This week, progress has been moving along very well and we were able to present our progress during the demo. Each of the three main parts of the project (Chairs, Hub, Web) were functioning which was ideal. Now, integration is our next step.
What are the most significant risks that could jeopardize the success of the project? How are these risks being managed? What contingency plans are ready?
Regarding risks, we were able to overcome most of the main risk of the capacitance chair sensors not working. They work well, but need to be improved and made more robust. There are some instances where the threshold value to classify “Occupied” is too high/low, so this needs more calibration. This risk is being managed in our schedule, as we allocated time for this and are on schedule.
Another is the risk of delayed shipping of our parts. We are still waiting for some parts that were delayed in ordering, including Xbee modules. This is allocated for in the ‘slack’ time that we have.
The biggest challenge so far is the Xbee communication. This is mostly an unknown at the moment given the lack of hardware received so far. This also is accounted for in the schedule. If Xbee communication does not work, we have a backup plan of using Bluetooth which the hardware modules support as well. This is not as efficient but at the very least guarantee us correctness and functionality.
Were any changes made to the existing design of the system (requirements, block diagram, system spec, etc)? Why was this change necessary, what costs does the change incur, and how will these costs be mitigated going forward?
No design changes were necessary this week. The amount of prior time spent designing is beneficial, as now, as a result, the implementation part is smoother.