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?
The most significant risks include component availability and lead times, especially for specialized hardware components needed for USB interfacing. We’re managing this by identifying suitable components early in the design phase and checking availability before finalizing selections. Our contingency plan involves having backup component options identified and maintaining relationships with multiple suppliers. Another risk is the complexity of reverse engineering file systems, but we’re mitigating this through early collaboration and research into existing tools and methodologies.
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 major changes have been made to the existing design at this point. We’re still in the early component selection and planning phase, so the core requirements and system specifications remain stable. Any minor adjustments have been related to component package sizes and footprint considerations during the PCB layout sketching phase.
Provide an updated schedule if changes have occurred.
No schedule changes have occurred. We remain on track with the component capture phase and preliminary design work.
Progress photos and accomplishments:
This week we made solid progress on both hardware and software fronts. On the hardware side, we’ve begun the component capture process in Altium, identified suitable NMOS transistors that meet our voltage and current requirements, and created preliminary hand-drawn PCB layout sketches. We’ve also started evaluating assembly options between hand assembly and professional PCB assembly services. On the software side, we discussed with Apollo the type of software needed for reverse engineering file systems and explored the hardware requirements necessary to interface with USB systems. The team collaboration has been productive in establishing the technical foundation for both aspects of the project. Nothing to put in ‘photos’ yet, but next week that could change 🙂