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.
Hi there! I am a Senior studying Marketing and Information Systems/Information Technology. I chose to take this course in order to expand my creative and design thinking skills that I can apply to my future career. I am grateful that we are provided the opportunity to take this course as Business majors.
Hi Emma,
I think the idea of using a pattern will help your design. My team is also experimenting with patterns to create a better grip. We agreed this is important and therefore decided to order textured materials. One piece of advice would be to look into machines that can engrave designs into metal. Dr. Goodman mentioned there were machines with this capability during our meeting. Hopefully, your team can find more information.