Small Projects, Big Lessons

Rethinking the shopping cart

Challenge: Redesign loaded shopping carts so they are easier to turn

Solution: A prototype of cart where the rear wheels can switch from fixed to swivel making turning easier.

Logistics: 2 weeks, 2 people

My Role: Acquire cart; plan user research and testing; film and edit video; build wooden testing rig and prototypes

Duck Car

A duck is a four-wheeled vehicle that is able to follow a lead vehicle when it is stationary and moving. It maintains a constant distance behind the lead vehicle based on the feedback signal of an infrared sensor at the front of the duck.

Challenge: Design and build a controller for a duck car using principles of control theory

Solution: A PID controller with a settling time of less than half a second and no peak overshoot or oscillation

Logistics: 10 days, 2 people

My role: Calibrate sensor; model system using transfer function;
design a controller using Matla; build and debug circuit

Model Bridge

Challenge: Build a model bridge and predict its maximum load

Solution: Maximum load of bridge predicted with 95% accuracy

Logistics: 2 weeks, 2 people

My role: Model bridge and run simulation in Solid Works; laser cut and assemble bridge

Pneumonia: Improving Health Care in Rural Ghana

Challenge: Healthcare workers in rural clinics need a reliable method to differentiate between lower and upper respiratory tract infection

Solution: Electronic stethoscope that accurately measures breathing rate and indicates whether patient is at risk of having a lower respiratory tract infection such as pneumonia

Logistics: 10 weeks, 3 students in Dartmouth, New Hampshire, 8 students in Ashesi, Ghana  

My role: Worked part-time on project to help with human-centered design aspects; focused on problem definition and brainstorming with team; identified pain points and developed typical patients' journey map; sketched conceptual designs for device

Patient Journey Map

Mind maps during brainstorming sessions

Conceptual Design Sketches

Analogue Heart Monitor

Challenge: Design a heart monitor that can measure regular and rapid pulses

Solution: An analogue heart monitor that produces a beep and synchronized flash modulated by a heart beat ranging from 60 to 100 beats per minute

Logistics: 3 weeks, 2 people

My role Use OrCad to design and simulate circuit; build and debug linear and digital circuits