Personal Accomplishments:
- MCU Platform Research (3h): I spent around 3 hours researching for potential platforms regarding the micocontroller the team should use for data collection and sensor readings. I came to the conclusion that we should use 1 of 3 platforms for data:
- Arduino: This is likely what would be best for our device prototype, as it is the easiest to set up, gather readings, and basic compute.
- Raspberry Pi: This is a very strong option and allows for significantly more compute. It may make it easier to communicate wirelessly, should we focus on that later beyond MVP.
- ESP32: Probably the best option of the three, due to reduced power and better IoT capabilities than the Arduino. However, this is more complex to setup.
- Based on these, I narrowed down to starting with the Arduino. It seems totally enough to run the tasks we are asking of the controller (send data to mobile device every few ms or so, and alert for over-exertion)
This video demonstrates that Arduino can actually reliably communicate over bluetooth . This makes me feel like it should be OK for us to stay on that platform for the foreseeable future of the project.
- Mandatory Lab Meetings (4h): Listening to other groups helped me narrow down ideas regarding future planning and potential improvement plans (I didn’t think about the ESP32 until another group mentioned it). It was also valuable receiving feedback from other students.
- Proposal presentation (5h): I spent a lot of time with Alex breaking our project future down. This went into making the GANTT chart (including making it as functional as possible, modifying it over time to make it more precise) and integrating it into the slides. I intend this to be a living chart and change with agility throughout the project as its needs evolve.
Progess:
- I’m on schedule. This week, beyond the team tasks we wanted to work on, I did what I wanted to do. This should keep me ready to start integrating data collection into the prototype, with the ability to read and display sensor readings, within the next 2 weeks.
Next Week Tasks and Goals:
- I’ll have to continue MCU research into the next week. This is because of the fact that for our MVP / initial prototype, communication is less of a factor. Therefore, as we start to build the device together and potentially go beyond MVP, we may have to worry more about compute capabilities on the controller.
- I also want to try to start the assembly of first demo with actual sensor readings. Josh has been researching the sensor, and Alex has a good mock-up of the physical design. All that is left is integration via the MCU.