Inductions

This week started with the soldering induction, which to my surprise was a lot of fun and I learned a lot about it. I had actually done some soldering before, but that's a long time ago and it was nice to freshen up the knowledge. In the end I manage to make a small light device with a working switch and battery.

In addition I attended the space induction which was only a walkthrough of the room and equipment available in that room. Overall, I think I have done all of the required inductions and look forward into starting to make something physical for the main project.

Presentations

The presentations for the classes individual ideas were held this week on both Tuesday and wednesday. I noticed that there were a lot of the same basic elements too many of the ideas, especially the use of sound and different ways to display emotion.

My own presentation went well but in all honesty I'm not all that exited for my idea. In the end it felt a bit mixed with different ideas merged into one confusing device. The feedback that I got from the peer reviews was mostly good. The ongoing concern however was whether or not this was a good way to wake up in the morning where one said that is was a "brutal way of waking up" and that it might not be safe. Another comment was that there could be a different way to set the alarm other than using a smartphone. It was also a concern if people would care that the covers were removed and that it would have not effect. One person also didn't like the idea of using negative experience to change human behaviour.

All of the comments had a good point and raised concerns that I have thought of myself, especially the concern regarding the removal of the cover and if it has any effect. If the idea at any point would be considered for the main project all of these concerned must be reviewed before the decision to make this device.

In Class

This week, we had our 2-minute Project Inspiration Presentations in class. I had fun listening to everyone presenting as it was interesting to see silly and quirky ideas that I would never have thought of. I thought that it was nice to limit them to short 2-minute presentations because if it was longer, we would have all gotten bored.

We also had critique sheets to write down our opinions and comments for everyone's presentation. It did a good job keeping me focused on the presentations and made me reflect on each idea.

Inductions

I had both the Soldering 101 Induction and the 78-207 Space Induction this week.

It was my first time soldering. I was fine following the diagram to connect all the parts to the breadboard as I already learned this in DECO7230. However, for soldering, I had more trouble. I had to position everything properly to be able to fit it in the box. Positioning the switch on the other side, the height for the LED and the distance between each part to make soldering easier. I also had to use wires to connect to the battery as there were not enough battery holders for everybody.

After soldering everything, I showed it to Ben and we found out that the LED is always on even if I switch it off. This was because the solder was all touching each other. I had to separate it all and made a mess to make it work.

This week I had my Space induction. This was a session whereby we learnt how to most appropriately and safely use of the building 78 workshop room.

During the session, there was a heavy emphasis on health and safety. Checking tags, visual inspections of the tool prior to use and never force a tool were the main takeaways from the session. Closed in shoes must be worn at all times and due to the size of the class, we cannot "claim" an area in the workshop.