Project Management

Many of the mini projects I worked on during the weeks that passed have plans for further developement. Some that I have already started working on. The Cajon built in the lasercutting week is currently at a artist's, who is adding some patterns and designs to it. I have started finishing the spun chair to a higher level. I'm creating smooth corners at all joints using wood glue and wood chips. I will then sand them down and proceed to paint the whole chair to appear as one manufactured piece. Smaller projects such as the pots made in composite week will be redone using a more developed workflow using what I learned along the way.

What tasks have been completed and what tasks remain? I have completed the first spiral in the spiral developement plan for the final project, and moved to complete the second. This means that I completed all requirements for the project to meet the requirements of FabAcademy and beyond. This includes the chassis, fiberglass body, silicone handles, wheel mechanism, sensing input devices, alarm output devices and embedded programmed electronics used for processing. All electronics where enclosed in a lasercut enclosure

What has worked? What hasn't? Some parts didn't work as well as I planned such as the the heart rate sensing and the finish of the fiberglass body. Nevertheless they were completed and will be improved at a later stage. I have more importantly changed the path of the project, since the oxygen holder wasn't very practical given the time I had left and the quality of the SpO2 level sensing wasn't up to standard. I changed the project's focus from a smart rollator focused on oxygen patients to a more general modular smart rollator.

What questions need to be resolved? Questions that need to be resolved is how can this be taken to manufacturing as a product? What pieces can be refined further? What parts aren't needed and can be removed? How can the algorthims be made better? How can the boards be integrated together in a dedicated board rather than a modular development board like the byrduino?

What will happen when? Since I am due to starting my masters degree in September, I aim to complete the mini projects before that date and refine my first prototype of the final project fixing any weak points. This will allow me to start at a clear stable point in the spiral plan if I continue working on it at a later date.

What have you learnt? I have learned countless skills during this project and the past six months. This skills are in various fields of fabrication. Some are fully dependent on numerical control such as CNC machines (lasercutters, PCB milling, metal CNC and the shopbot), 3D printers while other skills are more manual such as operation of a lathe machine, finishing workflows and smelting/casting. I have also refined my knowledge of materials, composites, tools and fabrication approaches depending on the project. Other soft skills I practices are project management, teamwork, research and documentation.