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Ashira’s Status Report for 2/8/25

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours). 

This week, I helped with finishing up the project proposal + slides, as well and finalizing some of the features of our project. I spent some time splitting up the project into feasible tasks for our Gantt chart and making sure that our slides included all the details required. 

I also began compiling a series of links to resources /tutorials/previous projects that I thought would be helpful in referencing when implementing some of our features + interfacing our peripherals with the RPi, since we all have pretty limited experience with using the RPi environment. I also helped out with organizing our bill of materials and coming up with an outline of the components + quantities we’ll need to look into purchasing. 

I also worked on getting Solidworks updated and installed on my computer so that I’m able to get started with the CADing up the enclosure next week. I came up with a brief diagram that outlines the general spacing + locations of all the components we’re planning to use for the vending machine, although there are some specifics related to dimensions that might change/get added depending on how everything lines up in CAD. 

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule? 

My progress is on task with the schedule on the Gantt chart we came up with. I’ve finished a rough diagram/plan of the parts that I’m hoping to start CADing up this week, although I’m still currently in the process of installing Solidworks on my computer, as of today. The installation process is taking a little longer than I expected, since I have an outdated version of Solidworks currently installed on my laptop that I have to backup and uninstall first. I hope to finish this process up later tonight, or by tomorrow (Sunday 2/9) latest. 

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

During this next week, I’m hoping to ideally finish CADing up all of the components needed for the vending machine structure in Solidworks. I’m hoping to get all the parts finished/assembled in CAD and use this as a first draft/pass, so that we can at least get an idea of the spacing constraints and amount of material we’ll want to use for the build. I’m also hoping to re-familiarize myself with using Solidworks beforehand, as well as the process needed to generate drawings and send them to the laser cutter, in an attempt to make the manufacturing and assembly process as smooth as possible.

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Team Status Report For 2/08/2025

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? 

 

We think the most significant risks that could jeopardize the success of the project at this stage are purchasing the wrong materials. Purchasing materials always comes with some risk because we never know if we will accidentally purchase a component that is not compatible with our system. The way we try to mitigate this risk is by carefully doing research and reading the specifications about the material on the website that is advertising them along with any data sheets if they can be found. Our contingency plan is to prefer buyers with a good return policy and allocate part of the budget for emergency replacements. 

 

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? 

 

There weren’t really any changes that we made this week since we were working on creating the block diagram from scratch. 

 

Provide an updated schedule if changes have occurred. 

 

This is also the place to put some photos of your progress or to brag about a component you got working. 

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David’s Status Report For 2/8/2025

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours). 

A large part of this week for me was spent working with my team on the project proposal slides for our presentation. To that end, I mainly helped with the foundation for the technical challenges part of the presentation and the solution approach block diagram, and my teammates edited what I wrote to make it better.

I also tried to compile a bill of materials. We are currently leaning towards using a Raspberry Pi and purchasing those peripherals that correspond to the Raspberry Pi, including the raspberry pi touch screen and speaker that can be used with Raspberry Pi. We haven’t completely decided what type of proximity sensor we wanted as we need some way of detecting a person versus other objects.

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule? 

At the moment I believe my progress is on schedule with respect to the Gantt chart we created as a team. I am making progress with the Bill of Materials and also currently researching different ways to implement the timer, motor control, and interfacing with the touchscreen. 

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

Hopefully in the next week, I can make enough progress with understanding of motor control that I can come up with a schematic or diagram about how the Raspberry Pi will control the 6 motors. I believe online resources such as Raspberry Pi forums and their website will provide me with good enough information about the process. Also, I’ve seen YouTube videos of people controlling motors with Raspberry Pi so I will review those in detail.

 

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Anna’s Status Report for 2/8/25

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project?

This week, I researched problems that our idea could help solve, particularly the psychological aspects behind our design choices. This included exploring why we opted for a 1-on-1 interactive system, how a reward system can enhance studying, among others. Additionally, I helped organize and finalize our proposal slides, created the Gantt chart, and divided tasks for the next steps.

Beyond that, I drafted a GUI mockup for our touchscreen based on the state diagram I created. I also researched app development options for the Raspberry Pi, compiling setup tutorials and relevant resources into a reference document. As part of this, I downloaded PySimpleGUI, one of the available GUI development environments, though I have yet to determine if it is the best fit since we have not finalized our materials list.

Is your progress on schedule or behind?

According to the team’s Gantt chart, my progress is on schedule. However, I am still uncertain about which GUI framework to use. To resolve this, I plan to collaborate with the team to finalize our RPi and touchscreen selection before making a decision. Further research will also help solidify our approach.

What deliverables do you hope to complete next week?

Next week, I aim to finalize our choice of an app development framework and begin coding the interface. Additionally, I plan to set up a GitHub repository for version control and collaboration.