Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams

We are developing an ultra-sonic cane device, that will help the visually-impaired to better maneuver their already clouded world.  Our team has already found the materials we will be using for our device, ranging from small vibratory motors, to small ultra-sonic sensors, and pvc pipe for our prototype.  We are currently working on the assembly our electronics.  Our main focus at the moment is the amplifiers for the sensors and we are waiting for a shipment of parts.  Afterward, we should be done with our prototype and then move onto fixing any bugs or design flaws.  Thanks for listening.  And expect next month’s update… next month. :]

Latest developments for the Rockport High School InvenTeam:

We have established new business relationships with Kaiser Systems (Beverly, Massachusetts), a designer/manufacturer of power supplies and storage devices, as well as Autoliv (Stockholm, Sweden), a maker of auto safety systems such as airbags.

You may rightly deduce by these new partnerships that we are considering a PADS (pneumatic auto-deployment system) that utilizes electronics in place of the mechanical system of the original design. After initial discussions with Kaiser, they assure us that a low voltage, long-term storage, weatherproof power source can be devised to trigger an auto air-bag type of initiator. That answered many (but not all) of our concerns with an electronic solution.

Autoliv, for their part, can supply custom-programmed tilt sensors, as well as staged initiators and small tanks capable of a much greater PSI than the tanks we’ve used thus far. The main concern for us at this point is the final unit cost of this much higher-tech PADS. No longer an off-the-shelf component made device, we need to be wary that our new direction does not lead to a prohibitively expensive solution. This point has been (and will continue to be) made to both Kaiser and Autoliv as we procede.

The students, especially the original 2008 InvenTeam members (who even this year are still only sophomores and juniors), were somewhat reluctant to move away from “their” original PADS. I quite understand (and to some extent share) the sentimental issues involved, but have tried to incorporate the lesson of moving on in the interest of the greater good of the project. In the face of industry non-disclosure forms, and corporate visits, I think they were starting to feel like the project was slipping away from them. In response, I’ve made a solemn vow to them that they are and will remain the PADS project, and will be up to their elbows in it all the way to the end.

Stay tuned for further developments.

I can’t believe it’s over. Well, saying it’s “over” isn’t exactly correct as this past week, or I guess simply this past year, has opened the door to so much for me. Rather than an ending to a simple school project, this is really the beginning to a pathway bigger than any high school project.

There’s so much to say, but first I’ll start with the actual EurekaFest. This past year has simply flown by and the culmination of a year’s hard work ended with a big bang at the 2008 EurekaFest. Truly, the journey has been unbelievable, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity. Leaving in the very early hours from LAX, I didn’t know exactly what to expect in MIT. I was excited to finally present our project and learn more about the other InvenTeams and, of course, in wonder of the opportunity to present on the same stage that Lemelson-MIT Awards would later be given out (much less have the chance to hear people like Dr. Martin Fischer and Dr. Joseph DeSimone speak). Arriving first on Tuesday in Logan, our team was welcomed with a torrent of rain in Cambridge. Excited to be back to the state of my birth, I looked forward to the action-packed week the schedule had for us. Nothing, however, could prepare me for what was yet to come. I didn’t expect to leave MIT Sunday morning with pure dread and wondering when I’d be back. But I did. Wednesday kicked off the EurekaFest. From the MIT museum to a special tour of the campus to the opening Kresge barbecue (which included some lovely intro skits…), the week started off well. Spending some time with Ms. Estabrooks (and Ms. Willis) in the Stata Center was great as we were able to finally talk face to face with the person who had helped us so much throughout the year (not to mention the person who introduced us to this wonderful adventure). As we learned and laughed about MIT hacks and just began to understand the phrase “drinking from the fire hydrant,” we all grew comfortable in the MIT atmosphere (a feeling I could definitely get used to!) I finished off the night with some quiet time by the Charles River which was very relaxing and, yet, energizing.

So Thursday was when everything just happened. Rising early for an opportune lecture by QualComm co-founder, Klein Gilhousen, Thursday began with the introduction to a shortened version of Sharon Ballard’s Advanced Invention to Venture (AI2V) Workshop. Honored that so many people such as most of the NCIIA team had come down to help us out, I began to truly realize how fortunate we were to be there. Leaving early to setup our presentation in the Stata Center’s Kirsch Auditorium, I unfortunately missed the 30 second Elevator Pitch part of the workshop. However, I was fortunate enough, along with a fellow team member, to be able to be a part of the AI2V workshop in Dallas this past March as a part of the 2008 NCIIA Conference. With the new knowledge that Troy (us) would be presenting the very first, a few butterflies of anticipation, excitement, and nervousness began to grow in my stomach. In my theatrical experiences, I’ve always been hidden under an alternate identity and layers of stage make-up. Presenting in an auditorium full of a few hundred people whose eyes would rest pretty much solely on myself and the two fellow members with me was a new experience. Watching Brillion and St. Thomas rehearse their fantastic presentations only caused my butterflies to grow. Anyway, after it was over, our presentation itself has hardly been the thing that has been occupying my mind. It is basically everything that happened after. From watching my peers present to Patrick Walsh’s work to replace kerosene lamps around the world with LED lamps to the grand finale of Dr. Martin Fisher’s presentation of his work with KickStart I was truly awed. I learned more in those minutes that Dr. Fisher spoke than I have ever learned in that same amount of time (The same can be said about this past week). His work really brought me to raise a lot of questions about our project and, obviously, helped us gain some invaluable insight. I just can’t put into words how grateful I am to have been able to hear him speak just feet away from where I was sitting in addition to being able to talk with him afterward. Later that night, I wandered into the Lemelson-MIT Awards along with other InvenTeam students. I could feel the electricity and knowledge in the air as people like Dr. Susan Hockfield and Dr. Subra Suresh spoke in addition to Mrs. Dorothy Lemelson, Dr. Merton Flemings, Dr. Robert Lemelson, and, of course, Dr. Joseph DeSimone. As I watched these simply amazing human beings speak, I realized that I was standing in just about the same spots only hours previously! I don’t know how to describe exactly what I was feeling and what I continue to feel, but I’m just so thankful and amazed that I, a simple high school student, has had the opportunity and pure honor to present on the same brochure schedule as these truly wonderful people. Not to mention the once in a lifetime, phenomenal, wordless learning experience involved!

So Friday brought more of the AI2V Workshop where we (Troy) actually had the chance for all of our team members present in front of others in the workshop which was great. The night finished with the lobster bake. Delicious food. Entertaining eating habits. Enough said.

With an relatively early rise and a mass of black and red (Troy colors!) setting out to the Museum of Science, the “Heavy Metal” challenge ended with, quite literally, a big bang. Dinner that night was one to remember. With feelings of nostalgia, excitement for the future, and last minute shopping stress mixed with slight feelings of homesickness and wondering when/if we’d be back, the 2008 EurekaFest finally came to a close. Unsurprisingly, most teams finished off with a relatively late night not wanting the week to really end.

But it did. This “ending with a beginning” thing probably sounds pretty cliche, but as they say, all good things come to an end…an end which is really a beginning. Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams has given us that beginning. That exposure to a bigger world. That opportunity to make a change. That knowledge that we can do anything we set our minds to. That chance to learn, grow, develop, and be somebody. As many InvenTeams students now graduate from high school and open the next chapter to their lives while many others just have a few more years to go, I know that we all have simply gained so much this year and will all use this experience in the future. This one year journey has made a change. A serious change for the better in our lives…and therefore a change for the better of others’ lives. Although the Lemelson-MIT 2008 InvenTeams has now officially come to a close, things are just getting started for the hundreds of students involved.

A final thank you to the Lemelson-MIT Foundation with a special thank you to Ms. Estabrooks and all those with the InvenTeams. I can’t say it or describe it enough. This is the beginning of a new season for all the students involved and Lemelson-MIT is to thank. Thank you.

…I’m not sure who is going to actually read all this–I just started writing and couldn’t really stop! Sorry for my blabber-I just realized how much I wrote!

This morning it’s time for live blogging.  Don Domes, an InvenTeams mentor from Oregon is giving us the “411″ on what an InvenTeam experience is really like.

The big picture?  It’s intense, should not be underestimated, and you should not go it alone.  My only relief is my experience with FIRST, in that we’ve had the intense 6-week experience to design and deliver a product.  For those not familiar with FIRST, but involved with LMIT, check out the FIRST team organization documents for an idea of what you might need to create.

Currently, we’re watching a video created by Don’s students on how to account for team expenses, using the LMIT portal.  What I’ve learned is some kids LOVE to do this, so ask around and recruit some students who want to get involved.  Just because I don’t enjoy accounting doesn’t mean I can’t find someone. (Of course, it is one of the top job shortages for a reason, eh?).  It’s a great opportunity to bring in less technical students to get involved, inspiring them to be a part of a high-level opportunity.

There’s a lot to do, and a lot of support to do it.  Most of all, it seems that lead mentors need to focus their time and energies as project managers, not as builders.  This is cool, it’s so real.