Introduction
For this project we were supposed to think of a world problem and solve an aspect of it with an engineering twist. My groups world problem was waste disposal. Waste disposal is a big problem in our economy. It can hurt the soil, which affects the ability for plants to grow properly, which then developed into diseases. First, we brainstormed ideas that can potentially be a world problem. We jotted basically anything down from cancer, to hitting your funny bone. We then got into groups based on what our world problem was. We then individually researched our topic then collaborated.
We modeled our project after the Engineering Design Cycle. The steps of this cycle are:
1) Define the problem
2) Background research
3) Brainstorm solutions
4) Build a prototype
5) Test and redesign
1) As I said before, we were placed in groups based on our categories for our world problem. We had decided on environmental issues.
2) On the first day, we then researched our topic to familiarize ourselves with it. We researched many different topics such as pollution, medical supply disposal, electronic disposal, and battery disposal. Obviously there are many different categories in environmental issues, so my group narrowed it down to waste disposal or hazardous chemicals to be specific. In the pictures above you can see the original research my group and I did.
3) We originally came up with a lot of potential ideas such as a garbage can that can detect the type of garbage and automatically sort it into different groups. We then realized that that was kind of hard. We then came up with the idea of designing a container that people could drop off their old used batteries, so that they don't just dump them in their trash cans and harm plants.
4) We built our prototype on a 3-D modeling design software.
1) Define the problem
2) Background research
3) Brainstorm solutions
4) Build a prototype
5) Test and redesign
1) As I said before, we were placed in groups based on our categories for our world problem. We had decided on environmental issues.
2) On the first day, we then researched our topic to familiarize ourselves with it. We researched many different topics such as pollution, medical supply disposal, electronic disposal, and battery disposal. Obviously there are many different categories in environmental issues, so my group narrowed it down to waste disposal or hazardous chemicals to be specific. In the pictures above you can see the original research my group and I did.
3) We originally came up with a lot of potential ideas such as a garbage can that can detect the type of garbage and automatically sort it into different groups. We then realized that that was kind of hard. We then came up with the idea of designing a container that people could drop off their old used batteries, so that they don't just dump them in their trash cans and harm plants.
4) We built our prototype on a 3-D modeling design software.
This is a model of our idea for where people would drop off their used batteries. On the map are the populated places where we would place these bins: Harvest Market, San Marin High school, Costco, and Trader Joe's.
Reflection
Overall this project was successful because of our empathy. We were all supportive of each other and bounced ideas off each other. Our best traits were our cooperation and empathy. Places where we needed to improve were staying on task. If one of us was off task, it wouldn't take long for the other three to be off task as well. I can't come up with any specific examples of when these showed, but we would help each other with the research and produce positive feedback for any of our ideas or thoughts. Because we were all good friends it was hard for us to be focused all the time. But we managed to pull it together and finish the project well.
hazardous_chemicals.pptx | |
File Size: | 1513 kb |
File Type: | pptx |