a Senior so unfortunately I will not be staying on campus to see our product continue, but I hope that one of my classmates takes care of this awesome opportunity.

After Valerie’s presentation, each individual group met with Milestone Labs to get feedback on our progress. Milestone Labs liked our product idea but wanted us to begin prototyping and experimenting so we could enhance our product through trial and error. They also really liked our testing protocol and procedures but wanted us to add a couple more testers that we could have more well-rounded feedback.

We spent the remainder of class brainstorming materials to use for our products. My team came up with a list of materials that included tough nylon, silicone, and a bike helmet among other items. Vishal was great because he agreed to order all of our materials, which saved us from having to go shopping all around Champaign to get them.

Material Science Meeting

Later in the week, I had the chance to meet up with a Material Science professor named Dr. Goodman. Dr. Goodman taught my class last year and when I reached out to him he was happy to help out with our project. I introduced him to our product and asked him what materials he would recommend using. He had some great insight on the material properties needed for our prototype and in the end we ended up ordering some additional items. I am very thankful that Dr. Goodman was willing to spend some time helping out our team!

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Week 11: Opportunities, Product Design

Opportunities – iVenture Acceleration

This week, the class begins with a guest speaker who came in to talk to us about the iVenture Acceleration program. The program sounds very cool to me. I think the program is very interesting in a way that it supports student startups not only through providing investment capital but also training courses for student startups to learn about how to manage and gather funding as well as expanding the network that students can reach, which I think is the most important for any startups. Without network and opportunities, it is really hard to be successful. I think the program is very interesting. If I do not have an internship during the summer, I would definitely consider this opportunity. However, I am still not sure whether I would be able to get an internship or not by this point yet, so it is really hard for me to make a decision at this point on whether I should find a team and apply for this great opportunity.

Product Design

After listening to the guest speaker’s section, we went on to team discussion about our project and reported our project update to Milestone Labs. From the conversation, we understand the weakness of our team makeup. The fact that we don’t have any design students in our team makes the product design stage more difficult than expected. When we are trying to express our ideas in design, it is hard for us to sketch out the idea and communicate it accurately to the audience.

Due to this weakness, we consulted with the Maker Lab Guru, William, on Friday. With his help, we were able to figure out ways to improve our design of the product. He also helped us to sketch out the shape and design that we might be interested in exploring further on for our prototype.

As the Make-a-thon is coming up in one week, our team needs to get at least the 3D modeling done before the Make-a-thon to be able to keep on track, especially when during the first half of the Make-a-thon, I would be the only one who is at the Make-a-thon. Therefore, it is crucial for us to get things done as early as possible.

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Week 11- Meeting with Milestone and Materials Selection

Guest Speaker- iVenture

To begin class this week we had a guest speaker from the University of Illinois iVenture program. The iVenture program is organized by the university to better help student with new business ideas collaborate to make them a reality. iVenture provides grants and scholarships up to $10,000 to help these projects succeed. It sounded incredibly intriguing but as I am a Senior graduation this spring it sadly doesn’t apply to me.

Meeting with Milestone Labs

Our meeting with Milestone Labs I feel as if went pretty well. We showed them our prototype ideas and testing protocol. My team, Movi, has been working a lot with Jenna in creating our prototypes. We showed them our new concept of having the guard be secured by hooks on the back and the knee pad on the front. After we walked them to our 3rd and 4th round prototypes, I walked them through our testing protocol. This was cool to walk the consultants through because they could see our high-level thought process when conducting our testing.

Project Update/Materials Selection

After our meeting with Milestone Labs, our group came together to begin the process of our mood board as well as select materials that we need for Make-a-thon. First we started working on all of our ideas to put on the mood board. Jae has always done a fantastic job showing his design skill, but now it was Nathan and mine turn to help him out. We all took about 10-20 minutes drawing prototype ideas of how we should move forward. In my design I wanted to work off of our current iterations. In my design, I added a snap hook feature as well as material ideas for the entire design.

When selecting materials it was really important for us to include everything we might need. We took our process piece by piece in our designs to make sure we didn’t miss anything. Thanks to Nathan, who met with his material science professor, we had an idea of some materials we should be looking at. For example when selecting a material for our knee pad we bough a bike helmet. Bike helmets are made of light weight high impact foam which we though would be prefect for our design. Below is a list of ideas and materials we decided to buy:

Design prototype made in class
  • Inner liner protection- Silicone Caulk
  • Knee Pad- High impact foam (bike helmet)
  • Attachment- Velcro, Metal Hooks, Small snap hooks
  • Scratch Resistant- Plastic Dip/Spray (Various colors), Nylon sleeve
  • Outside Hardshell- Plastic sheet (provided)

As seen from our list, we wanted to think our features we wanted and decided the materials to help us get it there. I am genuinely excited to jump into Make-a-Thon next weekend and make our officially usable prototype. Before we get there our group has a couple of task we need to get done so we can get right to making at Make-a-Thon. The first thing we want to complete is our mood board. We are collaborating by trying to make 3 designs by the end of this week each to put on the board. Secondly, we need to have scans of Jenna’s leg so we can begin working in CAD for measurements. Finally, Jae has been working with Jenna to identify stress points on her leg when she falls. These are really important for us to know when designing our prototypes so we can understand what parts of the guard we should pay more attention too.