The bulk of my EEP is a freelance project with the goal to create a pool-side drink serving product called the "PoolTender." Unfortunately, early work on the project was difficult due some client unresponsiveness. As of the past week or so the project has started to move forward a bit faster now, and we have planned meetings to give feedback more consistently.
I have included sketches, CAD screenshots, and work from the Miro board below.
The current concept is an more organic form that will fold out to provide different features like a tray that sits below the pool's coping stone, multiple drink dispensers, and an array of storage drawers and panels for serving snacks, garnishes, etc. There will also be a section for trash and a place to store water-sensitive belongings.
The goal is to have a fully rendered concept by mid-December. The render will be used to pitch the concept to marketing and manufacturing experts, and will be modified accordingly depending on expert feedback. Therefore, attention to DFM (design for manufacturing) is important.
Below is a bag I made while waiting on feedback from my clients for the main project.
Outside of freelance time, I am working on my capstone and a prop for a Halloween costume as well. My capstone work has been going well and I currently have an almost complete electronics and coding basis to implement my design with. The Halloween prop will feature lights and a small mechanism for some fun user interactions.
It will be included in my website's "making page" once it is completed, meaning after this semester I will have completed 1 major project, 2 minor projects, and a thorough head start on my capstone project.
CAD for my Ben 10 Omnitrix prop. The dial will be spring-loaded to pop-up and light-up when the side button is pressed, and will also feature a clasp and hinge for putting it on/taking it off.
All of the components will be parted out for easy printing, painting, and assembly.
Components for my capstone, the "SpoilAlert." It uses a Adafruit QT PY microcontroller, two VOC sensors, a CO2 sensor, and humidity and temperature compensation to detect the volatile organic compound contents of a source and verify if it is safe to consume.
Creating an algorithm for the SpoilAlert requires training the sensors against existing sources. Above I am exposing the BME688 sensor to spoiled chicken for 30 minutes to catalog the data.