19. Project development¶

Complete your final project, tracking your progress:

Did you have a plan for the project at the start of the semester? Did it change as you moved along?¶

At the beginning of the semester I didn’t have a clear idea of what exactly I wanted to bring as a final project. I knew that I wanted to do something in the field of healthcare design, and I remember that during the first interview with who would later become my instructor, we had already talked about a possible collaboration with the Niguarda hospital and the spinal unit. All in all, this has been achieved, it certainly cannot be defined as an official collaboration, but the talk we had with them was essential for the execution of the project. The idea of making a kit also came almost immediately and remained so until the end.

What affected the outcomes?¶

The final results were affected by various circumstances. First of all I have seen many, many videos on youtube which dealt with the life of people with paraplegia and quadriplegia; just to get an idea of the daily difficulties and what they might need. Here the idea of the Deeto and Bango projects were already setting foot, and after talking with healthcare professionals it was confirmed that they would be very useful to their patients. While the third project was born during the weeks of electronics assignments. After using the first proximity sensors, my instructor and I came up with the idea of creating a project where I could demonstrate everything I had learned in the world of electronics, so Willo was born.

What tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain?¶

Most of the tasks have been completed. The first and second projects are complete, I have to finish dealing with the third item (spoiler: I did it). The interface part is missing, but I will use an online site to make it work for the presentation of the final project, and later I will delve into the topic in the assignment of Interface, since it is not the main subject of the final project but only a plus.

What’s working? what’s not?¶

Surprisingly everything works. If we were to be picky and find flaws, in the first design the Deeto’s top part is a little thin. This does not interfere with the functioning of the device, but perhaps making an extra gutter in the mold could solve it. While in the third project one could think of decorating the packaging more and organizing the electronic parts inside better, even if at the moment they are all arranged in an orderly way.

What questions need to be resolved?¶

The only questions I’d like to answer are:

Are these items useful? Can they be improved?

Being a kit designed, mainly but not exclusively, for people with paraplegia and quadriplegia, to close the “circle” we should try them on the field. Only at that point we could understand if they can actually be useful in people’s daily lives and/or can be improved or customized even more.

What will happen when?¶

There are about three days left until my presentation, so this is going to be the planning of the following days:

Tomorrow finish the interface part and start taking pictures for the slide presentation and collecting videos for the final video presentation
Finish to take photos, try all objects last time to see if they work and start final video
Last day finish video and double check documentation
Presentation day

What have you learned?¶

I started this course not even knowing how to turn on a 3d printer, so you will understand that inevitably I have learned a lot. Thinking about the first few weeks now makes me smile because I was terrified of making everything wrong and setting the lab on fire every time I turned on a machine. The fear is not completely gone (which is good for safety reasons), but I realize that I do many things with more confidence and ease. Whenever I am asked about this course I say “I learned more in six months of Fabacdemy than in three years of university”. And in a way it is true. FabAcademy throws you into a dark world (at least for me) and leaves you no way out until you learn to navigate it, which is frustrating at first but super satisfying at the end.