Craig

While this may not have been the most ideal project as we hit a lot of set backs, I enjoyed everything all and all. This project definitely kept both Rachel and I on our toes as nothing really went exactly as planned. It seemed like there were these subtle little quirks that kept popping up when we least expected them, only adding to the challenge. This may not sound like something that would be fun; however, it was something that definitely kept us on our toes at all times and required us to be both diligent in our work but it also kept our minds searching for creativity. A lot of these issues did not have straight forward answers which means we constantly had to think outside of the box to determine what would be the best solution or approach. I would say the biggest problem I faced was with the accelerometer algorithm, there were times where it would be working great one minute and then not at all the next minute. I’m sure we all know how frustrating that is. This just made me want to get it working even more though, to be honest. In the future, I hope to tap into the same kind of determination that culminated from frustration in my everyday work.

Rachel

This project has been taught me a lot about embedded systems but also about engineering in general. This project was something fun yet technical, almost equivalent to a magical wand, which made me truly excited and ready to work to ensure that this would work. I think the biggest problem I faced, aside from technical set-backs, was working with several pieces of technology I had never worked with before this project. We had been learning about microcontrollers for the past several weeks, but Bluetooth and accelerometers were unknown realms to me. While I was excited about the project, I believe the intimidation and almost fear of having to tackle these new technologies without being taught about them beforehand made me very hesitant to truly begin the hard work earlier in the process. In the end, I knew I had to get the work done and truly wanted it to work, and thus ended up asking questions and searching the web for clues as to how to make each piece work. While I ended up finding material to learn about both new parts, and had classmates willing to help, I think it was a great way to show how the real world actually operates. I know that in real life I will be tasked with something I have little to no experience in, and part of engineering is learning how to learn, since sometimes lack of knowledge about a topic is a problem to be solved. I believe in future design processes, now that I have successfully built a project where I was unfamiliar with the majority of major technologies, I will hopefully not be as hesitant to dive right into the ever-advancing abyss of technology.