My problem:

Radio stations aren’t ideal. Everybody that has ever listened to the radio knows the frustration of not being able to find a station, song, or artist that they want to listen to. Also, when you travel out of the area, all of the radio stations are different than what you are used to. This makes it impossible to listen to the stations that you generally listen to.

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The Pedal Flusher

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Final Presentation

I attended the current EDD class's final presention last thursday.

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Thoughts on the Final Presentation

Last Thursday, the 2011 EDD class gave a series of presentations of the year’s work to a panel of local engineers. I attended this event to get a better understanding of the class, as well as to see what is in store for me next year.

Overall, I thought the presentations were very professional. All three groups were clear in their explanations of their individual design processes from idea to finished product, and they answered most of the panel’s questions without a hitch. I especially enjoyed the demonstration of the ICCI, as well as viewing the multitude of prototypes for the dehumidifier. It was a shame that the golf cart mister’s demonstration did not work, but I got a good enough idea of how the product functioned from the presentation. I do have a few criticisms; namely that the mister group’s presentation may have gotten a bit long-winded in describing all the challenges they faced in the design process instead of focusing on the product itself, and that the dehumidifier group didn’t seem to know how their product actually worked when asked about the store-bought dehumidifier inside.

It is not my job to criticize the groups or to shower them with complements however. What I took away from the experience was that this class seems to provide a reasonably realistic picture of a career in engineering. The EDD program provides students with a chance to identify a real world problem and to go through all the steps of solving it, including the actual engineering work, but also fund raising, gathering feedback from the community, and presenting finished products to potential buyers or investors. I was disappointed that students didn’t seem to have enough time in the year to finalize and market their designs, but I suppose that’s inevitable given the short school year and the substantial amount of work that goes in to realizing even a simple idea.

In the end, this series of presentations gave me a great look at what next year will be like. After seeing the specific types of work that an EDD class does, as well as the challenges they face along the way, I can only come to one conclusion: I couldn’t be more excited for the coming year.

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Final Presentation

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EDD Presentation

I attended the EDD presentation last night, and I was very impressed by what I saw and what I heard. Everything that the students said last night were organized and well planned. It was obvious to me that these students knew their subject material well. As the various engineers that came last night asked the students detailed questions about their projects, I feel that they answered the questions thoroughly

I was especially impressed with the ICCI group, as they explained the various ways that they did the testing of the materials to really prove that their prototype would be durable enough for a young child to play with. The use of the Wii remote to sense the infrared lights so that the child would actually be able to play a game that wasn't on an actual computer screen or a television was an excellent idea. According to my observations, I would definitely agree that this would be a fantastic innovation for children so that they can still have fun, but not break valuable and expensive equipment. I feel that this innovation would do well in today's market, with how quickly technology is advancing.

The Mister group's innovation was also an innovation that I feel would do well in today's market, especially now that summer is quickly approaching. It's human nature to enjoy doing various activities outside, but sometimes the heat can be unbearable. I wasn't able to see their prototype last night because from my angle where I was sitting I wasn't able to see it, and we needed to move on to the other presentation. However, based on what I was hearing from the engineers that were here, their prototype contained elements that made it very successful. One thing that I could even see deriving from this innovation, is a more portable mister that could be used not only on golf carts, but perhaps on bikes while someone is going on a bike ride, or on other things as well. The Mister was an excellent idea.

The Dehumidifier group had an excellent idea as well. In today's market I think that it would do fairly well, however there are certain aspects that still need to be addressed, as the group stated last night, such as security when the window is open allowing for the excess water from the aquamat to drain outside, and another aspect that needs to be addressed is the prevention of the consequences of "water near wires." Perhaps one thing that would draw more attention from the public, make this innovation more customizable, such as the color of the acrylic plastic surrounding the dehumidified. Having various colors of this innovation could be a selling point, as the colors could add decoration and interest to a room in a house. They are pretty interesting to look at, and the group who presented last night was correct in their statement that this would be a great item to have for someone who has a summer home that they can't be at all the time. This could even be used for someone who doesn't have summer home, and just wants to have this innovation in their house.

Out of all the groups, I think that the ICCI would do the best in today's market, just because of the American mindset of technology. However, the mister and the dehumidifier would do well also, because both of these prototypes are "environmentally friendly" as the groups stated.

Everybody did a very nice job last night. They should be proud of themselves, and the amount of work and creativity that they put into their projects this year. We have some big shoes to fill for next year :)

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