The team has made some progress since the Winter break. For the work period of Dec. 11 – Feb. 3, the team held a couple of meetings to discuss any updates that must be made to the device and any updates on gathering the materials and tools for the construction of the prototype. In one of the meetings, a team member suggested that the device's hook be redesigned to make the hooking of the bucket's mechanism effortless. To accomplish this, the tip of the hook has been trimmed down to have a slope so that the handles of the buckets can easily slide into the hook. Additionally, the hook’s angle was readjusted to hold the buckets better once they had been hooked on. The image below shows the updated design of the hook.
During this time, the team has been working on milestone 5. The task that was completed was the purchasing and gathering of the materials for the construction of the device. With the materials and a member’s family-owned workshop, the team has begun the construction of the prototype. The image below shows the progress of the prototype. Soon, the team will be close to finishing milestone 5.
The team has also updated the testing site for the device validation experiment to Rabbs Prairie Road, Needville, TX 77469. This location has slope percentages within the scope of our validation process, and there are several dirt and gravel roads. The road is wide enough for the device to function, and the rocks are not large, similar to the SJL district's terrain conditions. The image below shows the found testing site.
In addition, the team has created a Google form to send to possible testing subjects to gather their demographic information. The forms have been dispatched to a few testing subjects, and the team is continuously contacting the testing subjects to participate in the device’s validation experiment. Although this task is part of milestone 6, the team plans to take care of this to start preparing for the validation experiment.
From February 4 to February 17, the team plans to finish the prototype's construction. Then, the team will begin structural analysis of the prototype. It is vital to check whether the device can hold two heavy buckets of water and withstand the terrain conditions while it is being used. It is also necessary to complete before beginning the validation experiment since it will be a waste of time for the testing subjects and the members if the device breaks down during the experiment. Once the team has completed the structural analysis of the device, the team will begin contacting testing subjects from the survey for the validation experiment.
Additionally, the team will research and determine a way to track the heart rate of the testing subjects during the experiment. Currently, the team is looking for software that can go along with Apple Watches to track the subjects' heart rate while the subjects are experimenting. This will help get the data more efficiently and accurately for the validation experiment.
The main obstacle that the team foresees is the weather during the validation experiment. Houston’s weather is unpredictable, and rain spontaneously falls on the city. The rain can cause the ground to get muddy and slippery, which can mess up the accuracy of the data. To overcome this issue, the team will plan to have extra days for validation experiments and stay in contact with the testing subjects' availability. The team will also purchase gravel and dirt if the testing site needs modification.
Another problem the team foresees is whether the prototype will successfully bear the water buckets' load and the terrain's condition. As mentioned before, this step is crucial, and the team cannot proceed with the project unless the prototype is 100% complete. The team plans to do a structural analysis of the device to solve this issue. Also, the team will go to the testing site and hold the experiment by themselves before doing the validation experiment with the testing subjects.
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