- 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? (written by Vicky)
After coming up with some sample questions, it seems that using one LCD screen for full display of the question body, the 4 choices, the time limit at top left corner and current score on the top right corner is not practical. We could resolve this by either using multiple LCD screens for the standard mode, or transfer all text to the touch screen display. The first approach would result in the final product being too heavy or the front panel being too crowded, while the second approach would make the buttons seem out of place and result in a counterintuitive interface. Another risk/challenge is integrating the arduino control side (takes care of power and motor control) with the raspberry pi side (takes care of interface graphics and text, two modes’ game program, speaker control, dispense signal, etc), we need to allocate extra time to merge our parallel work results. - 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? (written by Fei)
There was a change to our original plan regarding the timeline for assembling the vending machine. Initially, we planned to assemble the machine first to match the final product, but after discussing with the professor, we decided to postpone this step toward the end of the project timeline to prioritize reaching the MVP as quickly as possible. This adjustment allows us to validate the system’s core functionality before investing time and resources into assembly, which is achievable in a foreseeable amount of time. While this shift introduces the potential risk of a less refined final product, we plan to mitigate this by allocating ample time for assembly and committing to an intensive final push to refine and optimize the system before completion. - 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. (written by Min Ji)
We modified our tasks’ due date, MVP due date, and tasks that need to be done beyond our MVP date.
Link to our Gantt Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JmANpvjDwcfwNEb8NOHpPJ_vVw9D5-gHEve7-nGgvLc/edit?gid=0#gid=0
Carnegie Mellon ECE Capstone, Spring 2025: Fei Chen, Min Ji Kim, Vicky Zou