Prototype 3 Progress

Our third prototype of the interface device (the puck) is almost complete. It will be glued together tomorrow. It has many improvements over the previous devices including bright white plastic that allows you to better see the cursor and projected image and many colored LED's that flash when the device is "clicked." These LED's around the edge of the puck will make the device more interactive and allow children or anyone who is using the device to see when it is clicked. 

Sean assembling the device

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Beginning of Week Update

ICCI
Last week, we received our aluminum tubing and connectors that we ordered to build our projector mounting system. We are using push-lock connectors to attach the 6 foot tubes. We had to cut and drill holes to make the tubing fit together. The system is 6'x6'x6 with a beam across the top to mount the projector and WiiMote on.  Sean and Issac are also working on completing a third interface prototype using the new bright white acrylic. Issac is working on building in colored LED's that flash whenever the button is pressed.
Below is a rendering CAD drawing of the mounting system we are building:

Our Mounting System

The system we built

Mister

The ComfortMist group has been working on integrating the petal switch and seat switch into the system. They are using a reed switch to turn off the misting when the user is driving the golf cart. They are building a mock up petal out of wood to test it.

Dehumidifier

Ian has been working on desiging and cutting a window mounting plant box for the dehumidifier to mount in. The group has also been working on creating a box for the dehumidifier for prototype two. They designed and cut a acrylic casing for the dehumidifier to fit in. They hope to begin testing at the end of the week.

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Yesterday's Events

Yesterday during our class period, Ellen Dickenson from the Lemelson-MIT Foundation visited our school. We presented her our projects, volunteer work, and fundraising progress beginning from the start of our year to what we wish to accomplish by school year's end. In addition to Ellen, we also had Mr. Piccirillo there to observe the presentation. Mr. Piccirillo is the Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education for our school district. The presentation went extremely well, as we have accomplished a great deal over the last few weeks. 

Last night, we also had the privilege and opportunity to observe the Lemelson-RPI Student Prize being awarded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

"The student prize is awarded annually to an MIT senior or graduate student who has created or improved a product or process, applied a technology in a new way, redesigned a system or in other ways displayed a portfolio of inventiveness. Award winners gain invaluable exposure to the science, business and investment communities through national press around this award.

The Lemelson-MIT Program funds three additional $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prizes at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and California Institute of Technology. (1)"


"The $30,000 Student Prize is awarded to a Rensselaer senior or graduate student who has created or improved a product or process, applied a technology in a new way, redesigned a system or in other ways demonstrated remarkable inventiveness. Award winners gain invaluable exposure to the science, business and investment communities through national press around this award. (2)"




You can see the ceremony video and more about the prize here:
http://www.eng.rpi.edu/lemelson/index.cfm


We were very excited about both of these opportunities, and truly believe that they were extremely beneficial to our InvenTeam members. We hope to use these experiences to further progress not only our current projects but our academic careers as well. 



(1)- http://web.mit.edu/invent/a-student.html
(2)- http://www.eng.rpi.edu/lemelson/about.cfm

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