Current status of project:
This past week we have been continuing further researcher into the components to be used in our design. We have received CADD drawings of both a mouthguard and thermistors, and are currently awaiting the designs from the manufacturer of some vibrating motors.
Work planned for next week:
We are meeting with Professor Mell to consult with him on the circuitry for out design. In addition, once we receive the CADD drawings of the motors, we will be combining the designs of all the components to start designated physical location of each component. We will also be continuing research into the power requirement for the battery, as well as the manufacturing process for mouthguards.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
None
Current status of project:
This past week we met up with our client, Marc Schmidt, to discuss our project progress. We also met as a group this week to get prepared to complete the final paper and presentation. We emailed Professor Mell in order discuss how to begin putting together the circuitry for our project. We have continued to research what exact thermistor and vibrating motor we will use in our product. We have asked our client to purchase these parts so that we will have the physical parts to work with when making our final design.
Work planned for next week:
This week we hope to meet with Professor Mell in order to work on the completing the circuitry for our final project. In addition, we are hoping to receive CADD drawings of the mouth guard we will be using so that we can look at the size of the mouth guard and start figuring out how all the parts will fit together. We will continue to research the power requirement and make sure that we have the right battery to power all the components in our design. We will also look into how mouth guards are manufactured so that we can look into how our product would be manufactured.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
None
Current status of project:
This past week we completed our progress written and oral report. As a group we decided that we would use a mouth guard design to sense the temperature. We also decided upon using a thermistor to measure the temperature, using a battery to fulfill the power requirements, and using a vibrating motor to alert the player when their temperature has reached a dangerous level. We were able to do some analysis to find certain types of thermistors, batteries, and motors that will best fit our purpose.
Work planned for next week:
This week we plan on meeting try and figure out where all components will fit best in the mouth guard. We will use CAD drawings of the mouth guard and measurements provided for the various parts of the system in order to figure this out. We will also need to start looking into the circuitry that will be needed in order to make the system function properly. We also plan on scheduling a meeting with our client in order to discuss our progress and make sure we are headed in the right direction.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
None
Current status of project:
This past week we spent a lot of time doing research to prepare for our progress report. We have worked to come up with a design that we feel best fits the criteria with which we have to work with. We split the project up into three different sections and were each assigned a section to research. The three sections were: methods and locations to measure temperature, power requirements needed to work the system, and how the alert system would function. We held multiple group meetings this week to combine our information and to decide on a final design. We communicated with Marc Schmidt, filled out a non-disclosure agreement, and were able to receive some CAD drawings.
Work planned for next week:
This week we plan on meeting multiple times to complete our progress report due on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Norman will give the progress report presentation. Although much of the research is done, we still need to bring all of our information together to get a complete final design.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
None
Current status of project:
We met with our client this week and discussed the progress that has been made with the project and where we need to go from here. The client informed us that they would prefer for us to focus on a mouth guard design where the oral temperature is taken rather than on a temperature sensor in the helmet. We also have the option of continuing with both a mouth guard and a helmet design. We need to make a decision whether the temperature readings for our system will be coming from the mouth or the temporal artery.
Work planned for next week:
We plan on speaking with Dr. Anastasio to discuss how we should proceed with the change in project direction. We will start looking into design alternatives and figure out what design would work best for our situation.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
Planning on communicating with Dr. Anastasio about the altered design focus.
Current status of project:
We have completed the initial background research on existing products and technology related to our design. We are beginning to look into different design concepts. We are still considering whether or not the mouth guard temperature sensor would be an effective way of measuring core temperature. Our client has been working towards putting accelerometers in a mouth guard and would like to see if it would be possible to implement the temperature sensor with this system. We are also still taking into consideration the helmet temperature sensor using infrared technology. We are looking into how this technology could be made compact enough to fit in a helmet. We have out project website up and running and plan on continuing to add to it.
Work planned for next week:
We will be meeting with Marc Schmidt this week to discuss our progress and look for some direction as to where to go with the information we have collected. We will be completing our DesignSafe analysis on our product. We will continue to research different design concepts.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
None
Current status of project:
This past week we spent the majority of our effort on reviewing study results of existing solutions such as the Heat Observation Technology (H.O.T.) System by Hothead Technologies and temporal scanners made by Exergen. Thanks to many of the supporting studies and papers from these products, we were able to evaluate the use of some of our design ideas and requirements. Also, we identified a variety of design specifications based on industry standards and client input. An important part of the design specification came from the National Operating Committee on Safety Equipment for Athletes (NOCSAE). We also continued researching the possibility of using a mouthguard as a way to take temperatures. Ultimately, our exploration of existing solutions and requirements has led us to lean away from this design for reasons that are laid out in our preliminary report. We currently have completed our preliminary presentation and are working on incorporating all of our individual areas of the preliminary report into a complete paper.
Work planned for next week:
We intend to bring together all of our write ups on background information, project need, design specifications, literary searches, and existing solutions to make up our preliminary report by Wednesday morning. Since the content is all present, our goal is to ensure consistent language and formatting throughout the report. Once the report is completed, our next steps will be to complete the DesignSafe analysis and begin work on the project website. We also plan to layout design ideas that support our reasoning to select the use of a mouthguard sensor or an in-helmet sensor.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
No questions or requests at the time.
Current status of project:
We met this past weekend to better define the existing problem of heat-related illness and heatstroke in athletes, specifically football players, and looked at existing technologies that might be of use in the design we aim to develop. We have found articles online that claim that the problem is both widespread but preventable, although we hope to find peer-reviewed published papers documenting studies that also indicate as such. Existing technologies include the Heat Observation Technology (H.O.T.) System by Hothead Technologies, a temperature monitoring system inside various types of helmets, and the temporal thermometer made by Exergen for both commercial and medical use. We also found a system measuring core temperature via a mouthguard, as well as various helmet system patents. Finally, we have an outline prepared for the preliminary report and presentation for next week, and have divided up the outline.
Work planned for next week:
We intend to find published literature to document and define the problem of heat-related illness and heatstroke as being widespread but preventable. We will investigate the reliability of measuring temperature from the temporal artery and the relationship between the skin surface temperature measurement near the temporal artery and the actual core body temperature. We are looking further into the existing technologies to better understand their thermometry methods. The H.O.T. System does not have many details online regarding its functionality, so we are contacting Hothead Technologies to learn more about their product. Exergen has a list of peer-reviewed published papers, abstracts, and letters regarding the reliability of temporal artery thermometry, so we are reading further into each article to look for data or algorithms that might be helpful. We will also be defining an initial set of specifications for our sensing system.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work:
We are contacting Marc Schmidt to inquire about specifications regarding the force and acceleration the sensor would have to be able to withstand within the helmet, as well as the tests that the helmet would have to pass once the sensor is installed.
Current status of project: We visited the Rawlings test facility in O’Fallon, Missouri. Marc Schmidt showed us around the test facility and some of the rigorous testing that specifically helmets go through so that we had perspective on how robust the system would have to be. We had a longer conversation afterwards regarding the current starting point of the project and some of the larger question regarding the project. Other than this meeting, we identified three areas to begin research. These included current practice for skin temperature readings, the progressing of overheating leading to heat stroke or other heat related events, and the current studies relating skin temperature to core temperature.
Work planned for next week: We plan to review our preliminary research in the three areas listed above and then identify the areas that we should dive deeper into. The hope is that we can begin to split areas of research among our team members based on our strengths and specific parts of interest in the project.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work: Nothing this week
Current status of project: We have decided to take the Helmet Temperature Sensor project that was proposed by Biju Matthew from Jarden Team Sports. Marc Schmidt will be our mentor and contact person throughout the project.
Work planned for next week: We will be going out to the location in O’Fallon, Missouri on Tuesday, September 10th to see what work has been done by the company. We will also be getting a tour of the facility from Marc Schmidt. We will begin background research. We will have our project scope defined by Wednesday, September 11th.
Anything needed from client or TA or instructor to continue work: Nothing this week.
