I repeated my user testing at a local Preschool using a pasta machine to simulate the experience of making the parts. It seemed to improve interest in the cardboard building toy overall.
Comments and Criticism:
Joel(Laser Shop Tech)
- Machine design will bend the cardboard as it is cut. I will need to make the input area for the cardboard parallel to the output area where the cut pieces exit.
Product Design Sophmore
- It will need a lot of pieces to make anything big
Tom O'Hare
- Mission statement is not a mission statement, mention the problem and my strategy referencing real statistics
- Try an older age group, maybe high school kids
- Make main image bigger and center of focus
- Show and discuss the machine on the board
Seth
- There is a die cutting machine in the shop maybe I won't need to build my own
- Could promote schools owning laser cutters to produce
- Could get packaging factories to insert my shapes into the scrap of their production to generate my parts to distribute.
Kevin(Alumni)
- Provide teacher instruction booklet for how to use and for lesson plans
- Film user testing to show them building structures with the product
Joel (Alumni)
- Design Precedent: Arduno Open Source Circuit Chip
Joe Goldstein-architect
- What and how do children learn from making the bridge
- What are the learning principles, what can be taught in terms of building a better bridge and how loads are distributed
- What else can be built
- Should speak with a structural engineer to find out strength limitations
- Should plan how it can be set up for loading weights.
- Used Paper cutting hand tool(with blade embedded within but protected from human contact) as example of a tool I could make for cutting cardboard to size for machine, but he thinks it should be for teacher use only.
- Additional shape with a flat side would allow for a roadway to be added to the bridge and distribute the weight on the base
- Concerned about kids using a machine to cut things
- Doesn't think it can be safe and should provide precut cardboard
- Doesn't think it looks like a bridge
Future Plans:
- Meet with external partner to get their feedback, discuss next steps, and learn how to develop a curriculum/lesson plan using these parts.
- Talk to die makers about design and estimates of cost for dies. (one quote for a rotary die is $1600-$1800, they recommended another place that may be able to do it cheaper, but it still may not be cost effective, if this is the case I will redesign the machine for a flat die)
- Refine machine design, set up parts list and potential suppliers/manufacturers.
- Form Studies for machine.
- Order die and materials for making working prototype?
1 comment:
Hi David,
Sorry I didn't make it over to speak with at the mid review. Your board looks great, and in general I think you are making good progress. I am especially impressed that you managed to develop a simple vocabulary of 3D shapes, including linear elements and joints, entirely from flat material. The joint appears to be highly flexible, allowing for many different configurations and structures. I am dubious about the idea of developing a machine that can cut the shapes from corrugated cardboard, but since that is an important part of your concept, you need to produce a convincing design for how this machine will operate. Your current design is interesting; I especially like the thoughtfulness of including a two-handed crank, with a weighted base, although it might be more effective (and cheaper) to incorporate a clamp to mount the cutting machine to a table top. The weighted base will probably not be adequate to stabilize the machine during use, given the force that will be needed to cut the material.
I agree that the key to this product's usefulness and effectiveness will be the development of a curriculum that will direct students' explorations. In the pictures of the kids using the shapes, it appeared that they were making random structures, which is what you would expect them to without any kind of guidance. I am imaging a series of cartoons showing how to assemble simple structures in a sequential fashion; this will encourage them to build things that demonstrate the concepts you want to promote. Ideally, the curriculum would include a number of lessons that start with very simple structures, then progress to more complex ones. I would imagine that the Salvadori Center would be helpful, because I would guess that they have very specific lesson plans for various age groups. Also, in my WiiCane project, we are producing a curriculum for the system, and I can send you some lesson examples so that you can see what that looks like. Please let me know if you are interested in that, and I will send it to you.
steven
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