Week 1 Progress Checklist


Status Task
✓ Sketched your final project idea(s)
✓ Described briefly what it will do and who will use it
✓ Made a website and described how you did it
✓ Created a section about yourself on that website
✓ Added a page with your sketch and description of your final project idea(s)
✓ Documented steps for setting up your Git repository and adding files to it
✓ Pushed to your class GitLab repository
✓ Signed and uploaded Student Agreement

Principles and Practices, Project Management

Hi, Now I started with the week 1, and first at all I would like to explain about my final project. Let´s start with the problem…


The problem

In the fabrication laboratory, there are different types of equipment, such as laser cutters, 3D printers, and other machines. Some of this equipment can be dangerous, especially for people who do not know how to use it properly. For this reason, it is necessary to have a system that controls who is using the machines and whether they are authorized. This system should prevent unauthorized users from turning on or operating critical equipment. The objective is to grant access only to trained and authorized people. Only those users will be able to turn on and use dangerous or critical machines, helping to ensure safety in the laboratory


My Project Idea

My project idea is to develop a device that uses a camera and facial recognition to control access to dangerous equipment in the fabrication laboratory. The system will identify users through face recognition and verify whether they are authorized. Only approved users will be allowed to operate critical machines, such as laser cutters and CNC machines. The project will have two main parts:

1. Identification Unit This unit will include a camera and a microprocessor or microcontroller. It will be installed in a visible position near the machine, where it can scan the user’s face and perform facial recognition. 2. Power Control Unit This unit will be connected to the machine’s power supply. When the system successfully recognizes and authorizes a user, it will send a signal to this unit to enable power and allow the machine to turn on.

If the user is not recognized or authorized, the system will keep the machine powered off, preventing unauthorized use.


sketch

To complete this project according to the schedule, I organized the activities as shown in the table below.

schedule

Project Management

In order to develop our website first we will need to following tools:

  • Git: Go to Git Page here
  • Gitlab Go to Git Lab
  • Visual Studio Code Get VSC

    • Lets start first with Gitlab

    GitLab is an all-in-one, open-core DevOps platform that provides a single application for the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC). It enables teams to manage Git repositories, track issues, conduct code reviews, and automate CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment). pipelines in one interface. It is designed to foster collaboration and speed up software delivery.

    We log into our GitLab account and copy the link from the “Clone with HTTPS” option. Then, we use this link with Git or Visual Studio to clone the repository.

    sketch

    Let´s continue with Git

    Git is a free, open-source distributed version control system (DVCS) used to track changes in computer files, most notably source code during software development.

    sketch

    After installing it, Git will be ready to use. When we open it, we will see this small window.

    sketch

    In Git, we are going to use the following commands. First of all, we need to clone our GitLab repository, so we must create a new folder and open Git Bash in that folder.

    sketch

    Now we need to apply the following command to clone our entire repository into our local folder. In this way, we can start making changes to our website. git clone + (the link we copied from “Clone with HTTPS” on GitLab)

    Now we have cloned our GitLab repository and are ready to make changes.

    Now we can open our file with Visual Studio Code

    With Visual studio, we can open the repository cloned and add whatever we need, the index.html file will contain the main page.

    vsc1

    When we make a change and want to update our repository, we can use Git again.


    Version Control

    Version Control with Git is a system for tracking changes in source code during software development. It enables multiple developers to collaborate efficiently, maintain history, and manage project versions.


    Command Description Example
    git init Initialize a new repository git init
    git clone Copy an existing repository git clone https://gitlab.com/user/repo.git
    git add Add changes to staging area git add file.txt
    git add .
    git commit Save changes with a message git commit -m "Descriptive message"
    git status Check repository status git status
    git push Upload changes to remote repository git push origin main
    git pull Download changes from remote repository git pull origin main
    git branch Manage branches git branch
    git branch new-branch
    git checkout Switch branches or restore files git checkout branch
    git checkout -- file.txt
    git merge Merge branches git merge other-branch
    git log View commit history git log
    git log --oneline

    First we need to type: git commit -a -m "New Version"

    In my case for each new version, I am using the following commit: date_time, for example: "27012026_1800"

    vsc1

    After that we need to use: git push origin

    vsc1

    And this is how we slowly start building our website, step by step.

    vsc1 vsc1 vsc1

    That’s all for now. See you next week!