Hey everyone,
Here's lamp business for the week. Sorry about the length, but make sure to read the "Tasks to be Done" section, since I included something for everyone to do over the next week and a half.
1. Tuesday's Meeting
2. Tasks to be Done
3. Spring Break
4. Meetings After Spring Break
1) Tuesday's Meeting:
Mike Harrison made his first lamp meeting this week. After introductions Elliot showed us the joint he had looked at for the lamp head joint. It was based off of a joint that he saw at work (the transportation research center where they test wheelchairs). It has the same degrees of freedom as a ball and socket joint but Elliot believes it is easier to build. I have his sketches, but I haven't had a chance to scan them in yet. Look for them to be up on the blog sometime tomorrow. We spent some time discussing the merits of this joint versus a ball and socket joint. We didn't come to any solid conclusions but decided that a staying-in-place system based on friction would be find for the lamp head joint since failure would not be nearly as catastrophic as if the joint on the horizontal bar failed.
Next we looked at the LED flashlights that Carl bought. Each one has 5 white LEDs and one red LED with a peak output of 100 lumens. According to my calculations we need ~850 lumens. Conveniently, without modifying the flashlights they have a 6" spot at 36" just like we want. We went in the dark and checked to see how much light is outside of the 6" bright spot and found that alot of it goes out at wider angles. Mike suggested that we have white cones surrounding each LED array to tighten the light distribution.
Phil brought some data on the Philippines and Uganda that he got from WHO. It shows that the current situation in the two locations is quite different in terms of doctors per capita and treated water.
2) Tasks to be Done:
We're still planning to get a prototype ready for WMR's trip to Liberia during the third week of March. This means that after spring break we don't have much time to mess around. All we need is to get a rough prototype ready so the doctors can see the idea we're shooting for, even if we don't have all the functionality we want. The main things we need are:
- the lamp head joint: Elliot has already done some good work here but we need to pick a joint and buy/make it.
- the horizontal beam join: I don't believe we have much here yet. For now we can take emphasis away from the pedal and focus on just getting the structure. We can add the pedal if we are ahead of schedule.
- the LED holder: we need something to hold the LED heads in the proper orientation
- electrical integration: at the very least all the LEDs need to turn on and off from a single switch. It would be nice to have all of them hooked up to a single large battery with the option of wall power.
Everyone: Get the basic training at Wilson. We're going to be starting to build the lamp and you need to be able to go in there. Also, remember to post your progress up on the blog as you go. It will help everyone keep up to date between meetings and allow people to give you a fresh perspective on your ideas.
Elliot: You've already been working on the lamp head joint so keep at it. By the Thursday after spring break I want to have a joint in hand. Use your best judgment on what type of joint to use and let me know before you spend money on anything (just so we stay on budget).
Mike Harrison: Work with Elliot on the lamp head joint.
Phil: On Tuesday you said that you will be looking into the LED holder. Figure out the best material and structure, but don't buy anything until we have all of our LEDs, so that we can test out how everything is going to be arranged. Also, put your data on Uganda and the Philippines up on the blog.
Mike Weist: Work with Phil on the LED holder.
Chris: Work on the joint that connects the two poles. It needs up and down movement and the ability to swivel.
Seth: I can't remember when you said you were getting back next week, but take a look at the two LED flashlights we have and start figuring out how to integrate them in the electrical system.
Carl: On Tuesday you said you would get in touch with Home Depot to order more LEDs. Also, check with Seth to see if he needs a hand on the electronics.
Mustafa: Familiarize yourself with the business documents on the Ctools site. Most of them are under Resources->Social Venture Development. Most of those documents are still pretty accurate, only we're not using car parts anymore, we're using LED flashlights. In Resources->Lamp Project->Possible countries there is a good paper about the health system in the Phillipines and some stats on various countries. Also keep an eye out for the data Phil will post on the blog.
3) Spring Break:
I know alot of us will be gone next week for spring break. Who will be around?
4) After Spring Break:
After spring break we have two weeks to get our lamp built. This means we're going to have to meet more than just Tuesdays. We'll definitely have meetings with all of us on the two Tuesdays after break but people working together on various aspects of the lamp will probably have to meet several other times so we can finish in time. Thursday is a good candidate for a general build session since I know most people said they were free then at the beginning of the semester.
Best of luck on the various aspects of the lamp you're working on. Let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems. Have a great break!
Steve
Here's lamp business for the week. Sorry about the length, but make sure to read the "Tasks to be Done" section, since I included something for everyone to do over the next week and a half.
1. Tuesday's Meeting
2. Tasks to be Done
3. Spring Break
4. Meetings After Spring Break
1) Tuesday's Meeting:
Mike Harrison made his first lamp meeting this week. After introductions Elliot showed us the joint he had looked at for the lamp head joint. It was based off of a joint that he saw at work (the transportation research center where they test wheelchairs). It has the same degrees of freedom as a ball and socket joint but Elliot believes it is easier to build. I have his sketches, but I haven't had a chance to scan them in yet. Look for them to be up on the blog sometime tomorrow. We spent some time discussing the merits of this joint versus a ball and socket joint. We didn't come to any solid conclusions but decided that a staying-in-place system based on friction would be find for the lamp head joint since failure would not be nearly as catastrophic as if the joint on the horizontal bar failed.
Next we looked at the LED flashlights that Carl bought. Each one has 5 white LEDs and one red LED with a peak output of 100 lumens. According to my calculations we need ~850 lumens. Conveniently, without modifying the flashlights they have a 6" spot at 36" just like we want. We went in the dark and checked to see how much light is outside of the 6" bright spot and found that alot of it goes out at wider angles. Mike suggested that we have white cones surrounding each LED array to tighten the light distribution.
Phil brought some data on the Philippines and Uganda that he got from WHO. It shows that the current situation in the two locations is quite different in terms of doctors per capita and treated water.
2) Tasks to be Done:
We're still planning to get a prototype ready for WMR's trip to Liberia during the third week of March. This means that after spring break we don't have much time to mess around. All we need is to get a rough prototype ready so the doctors can see the idea we're shooting for, even if we don't have all the functionality we want. The main things we need are:
- the lamp head joint: Elliot has already done some good work here but we need to pick a joint and buy/make it.
- the horizontal beam join: I don't believe we have much here yet. For now we can take emphasis away from the pedal and focus on just getting the structure. We can add the pedal if we are ahead of schedule.
- the LED holder: we need something to hold the LED heads in the proper orientation
- electrical integration: at the very least all the LEDs need to turn on and off from a single switch. It would be nice to have all of them hooked up to a single large battery with the option of wall power.
Everyone: Get the basic training at Wilson. We're going to be starting to build the lamp and you need to be able to go in there. Also, remember to post your progress up on the blog as you go. It will help everyone keep up to date between meetings and allow people to give you a fresh perspective on your ideas.
Elliot: You've already been working on the lamp head joint so keep at it. By the Thursday after spring break I want to have a joint in hand. Use your best judgment on what type of joint to use and let me know before you spend money on anything (just so we stay on budget).
Mike Harrison: Work with Elliot on the lamp head joint.
Phil: On Tuesday you said that you will be looking into the LED holder. Figure out the best material and structure, but don't buy anything until we have all of our LEDs, so that we can test out how everything is going to be arranged. Also, put your data on Uganda and the Philippines up on the blog.
Mike Weist: Work with Phil on the LED holder.
Chris: Work on the joint that connects the two poles. It needs up and down movement and the ability to swivel.
Seth: I can't remember when you said you were getting back next week, but take a look at the two LED flashlights we have and start figuring out how to integrate them in the electrical system.
Carl: On Tuesday you said you would get in touch with Home Depot to order more LEDs. Also, check with Seth to see if he needs a hand on the electronics.
Mustafa: Familiarize yourself with the business documents on the Ctools site. Most of them are under Resources->Social Venture Development. Most of those documents are still pretty accurate, only we're not using car parts anymore, we're using LED flashlights. In Resources->Lamp Project->Possible countries there is a good paper about the health system in the Phillipines and some stats on various countries. Also keep an eye out for the data Phil will post on the blog.
3) Spring Break:
I know alot of us will be gone next week for spring break. Who will be around?
4) After Spring Break:
After spring break we have two weeks to get our lamp built. This means we're going to have to meet more than just Tuesdays. We'll definitely have meetings with all of us on the two Tuesdays after break but people working together on various aspects of the lamp will probably have to meet several other times so we can finish in time. Thursday is a good candidate for a general build session since I know most people said they were free then at the beginning of the semester.
Best of luck on the various aspects of the lamp you're working on. Let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems. Have a great break!
Steve
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