bike solution

-Define the Problem (1pt)
The problem is having to keep a bike in a studio apartment.-Brainstorm Solutions (2pts)
hooks in the ceiling, putting in in the closet, wall rack
-Define Criteria and Constraints (2pts) 
cannot damage the apartment-Generate Sketches (2pts)
-Select an Approach: Use a Decision Matrix to justify your approach (2pts)
suction cup ceiling hooks
-Model your solution with CAD software: Post an Isometric view of your assembly and a multiview drawing. (3pts)
-Use the 4 Quadrant Feedback technique to asses your model (3pts)

Glider Post

2. Design Phase Notes:
          2a. The challenge was to create a glider with a limited amount of balsa wood, tape, glue, and tissue paper.
          2b. we thought of building a plane with huge wings, but that would have made it too heavy. we also thought of using triangles for the frame because they are a strong shape, but we decided on a small and light glider.
           2c. there are no rules to brainstorming other than following constraints
          
           3a. our test results were very good, but our glider got tampered with and basically destroyed, so with some last minute handy work we fixed it up and made it air worthy.
           3b. the only thing i would have changed was to add larger wings
          
           4a. as stated before, i would have made it larger if i had the chance

Egg Drop Challenge - Iteration #1

Total # of achievements earned - 14!

our team's solution was to drop the egg on a pillow

the only other solution that was as consistent as ours was the shockmount solution. the only problem with that is the complexity of the design. ours was just a simple pillow on the ground and good aim.

this is an example of a shockmount

-Create a sketch of one possible solution. Include labels.
-Create a sketch of another possible solution. Include labels.
-Create a sketch of a third possible solution. Include labels.


-Your materials fit inside a printer paper box
-Your materials fit inside a shoe box


-You hit the butcher paper!
-You hit inside the third ring!
-You hit inside the second ring!
-You hit inside the first ring!
-You hit the Bullseye!


-Your egg didn't break in any way! (awarded three times)
-Your egg didn't break in any way! (awarded three times)
-Your egg didn't break in any way! (awarded three times)



-Help set up the Bullseye.

TED Pt. 1

1. TED is about the spreading of ideas and learning
2. the purpose of their website is to allow people to learn and experience new things and to spread ideas
3. technology seems most relevant to us as engineers
4. rise of personal robots because people who build robots need to be master engineers
5. Summary
1. He does a mind/visual manipulation trick
2. He is interactive and brings audience members on stage
3. He uses videos to keep audiences interest
4. He does multiple on stage tricks with audience members
6. I think you would need to study psychology extensively and learn how to engineer things that aren’t necessarily tangible. A college degree doesn’t seem to be a requirement

Functional Analysis

The purpose is to allow the user to write or draw.
You put lead in one end, then you push down on the top of the object, and it pushes a split plastic peice so that the split spreads and lets lead out, and when you release pressure on the top, the split closes to hold the lead in place.
The mechanical parts that are visible are the top which you push down on to release more lead.
You can't see how the lead is released and you cant see the mechanisms used to push lead out. Most of the mechanics are on the inside.

Visual Design

My product is a mechanical pencil. Some visible design elements are the eraser, clip, bumpy grip, it's cololored red,and it has the brand name and logo on it. The purpose of this product is to allow people to write things. As simply as that, it is used to write with and it has an eraser to correct mistakes with. The mechanical nature of the item allows the user to continuously write without having to get up to sharpen his or her pencil as you would with a traditional pencil. The target audience would be students or office workers. Or anyone that needs to write anything.

(I will update this blog with my sketch after I draw it)

Gamification

1) Why is facebook so big?

Facebook is a big trend because people like to be social. People naturally like to have connections and to communicate with other people. Facebook allows you to do this no matter where you are or what youre doing with devices like the iPhone. people love and feel a need for constant communication.

2) Why have all these underdog games become multi million dollar products?

These games find and use psycological tendencies in people to make them want to buy and play the games.

3) Why do people want "reality" and "real" things?

People have a need for reality. Like the example of real swiss chocolate, "It's real so I'll take it". This is one of those psycological tendencies that most people have that games utilize to gain a greater marketing base.

Graphic Design

 This advertisement came from a robotics magazine and is advertising an easy way to implement a wireless system. The readability is good because the font is simple and the color contrasts with the background. The add isn't too boring because there are pictures, and it is also informational because of the short descriptions about each component. The size was a bit small but it didnt hinder readability.

1. What are trends? Why is it important to identify them prior to graphic design?
Trends are common intrests between large groups of people. Idendifying them prior to graphic design is important so that your ad will be well recieved.

2. How does human nature play a role in how a product is marketed to a specific demographic group?

People of certain demographic groups tend to be able to relate better to some things than others. For example, when beer is marketed to men, the commercails often include partying and women because men will be more inclined to by a product that is marketed with images of partying and women.

3. How is a potential audience identified?

A potentail audience is identified depending on who the product is being sold to.

4. What must you discover about the target audience prior to graphic design?

You must discover the interests and tendencies of your audience prior to graphic design.

design challenge 2.1.4

for this challenge, i was tasked to create a candy dispenser with four parts. i also had to design four new candy shapes. i chose to do the candy dispenser because it seemed easy but interesting at the same time. the problem was to design a candy dispenser that could be handheld and that would dispense candy easily enough for a 5 - 12 year old to use. during brainstorming, i came up with one idea, but i thought it would be the best idea i would get so i used that. i checked the requirements and measurment constraints and made sure my design fell into those requirements. last, i designed  four candy shapes, which was the easiest part. i only made one design so i couldnt do a decision matrix.

Content is King

One hobby I have a passion for is playing guitar. The brand of guitar that I play exclusively is ESP. Here is their blog: http://espguitarsusa.blogspot.com/. They use their blog to promote their brand and their products. I could see myself having a personal blog about guitars or music and that sort of thing.

Tennis Ball Team Building Activity

The challenge was to pass a tennis ball between every member of our team so everyone touched it once and so that it didn’t end up with the person who started with it.

Our team all held one hand out to form a circle of all of our hands, while one person picked up the ball and touched it to each person’s hand and then dropped it in the last person’s hand.

We ended up being the fastest team out of the three.

I think if we did it again, we would do everything the same and nothing differently.

We all just started trying out different approaches until we found a fast one that we liked. We were all just throwing out ideas and that seemed to work pretty well.

The nature of the game didn’t really evolve; we used the same approach even as it became more competitive.

Some constraints I would add are that the ball must be thrown, and that only one person at a time can be touching the ball.

I don’t know if our team won or lost, we didn’t really keep track of the score.

Lost At Sea

Our assignment was to prioritize a list of items that we would have in a hypothetical situation where we were lost at sea. We first prioritized the items individually, and then as a team. After that, we compared our rankings to the coast guard’s rankings.

My Rankings:

1.       A 25 liter container of water

2.       A case of army rations

3.       A shaving mirror

4.       A sextant

5.       A fishing kit

6.       20 square feet of opaque plastic sheeting

7.       15 ft of nylon rope

8.       A quantity of mosquito netting

9.       A 10 liter can of oil/petrol mixture

10.   Maps of the pacific ocean

11.   A floating seat cushion

12.   A quantity of mosquito netting

13.   2 boxes of chocolate bars

14.   A can of shark repellent

15.   A small transistor radio

I did have a tough time choosing some but I rationalized and came up with good arguments for each one and then chose based on those reasons. I chose food and water as the highest because that is what you need to survive and that is a priority. I chose the radio as last because you couldn’t talk to anyone with it, and you won’t be able to pick up an AM/FM signal and if you could what would you use it for?

As a team, our lists were fairly close. Some items had a great differential in rankings, but we acknowledged each other’s reasons and compromised. Something that we all agreed on was that water should come first followed by food. We worked together well in my opinion. One thing we disagreed on was that the shaving mirror would be important. I thought it should be number 3 and they thought it should be number 12.

The biggest surprise when we saw the expert list was that water was lower than we thought it should be. Other than that, our lists were pretty close to the experts list. I think experiential data would be more valid, because it comes from the combined experience and judgment of peers.