Risk and Plans

We are trying to bring more components of the project together. Some current tasks are making sure the software bring-ups are successful, and that hardware design will fulfill our needs. One of the risks that might jeopardize our progress would be running into issues that we did not expect. For example, the radar software bring-up took a bit longer because we had to resolve some basic UART communication issues that were related to the Pi. In addition, we were trying to find optimal materials for our radar cover, which we did not initially believe to be this time-consuming and challenging. However, it turned out there are a lot of details like the permittivity and the thickness that we need to consider. Such unexpected issues might lead to lengthy delays or, even worse, change of plans. We tried to do as extensive research as possible beforehand to minimize such things from happening, but it is unavoidable like any other engineering project. To mitigate this, we still have our built-in slack time in the project timeline, and we try to dynamically adjust the schedule and plan if needed. The adjustment is based on our MVP requirements. We hope to minimize the impact of unexpected errors by staying on top of the game, and making sure we work through other simple, non-technically intense parts of the project efficiently.

Changes in Design

We do not have any design changes since last week.

Schedule Updates

Here is a screenshot of the Gantt chart as of this week:

Here are the schedule updates since last week:

Completed tasks :

• Initial radar software bringup complete
• UI software mockup complete
• All remaining parts (buttons, magnetometer) have arrived

On track tasks :

• Tuning BSM
• UI software development
• CAD design

Delayed tasks :

• Tuning FCW – Jason may not have time to complete this within the next week, we may need to adjust schedule based on discussion – we have also about 1 week of slack time to  delay this without delaying electrical/software integration, and even if that is delayed we have a couple of days of additional slack time before bike installation occurs.
• Turn signal development – Turn signal schematics signoff is still incomplete, so we will push to ensure that is done soon. We also have not started on turn signal software development yet – that will result in a delay for that specific task although we have sufficient slack time in the schedule to absorb a delay of ~1 week without affecting downstream tasks

Risk and Plans

Time management is the greatest risk for the current phase of the project. In the past week, the heavy workload caused us to be slightly behind the overall schedule. We are having a slight delay in enclosure design and manufacturing. If we stick with the previous plan, we might be causing massive delays in our project. Hence, while Johnny is speeding up finishing the CAD design, we are also making backup plans of running system integration in parallel with the enclosure design. We are currently running with a reasonable slack time. But if the delay continues, we will run into scheduling problems. We are communicating between team members to make sure that the schedule is updated, and that it is within the tolerances of the slack time that we have. Another challenge is that a design change might add some time to what we have planned. For example, we are learning what kind of materials and specifications can be used for the radar cover as we go through the datasheet, which caused us to take extra time to figure out the new design. These are all managed by cross-checking out plans and splitting the work as needed to make sure that we meet the absolute deadline.

Changes in Design

We have changed our plan for radar radome material. Our current plan is to use closed-cell polyurethane foam to be water-proof while allowing radio waves to pass.

Schedule Updates

There have been some significant changes to the Gantt chart. Here is the updated Gantt chart:

Here is a summary of changes:

• Extended deadline for software bringup for the radar to 3/11 since it isn’t complete
• Renamed the turn signal task of “Benchtop Testing” to “Development” to better capture what we’re doing and added Jason to assist Johnny with that
• Deleted the “Bike Installation” step from the radar and bike signals since we can’t do that until we have the final enclosures complete
  • Instead, we added a new task called “Electrical/Software System Integration” where we integrate all the electrical and software pieces together without actually installing them on the bike – this removes the dependency on having the enclosure being completed first
  • We renamed the “Full System Integration” step to “Bike Installation”, where we’ll install everything onto the bike – this depends on enclosure completion and electrical/software system integration
• Extended CAD design time to 2 weeks since Johnny needs more time
  • This pushes back Bike Installation by a week, but because our original final demo date was 4/29 and is now 5/3, we only effectively lose 3 days
• Set final demo date set to 5/3 based on final exam schedule
• Due date of UI mockup extended 2/28 to 3/13 (which also pushes the UI implementation start date back) since Jason needs to make more changes to it
• UI implementation end date extended 3/15 to 3/24 as Jason is not confident he can finish it in the original time frame of 1 week

Our slack time is now 4 days.

Weekly Special Questions

Note: Part A was written by Jack Wang, Part B was written by Johnny Tian, and Part C was written by Jason.

A. Global Factors:

Our BikeBuddy will have a great impact on the global scale. The system will be able to be installed on different kinds of bicycles, so each individual around the world could benefit from such a system. Bike safety is definitely not only a local concern in Pittsburgh, but an issue faced by all bike commuters around the globe. We try to make the system generic so that it will be able to perform things like blind-spot detection and illuminate turn signals in diverse road and weather conditions. People who utilize it will not need to be technologically savvy. Instead, it will be designed to be able to use and interpret the information easily. This system will not only be beneficial to the cyclist community around the world but to all the general public who shares the road. It will likely reduce the number of crashes between the car and the bike, creating a safer road environment. It will not just be a system that will contribute to those in academics, but a system that people can actually use, benefiting their day-to-day life on a bike, no matter where they are.

B. Cultural Factors:

Integrating blind spot monitoring and turn signaling features represents not only a technological advancement but also an innovation intertwined with cultural factors. In cultures where cycling is popular, these innovations can significantly enhance safety, reflecting a commitment to promoting responsible behavior on the roads and emphasizing cyclists’ well-being.

In diverse linguistic environments where individuals may not share a common language, visual cues become universally understood. Turn signals, as a non-verbal and standardized method of communication enabling drivers and pedestrians to anticipate and respond to upcoming maneuvers.

In addition, clear and consistent signaling enhances adherence to traffic regulations, contributing to a smoother flow of traffic and improved road safety. When riders consistently utilize turn signals, it becomes easier for law enforcement to monitor the traffic.

C. Environmental Factors

If we are able to encourage more people to bicycle instead of taking their car by giving users more confidence in their safety on the road, we can improve the environment by taking more vehicles off the road. This will hopefully improve air quality, reduce use of fossil fuels, and reduce noise pollution.

However, our product itself may have a slight negative environmental impact due to the materials involved in building the system. For example, I believe our battery (Anker 337) uses lithium, and the extraction of lithium can have negative impacts on the environment such as “[the] use [of] large quantities of water and related pollution; potential increase in carbon dioxide emissions; production of large quantities of mineral waste; increased respiratory problems; alteration of the hydrological cycle” (https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2023/01/18/the-paradox-of-lithium/). While our product does not use large amounts of lithium compared to things like electric vehicles or other resources such as rare earth metals that are perhaps needed for things like the Raspberry Pi, we nonetheless do contribute to these issues.