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Year Review of The Smart Wand Project

It started with The Smart Boy and refined to something truly useful with interest from real-world people with real-world applications. 

The goals of the project were to combine a range of tools to assist the creative process. It has potential as a product and as a business and I plan to pursue that. This project doesn't end with graduation.

What I would do different is focusing on one function at a time. That is the way we ended up doing it later in the project however before then we were mostly focusing on getting every feature working and iterating which took a lot more time and money that it could have. We also wasted time getting features working in a way that didn't work later in the project when we changed things such as the screen.

Sam was very helpful at keeping us on track and giving us new ideas on the design and materials.

Tayne also did some amazing work with the 3D designs and keeping up with my iterations on circuit size and shape for someone just starting out in 3D design.

We used a large variety of methodologies, skills, and techniques in both the design and the testing of our project. My skills in electronics, business, and team management came into hyperdrive with this project. I had to upskill very quickly to keep the project moving forward.

Overall, we pushed the boundaries of what is considered a diagnostic tool and this was only possible due to a mix of new technologies and disciplines.

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Contents Post for Smart Wand Project

Team USys

Jeremy King (Electrical Engineering)

Samuel Marzuki (Team Management and R&D)

Tayne Bilyard (3D Fabrication and Design)

Me (Business, Embedded Systems, and Product Design)

Contents

Summary & Review  https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188679026049/year-review-of-the-smart-wand-project

A variation of Smart Boy from Semester 1 https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/185627382539/prototype-v4

Week 1 - The Idea https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/187391821849/new-beginnings-week-1

Week 2 - Planning and Designing https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/187392192099/planning-and-designing-week-2

Week 3 - Its a Sonic https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/187392293959/its-a-sonic-week-3

Christchurch Airport Job - Did some testing of our idea in a real environment https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/187865782414/christchurch-airport-walkway

Week 4 - Making OLED Screens Work https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/187866204749/oleds-are-photo-shy-week-4 

Week 5 - Brand Story https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/187866358684/once-apon-a-time-week-5

Week 6 - More Business and meeting our mentor https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/187866452119/more-business-week-6

Week 7 - Heat Sensors https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188643537649/i-tried-2-types-of-sensors-for-temperature-and

Week 8 - Business Practice https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188642753219/we-also-compleated-and-submitted-our-business-plan

Semester Break - Holidays are a Lie! https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188643617179/we-decided-to-added-laser-because-why-not-i-also

Week 9 - Testing The Waters https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188643736579/this-week-we-tried-presenting-our-idea-to-an

Week 10 - XChallenge Finals https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188644368144/xchallenge-finals-week-10

Week 11/12 - The Wand V2 https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188644844714/the-wand-v2-week-11-12

Week 13 - Case, GUI, and Play Testing https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188644996404/case-gui-and-play-testing-week-13

Week 14 - The Wand V3 Rapid Prototyping https://blog.epsilum.co.nz/post/188645282924/the-wand-v3-rapid-prototyping-week-14

Website Portfolio

https://newsite.epsilum.co.nz

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The Wand V3 Rapid Prototyping - Week 14

Cardboard Layout

While I worked on a new circuit, Tayne worked on the new case. We were now more determined than ever to get The Wand finished. Time for Rapid Prototyping and focusing on getting one thing working at a time. 

I added a bigger screen first and got that working with a laser which ended up requiring a custom GUI and Driver mostly written from scratch. I tried several GUI libraries available on Github, However, none worked with my setup. I even tried uGUI which supports our hardware and the screen and seems perfect, however, it has to be written in a proprietary version of C which has no libraries for any of our other devices and circuits so I would need to learn how to use it and recode each library from scratch. This might be a good idea for the final product however, I don't have enough time. Therefore I decided to use my old code for each device and hardcode a GUI from scratch to support my screen as I thought it would be quicker than wasting any more time trying to save it.

The V3 Circuit is designed to have most parts modular and replaceable to make repairs easier and take less time/money. It is also wider and thinner with a bigger battery.

Tayne at over the week printed several cases that got closer and closer to perfect.

By the end of the week, we had almost succeeded when the final prints kept failing towards the end.

We are very close to an MVP now we just need to figure out what is wrong with our prints.

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Case, GUI, and Play Testing - Week 13

Step one for this week was to get some upgrades now that we have some funding from the XChallenge. This means some of our ‘would be nice’ features are actually feasible now. Such as a laser distance sensor. Here is the Exploded idea of the layout.

Tayne got back to designing a new case and after some much-needed sleep it was done.

The case is only missing a top and a spot for the distance sensor.

At this point, I had a meeting with an industrial designer at Blender’s office in Albany. They gave some very useful feedback on the current design and GUI and they seemed to like the idea. However, it is still early days in terms of an actual business. One suggestion was adding a bigger screen as the text was a little difficult to see. Time for some Rapid Prototyping.

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The Wand V2 - Week 11 & 12

The last case was very bulky and the shape wasn't as good in reality as it was on paper. The design was also too bulky.

So back to the drawing board. We need the device to be smaller. This means more refinement and not adding things we don't need. Also changing the shape so the case can sit as close as possible to the internal components.

This version also can charge off USB. I now have everything setup electronically. We now just need a case and a GUI.

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XChallenge Finals - Week 10

This week we pitched our idea to a panel of judges and an audience, finalised a prototype, made business connections, and got a lot of feedback.

We were in the final round of XChallenge and we were going against 8 other groups. 

This also counts as the first public launch of our idea. It was a ‘’ Venue, therefore, we have 6 months of Intelectual Property Protection from all attendees giving us the chance to give more aspects of our idea.

We printed our first case for the prototype, however, sadly it didn't quite fit. So it ended up being taped to keep sensitive parts safe.

The presentation went very well with some saying it was the best that night. We spoke to many people and had some give us contact details and arrange meetups. I was very happy to finish the presentation exactly on time and have the judges go overtime on questions. A lot of the questions, however, seemed stupid and I think us being the only technical idea had a part in that. 

Then the moment we were all waiting for, the results... We were announced at 3rd place!

AUT’s Post

https://www.facebook.com/autuni/posts/3040297029318080?__tn__=K-R

AUT Website

https://www.aut.ac.nz/student-life/clubs-and-activities/x-challenge-business-idea-competition

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I finally found a good study spot

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Testing The Waters - Week 9

This week we tried presenting our idea to an audience for the first time in a business setting. The idea was very well received but it was obvious the pitch had a long way to go before the final pitch for the XChallenge Pitch night next week. We had a lot of positive feedback and questions. Now to refine it.

For XChallenge the business plan was also due this week which meant this week was mostly spent on business, writing, and practising the presentation for XChallenge. There was very little progress on the prototype. But above is where we got to.

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Holidays are a Lie! (The Break)

We decided to added laser because why not. I also added Battery power to the device and the power supply. I also got the buttons working.

Lastly I spent a lot of time trying to get the buttons woring with some sort of GUI.

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Heat Sensors

I tried 2 types of sensors for temperature and researched another. A lot of multimeters support a K-Type thermocouple to measure temperature by directly placing a sensor to an object. This would not be hard for us to add however I decided adding a pyrometer (laser temperature) sensor would be more useful and the k-type could be a later addition.

Originally I had a dht11 sensor working which gives humidity and temperature of the room, useful, but, not as needed in electrical diagnostics. This will be used later, however.

The next step was using lasers. I am using a sensor known for its accuracy and ease of use with microprocessors in embedded systems. The added bonus is this sensor becomes more accurate with a known humidity reading and distance reading which we will be adding later.

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Week 8

We also compleated and submitted our business plan which required a lot of research and talking to people. I am very happy with our pitch and a big part of the improvements was from Jeremy. We will continue practising and refining the prototype over the break. 

I also got my photo of the XChallenge Wining for round One.

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More Business (Week 6)

This week we met with Steve Corbet, our business mentor in AUT’s Business and Innovation department. He gave us very useful advice in going forward in the XChallenge and our business. He gave us a plan and we will meet up with him again before the final event on the 26th of September.

We then worked on a presentation to test out in Studio as part of our submission and on Wednesday I ended up presenting on my own. I still think it went okay, however. 

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Once Apon a Time (Week 5)

This week we focused more on the business side, first by compleating a Business Canvas and then we spent a full 9 to 5 day making a brand story with Story Tech. Here is our story after refinement.

We are μsys, a creative product design company focusing on reinventing traditional systems to be more efficient and ergonomic using the technology of today. With our skills in microsystems, we can solve these problems in a smaller and more convenient manner. We have a diverse and knowledgeable team passionate about optimising the lives of workers across all industries but starting in the industrial electrical sector.

We created USys for technically minded people in the industrial electrical sector who value safety, quality, and reliability. Because current diagnostic tools are inconvenient and lack ergonomics.

We strive to make our customers lives more efficient and stress-free. We want to revolutionise the current diagnostics markets by introducing new and different ways to solve problems using modern technology and ideas. USys is the team designing new ambitious products to be more practical and optimise the workplace.

Our customers benefit from smarter and more convenient technology that takes problems from a unique approach. There are better ways to resolve old problems more efficiently and in a more user-focused way for the modern age.

Designed with Kiwi ingenuity here in NZ where we are known and have a history of innovation that can be world-changing, with parts from reliable sources and a diverse team with a variety of complementary skill sets. We not only want to make things easier for the user, or more efficient, or smaller, but we want to make new ways of doing things that may not have been thought of or just not feasible yet.

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OLEDs are Photo Shy (Week 4)

This week had its ups and downs... After getting most of the structure of the device done. 

I then got the OLED Screen working which was harder than I expected. Eventually, after a lot of trial and error, I found a protocol that worked. I went to take a photo of what I achieved to show my group, and I dropped my phone on the screen immediately destroying it. $45 down the drain. I went and got another one to solder in and this time being very careful when photographing it.

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Christchurch Airport Walkway

A project I have been working on with Perceptual Engineering is an interactive walkway to Christchurch International Airport Terminals from the new hotel and bus bay.

This project has been ongoing since the start of the year and it was amazing to see it in action in real life at the Airport as opposed to architectural drawings and designs.

The walkway has laser beam sensors that can measure the speed, position, and direction any person is going. This data can be fed to a computer and used to control the LED RGB lights all the way down the installation. Currently, we have made a shooting effect that is based on the users' speed and direction that shoots a colour down the arches.

I have learnt a lot on this project and applied a lot of my skills over multiple disciplines.

Launches to the public in November.

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Its a Sonic... (Week 3)

As I started on soldering parts to a board and getting a feel for the layout I had a realization, its a device that fits in your pocket, does everything, and you wave arround. Its a sonic screwdriver!

And here is where my work got to before noticing.

Later we moved to discussing how a case might look and how we were goinng to fit batteries. Flat lithium cells or round?...

Then while trying to figure this out I got an email and it turns out we made it to the finalists in XChallenge! So we will have even more pressure to get not only this done but also get a good business case together by the pitch night.

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Planning and Designing (Week 2)

We have gone down to two members working on this, Sam and I. Sam will focus on R&D and management of tasks like last semester.

We spent this week sketching out how we want to structure our time and deadlines. We decided to get the device and business mostly planned out by the middle of the semester to give us time to test it with people and potentially manufacture a MVP.

Here is a sketch of the original idea.

I also started improving my 3d design and printing ability. I made some new product hooks for Jaycar and a lot of small gifts for people. The most interesting thing I made would be a lithophane which is a photograph that you can see when held to light.

I also started putting together some circuitry to test some microprocessors and controllers to see what would be smallest yet powerful enough. In doing this I researched a lot of the latest developments in the feild and came up with using the ESP32 for the first prototype as it is fast, small, has wifi/bluetooth, and has a lot of memory.