As I headed to the FabLab bright and early on Wednesday morning, I found myself to be more excited to visit the unique campus building than I was the previous week. After learning all the opportunities, I had a better understanding of what the Fab Lab had to offer and was craving more. And more is what I got. More knowledge, more advice, and a lot more feedback on our group project from Milestone Labs.
Wednesday Workshops
To start our day, we split back into two groups: one group working with the laser cutter software and one group working with led lights and circuit boards. Considering I completed my laser lesson last week, I was in the opposites group with two Fab Lab workers to help guide us through the process. Although I have taken an ECE (electrical engineering) course before, I did not fully grasp the physical aspects of a circuit board. In the past, the math came easier for me as we rarely had the opportunity to play around with boards and wires. But as the employees guided us through the simplicities of lighting and LED with just a board, light and battery, I had a much better understanding of this side of science.
In the photos below, you can see the light shining when it is upright and the light off once tilted. This is due to the additional tilt sensor we added to the board, breaking the circuit every time it is turned sideways.
Milestone Labs Update
After completing our workshops, we had the opportunity to sit down with Milestone Labs to shows them are prototypes and discuss our next steps. While presenting our project pitch and prototypes, the professionals from Milestone Labs were thrilled with our current progress. Below are our two prototypes. The top is an adjustment to an athlete’s glove, which is covered in clay and indented to represent the potential for different patterns in the rubber. Currently, we are still working on how we will attach the cover to the glove or if we are trying to find a new type of rubber for Arielle to utilize when she initially designs her gloves. The bottoms photo focuses on the handling itself with a similar prototype to show the textured rubber attachment that could be added to the wheel if the weather is poor.
One of the designers suggested we speak with Adam and Arielle, to figure out which part of the glove and wheel HAVE to stay the same, whether for regulation or functional purposes; we will be able to play around with the rest of the object once we have determined the dynamic locations.
As we move to the actual designated gn of our product, we plan to reach out to a material science professor to ask him if he has any ideas for materials that may be beneficial to our project. Hopefully, in the weeks following spring break, we will have the resources, knowledge and capabilities to create our vision.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Gies College of Business
Hi Elisa! I too was very excited to be able to head back to the Fab Lab last week to learn more about the vast resources it holds for creative productions. I share a similar experience with you when it comes to the circuit boards as I do have some knowledge about it prior to the activity and I was glad that it not only refreshed my memory but enhanced my knowledge in the particular area. I look forward to seeing your final product as it seems like you guys are doing extensive research and I am sure it will only add on to the completeness of the final product.
Hi Elisa,
Sounds like you guys had a very productive chat with Milestone labs last week! It is definitely interesting to keep in mind certain limitations that may come into play with the regulations of the sport. That being said, from the history of wheelchair sports we heard about from Ron on one of our first visits, he made it seem like the players are the ones who push the sport forward. Maybe you guys could set a trend through the whole sport!