- Completed final integration of the full SPARK system — all features are working end-to-end and the system is ready for testing and demo.
- Decluttered and reorganized the repository to significantly lower the barrier to getting started. This includes one-click setup scripts that automatically configure the SPARK app on a fresh Windows or macOS environment, removing manual dependency setup steps.
- Helped prepare materials and testing results for the final presentation.
What new tools or knowledge did you need to learn?
Repo Management: Clearly defining the file structure of the repo early on can significantly boost clarity, productivity, and readability. Things will get messy really quickly, especially when collaborating with others. Same with Git best practices: do commit and commit often, branch management, commit message style, etc.
Development Environment Management: same ideology. What may work on your machine may not work on your other machine, let alone your teammate’s one. This is especially true for our team: I work mostly in Windows, and Tatyana works mostly in macOS. Carefully selecting mutual toolchains and navigating the OS-specific tools is 100% needed. Sometimes, hardcoding is necessary; most of the time, it should be avoided.
Agile Development for PCB: for early prototypes(which is every capstone project – no project would REALLY pass the early prototype stage), have more flexibility. Have test points, backup vias and pads for manual soldering and rerouting, 3d modeling for spacing, mounting holes for casing. order extra components… All very necessary. When making iterations, one should try to use as much already-bought components as possible.
The learning strategy was mostly hands-on and informal: running the scripts repeatedly on clean environments to catch failures, reading platform-specific documentation and Stack Overflow threads for edge cases, and iterating quickly based on what broke. This trial-and-error approach on real machines was far more effective than any top-down reading would have been for a task this integration-heavy.