The class is currently on a one week winter break. Worry not, research will be conducted during the time off from school. 4B spent their class time on Friday researching, conducting brief one-on-one interview with Project Manager Matt and PR Person Chris, and celebrating the holidays with a brief Secret Santa gift exchange. After the holiday, 4B will start pursuing the pro-active solution.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Thursday, December 22, 2016
In the past few weeks 2B has been exploring alternative sensing solutions to the Kinect. David Ackerman has begun skill building with Arduino software to hone his programming skills. The rest of the building group has been researching lidar and we are currently exploring employing a small action camera. We have recently found software that allows us to access the live feed of the video.
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| Exploring the live video feed |
The fundraising group has been busy at work
troubleshooting their holiday automaton.
They also had the opportunity to meet with
administration to seek approval for our
Corporate Challenge Night fundraiser in March.
We hope to complete more research over the
holiday break and return with a definite path
we feel is the best to pursue. Happy holidays!
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
At the last meeting, class 4B continued to discuss research. The class also revised a letter written by the Contact Committee addressed to an expert in the trucking business. Here is that letter.
My name is Erin and I am a student in Mr. Gallagher's Engineering Design and Development course at Saratoga Springs High School. This class focuses on solving a problem prevalent in today's society. This year, our project focuses on preventing fatigue related accidents involving commercial vehicles by ensuring drivers are getting the appropriate amount of sleep and following regulations regarding driving hours and breaks. Currently, we are examining the unreliability of logbooks and have a few questions that we are hoping you can clarify for us.
Are you familiar with how often individuals subvert the driving hour requirements and how they go about doing so? From our research it appears the logbooks are easily manipulated, and we are curious about the prevalence of this infraction. Additionally, who is placed in charge of overseeing logbooks, and are there measures in place to ensure truth of the logged entries?What are the potential consequences of being caught compromising the validity of the entries within these books? We have also been researching the implementation of electronic logbooks, particularly with the recently passed legislation requiring their use. Do you have any experience using these devices?How welcomed would technology that ensures the drivers are receiving adequate sleep be in the trucking industry, by companies and/or the drivers?Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any potential resources and/or pathways you recommend we explore they would be greatly appreciated.
My name is Erin and I am a student in Mr. Gallagher's Engineering Design and Development course at Saratoga Springs High School. This class focuses on solving a problem prevalent in today's society. This year, our project focuses on preventing fatigue related accidents involving commercial vehicles by ensuring drivers are getting the appropriate amount of sleep and following regulations regarding driving hours and breaks. Currently, we are examining the unreliability of logbooks and have a few questions that we are hoping you can clarify for us.
Are you familiar with how often individuals subvert the driving hour requirements and how they go about doing so? From our research it appears the logbooks are easily manipulated, and we are curious about the prevalence of this infraction. Additionally, who is placed in charge of overseeing logbooks, and are there measures in place to ensure truth of the logged entries?What are the potential consequences of being caught compromising the validity of the entries within these books? We have also been researching the implementation of electronic logbooks, particularly with the recently passed legislation requiring their use. Do you have any experience using these devices?How welcomed would technology that ensures the drivers are receiving adequate sleep be in the trucking industry, by companies and/or the drivers?Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any potential resources and/or pathways you recommend we explore they would be greatly appreciated.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Class 4B last met on Friday, December 16th. Class time was dedicated to presenting research and discussing the newfound information. The class learned that current trends suggest an increase in commercial vehicle accidents. In response, legislation is reforming and by the end of 2017, every big rig truck will be required to have an electronic logbook directly connected to the trucks internal system. This way, it will be more difficult for truck drivers to circumvent regulations on driving time. However, this does not guarantee that truck drivers are rested and alert. Currently, there is no sure way to test if a driver was fatigued at the time of an accident, thus not many drivers are convicted for causing accidents due to lack of sleep. This is where Class 4B sees potential for a solution, and their research is contributing to deciding whether it is possible to create a device that can track sleep accurately. This device could potentially be used by commercial trucking companies to protect themselves from lawsuits and to ensure that their drivers are making responsible decisions. 4B will continue presenting research on Tuesday.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
At the last class meeting, class 4B discussed their options for methods of tackling the problem of falling asleep while driving. The class is currently researching the possibility of approaching the problem proactively. This means that instead of creating a device that reacts to a driver falling asleep, class 4B could combat the problem by accurately tracking sleep before drivers get behind the wheel. Whether this approach requires creating a physical device or not is one of the main components of 4B’s discussion. Each team member was tasked with researching various aspects of this new approach to the problem. The research will be discussed in class on Friday.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Following several days of testing existing technology and researching how to approach the software and hardware components of the project, class 4B convened as a group and discussed the course of the project. Currently, the class is drawn to the falling asleep while driving aspect of the problem. During the discussion, the class came up with two methods of approaching the problem: one reactive in nature and the other proactive. Tomorrow, 4B will meet again and continue the discussion. Each team member individually brainstormed the pros and cons of each of our current methods outside of class.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
2B had a busy week. On Tuesday the fundraising group continued working on their holiday automaton, to be sold at Northshire Bookstore. That evening the building group had an important teleconference with a pair of robotics specialists from General Electric, We discussed possible alternative control systems to replace the Kinect sensor, its operating restraints proved to be too obstructive. Their input was incredibly valuable and we plan to research their suggested systems, including radar and laser line sensors, over the next few classes. On Thursday, with the holidays fast approaching, the fundraising group enlisted the building group to complete the CAD work for the automaton before we miss out on holiday shopping season. Only a few parts remain and we hope to get our fundraising items in the store shortly. A special thanks to both Northshire Bookstore and to General Electric R and D for all of their support and assistance; we look forwards to continued relationships with both groups.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
The class split into three groups and continued researching and testing their respective aspects of the project. By the end of the meeting, all groups had uploaded their findings to 4B’s shared iMeet Central page. At the next meeting, 4B will come together as a whole unit and discuss the effect this testing and research has on the project. At the last meeting, project manager Matthew Chmiel and HR person Christopher Chang also finished conducting individual interviews with all the team members. The goal of these interviews was for each team member to outline their individual goals and contributions to the project. This will make the class more efficient and effective. Megan Varcoe secured 4B a presentation at Ball Metal, which will take place on December 20th. The purpose of this presentation is to raise awareness of 4B’s project.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Class 4B spent the last two class blocks researching and testing three separate aspects of the project. One group tested electrodermal technology. They ran tests with the recently purchased StopSleep device and researched the accuracy of electrodermal sleep detection technology. Another group worked mainly with the NeuroSky MindWave. The last group researched the hardware and coding component of the project. They explored the possibilities of using a Rasberry Pi or an Arduino to code 4B's device. All groups will present their findings in the next two class meetings.
Friday, December 2, 2016
On November 29, the Contact Committee toured and discussed sleep detection methods with physicians at the Ellis Sleep Center in Schenectady, NY. The sleep specialist demonstrated how to analyze and utilize brain waves, a technology we will implement in our project. The specialist stated that brain waves are the best option for sleep detection. The center donated electrodes, conductive gels, gauze and skin prep gels allowing us to start testing and reading brain waves.- Dylan Bradley
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Hello all,
Apologies for the lack of updates from class 2B thus far, we have been busy at work defining our problem and investigating possible solutions. We've decided to tackle the problem of ensuring the safety of cyclists in primarily motor vehicle dominated roadways. We believe the heart of the issue lies within the limitations of cyclists and drivers, which causes them to be unaware of one another's presence. These limitations include but are not limited to, the cyclists' impaired hearing and ability to see motor vehicles due to wind rushing part their ears, and the fact that their backs face oncoming traffic. Additionally distraction in both drivers and cyclists poses a large threat of a collision. After defining our problem we have begun to focus on exploring existing technologies and concepts in hopes that we may apply them in our solution. One technology we are currently exploring is the XBox Kinect sensor, which we hope to modify and reprogram with the help of a team from General Electric, in order to use it as a motion sensor to detect oncoming traffic behind the cyclist. We also hope to employ a Raspberry Pi as a means of interpreting the Kinect data and driving outputs, including lights and vibration motors, etc. The main pitfall we can foresee with the Pi is finding a consistent, durable, and portable power source to ensure the Pi's power requirements are met. If any of our readers have experience with a similar power supply for the Pi we would be very interested to hear your thoughts! More updates on our progress to come soon.
Apologies for the lack of updates from class 2B thus far, we have been busy at work defining our problem and investigating possible solutions. We've decided to tackle the problem of ensuring the safety of cyclists in primarily motor vehicle dominated roadways. We believe the heart of the issue lies within the limitations of cyclists and drivers, which causes them to be unaware of one another's presence. These limitations include but are not limited to, the cyclists' impaired hearing and ability to see motor vehicles due to wind rushing part their ears, and the fact that their backs face oncoming traffic. Additionally distraction in both drivers and cyclists poses a large threat of a collision. After defining our problem we have begun to focus on exploring existing technologies and concepts in hopes that we may apply them in our solution. One technology we are currently exploring is the XBox Kinect sensor, which we hope to modify and reprogram with the help of a team from General Electric, in order to use it as a motion sensor to detect oncoming traffic behind the cyclist. We also hope to employ a Raspberry Pi as a means of interpreting the Kinect data and driving outputs, including lights and vibration motors, etc. The main pitfall we can foresee with the Pi is finding a consistent, durable, and portable power source to ensure the Pi's power requirements are met. If any of our readers have experience with a similar power supply for the Pi we would be very interested to hear your thoughts! More updates on our progress to come soon.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Class 4B spent the majority of their last meeting testing purchased technology. The class split into three groups. One group tested The NeuroSky MindWave, another tested the StopSleep, and the remaining group researched software and tested an Arduino kit. Testing will continue Wednesday when 4B meets again. The Contact Committee toured the Ellis Medicine sleep center on Tuesday, November 29th, and will share their findings with the class on Wednesday as well.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Fundraising is a big part of our year in EDD. Without money and fundraising, the class can accomplish almost nothing. The first idea for fundraising is the “fidget spinners”. A fidget spinner is a cheap and easy way to help provide our class with money. The function of the spinner is a quiet and fun way to keep someone focused. The spinner makes little to no noise while rotating about its bearing and can keep the user focused and on task. The production of these spinners will begin soon and the cost will be about $5.
-Konstantinos Tsitos
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Class 4B last met on November 21st. The class began by discussing the project timeline. This was productive and important as the stages of our project and the respective deadlines were clearly outlined. By winter break 4B plans to be done studying existing technology, and plans to move into the designing prototypes stage. The fundraising committee also presented briefly, and shared their current attempts at raising funds. The class spent the remaining time presenting and discussing research that was conducted outside of class. The focus was on EEG technology, and what hardware and software the class could utilize in the future.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Class 4B made more purchases on Thursday. The class purchased the anti-sleep alarm from StopSleep and bought a laptop Bluetooth connecter. Testing the StopSleep will provide insight on the effectiveness of electrodermal sleep detection technology. The Bluetooth connector will allow the class to test the NeuroSky using a PC, which will provide more in-depth brainwave analysis than the MacBook currently being used. The contact committee contacted the Ellis Medicine sleep center, and secured a tour of the facility for the 29th of November. The committee will have the opportunity to speak to sleep experts while they are visiting the facility. The fundraising community continued to work on their projects. The class also continued to research EEG technology.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Class 4B decided to purchase a NeuroSky MindWave starter kit. This headset utilizes EEG technology to monitor brain waves. The product is meant to boost health and wellness, but 4B will test it to see how effective this product is at measuring the different types of brainwaves, especially beta and alpha waves. The class will also discuss the pros and cons of the design, as our own product should be comfortable and aesthetically appealing. The product will arrive by the time 4B meets again, and testing will begin that class.Tuesday, November 8, 2016
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Monday, June 6, 2016
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| Max Pawlick introducing the class structure |
With the end of the year, our class had the privilege of being able to present to a panel of engineers at the General Electric's Global Research Headquarters in Niskyuna. Here are some moments that Grey captured at the presentation.
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| Mr. Gallagher setting up the PowerPoint |
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| Max presenting |
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| Andrew discussing the pincer grasp |
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| Steve discussing his design |
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| Adam presenting |
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| Hannah explaining her design |
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| Ross talking about his addition to the hand group |
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| Noelle introducing the EYE program |
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| Grace explaining the benefits of EYE ---------- |
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| Paul introducing his project |
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| Jake talking about the impact of smart phones in schools |
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| Reece talking about the class' finances for the year |
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| Lucas, Nick, Cam, Jackson, Eli, and Kevin look on as the presentation is being set up |
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| Grace and Maddie |
Monday, May 16, 2016
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| Adam's prototype |
Today Adam hooked up the wires and buttons on his hand, and nearly finished the final prototype. He is hoping to print a battery case, motor case, and make the buttons smaller and require less force to push.
Jackson is working on the slides for the final presentation and is re-sizing the fingers to fit the final ball and socket hand.
Steve and Hannah are working on their write ups for the final presentation.
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Cam is building new build plates for all Afinia printers in the district.
Chudy is setting up the Form 2 printer.
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Ross worked on the slides and updated the list of attendees for the final presentation.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Today hand group worked on finalizing their hands.
Steve and Jackson are assembling their hand because they finalized the ball and socket design.
Adam is printing and testing the battery case.
Hannah is working on redesigning her hand to get the pieces to work more efficiently.
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Ross finalized his work on the hook, and is sending it to the recipient to test.
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| Jackson and Steve's finalized Ball and Socket design |
Steve and Jackson are assembling their hand because they finalized the ball and socket design.
Adam is printing and testing the battery case.
Hannah is working on redesigning her hand to get the pieces to work more efficiently.
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Ross finalized his work on the hook, and is sending it to the recipient to test.
Monday, May 2, 2016
After our spring break, hand group is busy working.
Jackson is continuing finalizing work on the ball and socket hand.
Steve is editing the socket part of his hand.
Adam is finalizing construction on his hand.
Hannah is editing parts and constructing her hand.
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Printers are doing new things, with Maddie testing printing without supports on FormLab and replacing resin in the FormLab printer with flexible resin, and Cam is doing research on assembling the inMoov arm. Cam is also printing final parts for hand group.
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Thursday, April 21, 2016
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| Andrew is excited that his printed parts fit together |
Steve and Jackson are redesigning their hand, their original design did not meet their expectations and needs refining.
Hannah is finishing designing the pensioner, and is printing her hand.
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Today EYE is responding to emails and organizing
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Printers are printing Adam and Hannah's hand.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Saturday was EYE's last program so today they sorted out the finances for the year.
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With the printed hands, Steve and Jackson spent the day cleaning their hand, and Adam assembled his hand.
Hannah is almost done with the design of her tuning peg hand.
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Cam did general maintenance on the printers and installed new parts.
Friday, April 15, 2016
Paul is using a simple chat program he was given by our mentor Dave Burton. He works in the field of educational software and we are seeing how we can use aspects of this program for our own project.
The rest of the group is researching node.js in order to better understand when working with it in the future. |
| Adam's assembled hand |
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Adam is assembling his printed hand.
Andrew is printing the Wall-E hand and ordering pins for the joints in the Wall-E hand.
Steve and Jackson are preparing the print for their updated design of the ball-and-socket hand.
Hannah is working on design for the tuning peg hand.
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EYE is laser printing coins, bagging supplies, and organizing the list of registered kids. They anticipate 110 kids to be in attendance!
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
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| Max and Andrew printing the Wall-E hand |
Steve is working on refining channels for strings to run more smoothly.
Jackson is working on adjusting the ball and socket design for aesthetic purposes.
Andrew is printing out a new Wall-E hand design.
Adam is assembling the prosthetic arm.
Hannah is working on the design of the tuning peg hand.
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EYE is setting up the kits for the kids to use on Saturday.
Monday, April 11, 2016
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| Reece and Mr. Gallagher organizing class finances |
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Steve and Jackson successfully printed their hand, but the angle for the thumb was off so they are redesigning and testing different angles hoping to get the best pincer grasp possible.
Adam is printing a hand that includes new fingertips so the push buttons will fit better, and working on a battery case, and researching motors.
Andrew had a failed print of the Wall-E hand and is hoping to have a successful print today.
Hannah is modifying the Tensioner to incorporate the tuning pegs.
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Ross is 3-D modeling with the prototype of the hook adapter.
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EYE is preparing for their final program on Saturday in Saratoga.
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Printers are printing Adam's and Andrew's hand, and also finish the InMoov arm and fixing the third (and final) broken printer.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Andrew took feedback from a meeting with doctors last week and made changes to the Wall-E hand.
Hannah ordered tuning pegs for her new design.
Steve is doing minor redesigns while waiting for his hand to print.
Maddie is printing Steve's hand and ordering cleaning supplies for printed Formlab parts. Cam is printing.
Adam shopped for a new motor that will be smaller and vibrate more efficiently. He is printing the battery case and sending a second hand to print soon.
Paul's group is coding a login page and tri-storming ways to create a login page.
EYE had a successful program on Saturday, and today they are unloading equipment from their cars and organizing. They also sold Google Cardboard on Saturday.
Friday, April 1, 2016
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| Steve and Jackson's printed palm with socket |
Andrew is finishing the Wall-E hand design and getting ready to print.
Today the printers are working on printing extra parts for Adam's hand and doing work with the InMoov arm.
Paul's group is creating a webpage where two clients can communicate through drawings over WiFi.
EYE is prepared for the program tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Paul's group is customizing a drawing board for their website and figuring out how to speed up the internet connection with one of their computers.
Steve and Jackson are re-sizing their ball-and-socket part to match their hand size.
Adam is finding more sensitive push buttons and a battery cover for functionality and design improvements.
The print team got new resin ordered and is doing maintenance on the printers. They also are printing extra parts for existing hands and prototypes.
EYE is preparing for the program Saturday by sending emails and organizing registration. They currently have 87 kids registered.
Google Cardboard is still selling strong! Here is junior Danny Dalton trying out one of the demos.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Paul's group is split today and while Jake and Nick are rewriting a drawing program; Kevin, Lucas, and Paul are troubleshooting coding issues they have had.
EYE is preparing for their Saturday program at Ballard, by sending emails and getting supplies prepared.
Adam is designing a hold for the battery and motor on his motorized hand. Steve and Jackson are reviewing Andrew and Hannah's hand, while Andrew and Hannah design new hands.
Maddie is printing Steve and Jackson's hand and Cam repairing broken printers.
EYE is preparing for their Saturday program at Ballard, by sending emails and getting supplies prepared.
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| Rough prototype of Adam's Hand |
Adam is designing a hold for the battery and motor on his motorized hand. Steve and Jackson are reviewing Andrew and Hannah's hand, while Andrew and Hannah design new hands.
Maddie is printing Steve and Jackson's hand and Cam repairing broken printers.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Hand group is designing new hands and setting up follow up meetings with the doctors they had previously been in contact with to get their prototypes looked out and compare them to the eNable hand.
Printers are communicating with Formlabs to figure out why our printer failed.
Paul's group is testing and debugging the log in page.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
With the poster printed, the Google Cardboard fundraiser is officially up and running.
Paul's group is researching drawing tools that they can implement and extend in their own program.
Hand group is continuing printing and designing. The Wall-E Hand is assembled and ready to test
EYE has a program on Saturday and they are finishing up preparation.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Paul's group is working on coding the log in page.
EYE is preparing for their meeting with the volunteers at Schuylerville for their upcoming program.
3D printers are still getting fixed and while Cam works on a build plate for a print out of an arm, Chudy researching finishing 3D printed parts.
Friday, March 11, 2016
After the presentation, the presenters got feedback from the engineers. The day has been described as "inspiring and educational".
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Friday, February 5, 2016
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
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| Paul's Group Holds Discussion |
Monday, February 1, 2016
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| Max and Max playing the piano |
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| Lior shows off his storm chaser |
EYE is organizing funding and making sure that all of the data from the past weekend gets documented.
The Hand group is working on getting the printers working and getting a successful print. After Max and Andrew attended the Helping Hands Winter Outing in Boston, the group is working on some ideas and requests that they gathered there. Below you can see PJ testing out our hand.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
EYE is finishing up organizing for the Saturday program by collecting parts and closing up registration.
Paul's Group is divided today, some members are working on the design of their website, some are working on the presentation for GE, and some are working to learn new coding language.
Monday, January 11, 2016
EYE is bagging items for their upcoming Saturday program so that all kids get equal materials to complete their projects. Registration is officially open, and they're allowing up to 100 kids to register!Hand group is printing their finished designs to be tested soon.
Paul's Group is writing HTML code for their project and testing servers.
After their work is done, the class as a whole is pulling together bits of information to put into their presentations at GE in early February.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
The hand group is printing prototypes to test, and working on their new design based off of the Wall-E hand from Pixar's movie.
EYE is opening registration for their upcoming Saturday program.
Paul's group is beginning to program their web app.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Paul's group is researching competing technologies with a hands-on activity. EYE is preparing for the Saturday program coming up on the 16th and the 30th.
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