Progress
I have done more research and trade-off analyses on the items we will need for the hardware side. I intend to purchase the Arduino Nano 33 BLE for its bluetooth capability and compact size. For the product to be portable and chargeable, I will attach a Lithium Ion battery to the Nano to power it. The reason for this battery in particular is that most handheld devices use these batteries. Hence, when a person uses a wired or inductive/wireless charger for their phone, they can also charge the product’s battery as well. Currently, I am considering three different displays to be used for the dual-screen aspect: LCD, OLED, and E-INK. They are all relatively priced and each have balanced pros and cons. I plan to try all screen types after I find the most suitable one of each. They all must be about 2.5” diagonally so the screen is large enough for the other person to see, but not overly big that it makes he phone difficult to handle. Everything will be wire-connected, and I’ve prepared how I will connect the components together beforehand.
I did a minimalist design of the mobile app wireframes. After receiving feedback that I should check if mobile app development for Apple operating systems requires a $99 subscription for licensing, I ensured that I do not need that annual purchase to create an app for local environment use. The subscription is for distributing an app on Apple’s App Store, but we do not have such intentions for our project.
Next Steps
After confirming with team members, I will submit purchase forms for the above items. I will be planning in-depth as to how I’ll connect them all together. I will also be practicing how to utilize CAD software so eventually I can create a phone attachment that will hold all the components for 3D printing. It must not be too bulky, and be adjustable in tilt, which will necessitate studying current phone stands in the market for comparison and development. Since I established the wireframes for the mobile app, I will begin developing the front-end on Xcode. When I have time, I’ll also be delving into the back-end aspects to identify how I can get the app to connect to a cloud database. Further in the timeline, after I get the hardware parts, I will try to connect the Arduino with the mobile app via bluetooth and test the app to manipulate the display monitor.