MicahThomas

January26,2016
ComputerEngineering

FinalReflectionQuestions

1. Whilewritingyourpaper,whatdidyoulearnabouttheresearchprocess?

AsIwrotemypaperonComputerEngineering,Ilearnedthatacquiringusableand
comprehensiveresearchisimperativetothewritingprocess.Also,itisimportanttoallowmy
researchtoevolvesothatthedirectionofthepaperisnotboundbyresearchdoneinjustone
day.IusedtheextensivedatabaseofNCWiseOwlandhadtofilterthroughmanysourcesto
findqualitysources.AlthoughIinitiallyfoundjustten,Isoonrealizedthatusingaplethoraof
sources,whilestillretainingtheindividualqualityofeachsource,wouldallowmetoconstruct
thebestpaper.Ifinishedmypaperwith24sources,andhadtolearnhowtoorganizemysources
inaneatmannertoefficientlywritebothmypaperaswellasmyoutline.

2. Howwastheresearchrelatedtoyourmentorhours?

Althoughsomeofmysourcesfocusedonthehistoryofcomputers,manyfocusedonmodernand
advancedtechnologiesandthefutureofcomputerengineering.Thesesourceshelpedme
determinewhatnewtechnologieswouldbeappropriatetouseformyproject,TheManuProject,
andmymentor,Mr.ChadHicks,oftenusedthemesthatIhadresearchedpriorwhendiscussing
thecodedesignforManu.Myresearchalsoextendedtotheethicalityofmyproject:Just
becausewehavethetechnologytobuildafullyarticulatedprosthetic,shouldwe?Understanding
thepoliticalscienceofmyproject,aswellastheengineering,hadgreatrelevancetomy
research.

3. Summarizethementorhoursthatyoucompleted.

MymentorandIhavemetforacombinedtotalof60+hours.Webeganmeetinginthesummer
of2015,whenweweregrantedtentativeapprovalforTheManuProject.Ourfirstmissionwas
tofullyconstructa3Dprinterfromscratch.WechosethePrusai3,acompletelyopensource,
DoItYourselfkit.Itisimportanttounderstand3Dprintersifyouactivelyusethem,so
buildingonewasagreatwaytolearnaboutthem.Afterafewweeks,wehadafullyworking
machinethatstillrunstoday.Thisprinter,alongwithtwoothers,wouldbethefabricationunits
formyproject.Laterinmymentorhours,wemettodesignthehand.Goingwitha
comprehensiveandfutureproofdesign,weusedSolidworkstocreateacomputeraideddesign
(CAD)model.Wethenprintedthepiecesandinstalledthemicroprocessorandspoolmounts.
Thenexthourswerespentcodingthemicroprocessorandproblemsolvingcodechallengesas
wellasinterfacingwiththeinputmethods.


4. Howdidworkingwithyourmentoraffectyourunderstandingofthetopicandyour
developmentoftheproduct?

Ioriginallyreachedouttomymentorbecauseofhiscareerwithcomputerengineering,butit
wassoonrealizedthatMr.HickwasaperfectmentorbecauseofhisexperiencewithEMSand
anatomycourses.Mr.Hicksexpertisegreatlyimpactedmyproduct.Iwouldnotbeableto
actuallycreatethepartswithmy3DprinterwithouthisknowledgeonthemandIdefinitely
wouldnothavebeenabletocreatesuchacomplexandprofessionalcodeonmyown.

5. Howdidcreatingaproductandcompletingthehourschallengeyoupersonally?

Myparticularprojectisverytimeconsumingandextensive,mainlybecauseitwasamechanical
challenge,aprogrammingchallenge,andasocialchallengeaswell(fittingonamputees).The
projectpersonallychallengedmethoughbecauseoftheimpactithadonmyschoolandwork
schedule.Prioritizingeventsanddeadlinesisaverydifficulttaskwheneverythinghasa
consequence.TheManuProjecthelpedmeunderstandhowIreacttostressandhelpedme
connectwithmanycompaniesregardingdonationsandsponsorship,whichbroadenedmy
horizonsandexpandedmyopportunities.

6. Doyoufeelpreparedacademicallyandemotionallyforthepresentation?

IfeelasifIamgreatlypreparedbothacademicallyandemotionallyforthepresentation.I
believeIhaveinnateoratoryskillsbuttakingPublicSpeakinginthefirstsemesterundoubtedly
helpedmepresenttoacrowdmoreeffectively.Regardingacademics,myprojectistrulyan
engineeringproject,andmyexperienceonmyFRCroboticsteamhaspreparedmeforextremely
complicatedbuildsandpressures.

7. Howdidtheentireprocessstretchyouasalearnerandasanindividual?

Theentireprocessstretchedmeasanindividualbecauseofthenatureofmyproject.Ihave
alwaysbeenmechanicallyinclined,sodesignedthehanditselfwasnothard,howevertranslating
thosesketchedtoCADhadalearningcurve,andintegratingelectronicswasnewtomeaswell.
However,therealstretchwastheprogramming.Ihadalwaysstayedawayfromitinthepast.I
onlynewsimpleHTMLandwasnotentirelysetonlearningcomplexscriptforelectronics.
Whenthetimecametobe,Mr.HicksandIdoveintotheArduinoSketchplatform.Solvingthis
codeandimplementinghowitwillinteractwithManuwasextremelydifficult,butrewarding.


8. Describeanobstacleyouencounteredandhowyouovercameit.

Inanidealworld,theparameterssetinacomputeraideddesignplatformwilltranslatetoreal
worldmodels,forexample,a20mminnerUbracketwallsettointerfacewitha20mm
rectangularprismwillbeaperfectmatch.However,evenifthesepiecesweresenttoaCNC
machine,theywouldhaveminordefects,andourpiecesarebeingsenttoa3Dprinter,whichis
technicallyjustarapidprototypingmachine.Inreality,thesepiecesneedroomforclearance.My
initialestimatewas.25mmoneachwallface,butasthemodelsfinishedbeingprintedIcould
immediatelytelltheywouldnotfittogether.Theeasiestwaytofixthiswouldbetoscale
interceptablepartsby9099percentoftheiroriginallysize,shrinkingthewallsizeandallowing
thepiecestoconnect,butthentheproblemisthatthe3mmdiameterscrewholesproportionally
changeaswell.Inordertofixtheproblem,Ihadtocorrectthepartsattheirorigin:theCAD
model.Iredesignedeachdigittohaveclearanceandmarginalerrorroomforproofingand3D
printing.Thisprocesswasextremelytediousbutnecessarytoalloweachfingertocorrectly
articulate.

9. Whatlifeskillsdidyouacquireandhowwilltheyhelpyouinthefuture?

ThePrideProjecttaughtmeimportantlifeskillsregardingmyintendedprofession,mechanical
engineering,aswellascomplexcodingtouseinmechatronics.Iwanttoownarobotics
laboratorywhenIamolder,andtheskillsIhavelearnedthroughthisproject,(publicspeaking,
CAD,coding,organization,etc)willundisputedlyhelpmeachievemygoals.

10. Ifyouhadtogobackanddopartsoftheprojectagain,whatwouldyoudo
differently?

IfIhadtogobackanddopartsofmyprojectagain,Iwouldspendmuchmoretimeonthe
executionofManuoncethepartsfromthe3Dprintercameout.TheproblemIhadisthatIdid
notgivemyselfenoughtimetocodeManuaswellasIwouldhavelikedandinterfacedwithas
manyinputmethods.IfIspentasmuchtimedesignedthecodethenIdidwiththemechanical
mold,thenthehanditselfwouldbemuchmoreeasytouseforamputees.