For the work period of February 4 – February 17, the team has made some progress on their project. Firstly, the prototype of the device has been completed and is ready to be tested. One of the problems that the team faced was creating an attachment on the handle of the device in order for the force meter to be able to work with the device. A team member looked at the force meter to figure out how to attach it to the device's handle for the force meter to work with. However, the team decided to zip-tie the gauge onto the device. It was the best solution that the team came up with without having to spend a lot of time creating an attachment to the device. Since the last progress report, the device has been fully constructed and it is ready to be tested. The figure below shows the completed design of the prototype along with the force meter gauge.
Figure 1: Completed Design of the Prototype with Force Meter Gauge
Before the validation experiment, software that can present a graph of the heart rate of the user had to be found. The team has found a heart rate monitoring app that provides graphs live. This app works with apple watch, and the graph can be generated using iPads or iPhones. The graph can be easily transferred to the computer through the app, and it provides the user with a summary of the data. The picture below shows a sample done by a team member.
Figure 2: Sample Heart Rate Monitor Graph
Also, the force meter was borrowed from Dr. Chang. This tool is used for testing the device the team completed during the last progress report. This tool will measure the force required to hook and lift the water-filled buckets up, and the force required to pull the device up the slope. The figure below shows the image of a force meter gauge.
Figure 3: Force Meter Gauge
Also, the area for validation experiment has been scouted, and the team has gone there to test out the device themselves. The team will bring safety vests and cones to the validation experiment for the safety of the testing subjects and to mark the distance of travel with them. Tools such as Apple Watch, iPhone, laptops, and force meter gauge will be brought to collect data from this testing. 5-gallon water jugs will be used to bring the water to the testing site, and they will be used to fill two empty buckets at the testing site, so the water will not spill during the travel to the testing site. Lastly, the prototype and a regular hand truck will be brought to the testing site. This step is important before the device is used by the testing subjects since it allows the team to identify any malfunctioning parts or failures, which will save time for both the testing subjects and the team members. The figures below show the vests, cones, 5-gallon jugs, empty buckets, and the regular hand truck.
Figure 4: Safety Vests
Figure 5: Cones for Marking Distance of Travel for Experiment
Figure 6: Two Empty Buckets and 5-Gallon Jugs
Figure 7: A Standard Hand Truck
For the work period of February 17 – March 9, firstly the team plans to make any adjustments necessary to the device. The main adjustments that the team foresees making are the two hooks of the device. The hooks must be angled correctly, and the edges of the hooks must not be too blunt so that the hooking mechanism works easily with little effort. This adjustment will be minor, since the team plans on sanding down the edges of the hook to create a slope at the tip of the hook so that the buckets can slide down easily.
Another milestone the team must work on is getting enough testing subjects for the validation experiment. The team will continue to contact any close friends or family members that are within the range of a Peruvian woman and ask for assistance of this project. Currently, the team has not found enough testing subjects, but there are several people that the team wants to contact before the validation experiment. The device must be 100% complete and the team wants to test it out for themselves before contacting anyone, since the schedule for validation experiment will not be set until the device is completed and has been tested by the team.
One of the main obstacles the team foresees is getting enough testing subjects. Since the testing site is far and since many of the testing subjects will be college students, there will be several conflicting times. There may be a need to gather more than 20 testing subjects as back-ups, in case some of the testing subjects are unable to help with the experiment. The team will continue to send out the google document that was created for the testing subjects and keep in touch with them while finalizing the device.
Another obstacle that the team foresees is time management. The testing site is quite far from the city, and the validation experiment will take a while per person. With school and other things going on in life, the team must find time to complete this validation experiment before the due date. It will take quite a bit of effort put into scheduling, but the team will plan far ahead and continue to discuss this issue to complete the project with no conflicts with the schedule.
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