Progress Review

Review is essential to evaluation, which is essential to progress

- Melissa Steginus

The VOSCUU Novus group, this week, did a project review to confirm that every member of the team was on track. However, the review took place in two parts: the first is the in-class discussion to ensure that the group report is well developed. The second part is a follow-up on the development of the design prototype.

In the final comprehensive report presentation of the product, one of the key aspects is the Business Report which has some of its major sections listed below:

1. Executive summary

2. Company summary

3. Market analysis

4. Market segmentation

5. Service business analysis

6. Competitive advantage

7. Main competitors

8. Strategy and implementation

9. Management summary, and

10. Financial plan

The team got hinted at some vital considerations to be made in the review of the product. This included a consideration of the present and future economic and environmental factors that affect the product. A key factor to consider is the recent global economic trends that have inflation on the increase and how it affects the ownership of pets with the steady increase in the prices of pet foods. It is seen that many pet owners are recently looking for how to discard their pets for the fear of not being able to sufficiently take care of the cost of keeping them. This point highlighted would be a key factor to be included in the team's report and would need to be considered in setting the price of the final product.

The team was also advised to seek reviews from peers in other groups by asking questions regarding the product to improve our market research. Questionnaires should also be sent to some specific target groups. In this aspect, the team's market research has successfully collected a tangible amount of data that can be used to make strategic decisions regarding general product marketing and competitiveness.

As regards design prototyping, the team reviewed the sketch for the prototype again, comparing it with the expected functionalities to ensure its effectiveness. The design team had presented the sketch the previous week which delivered a rough pictorial representation of the product. The date for the release of the final prototype was set for Wednesday, the 4th of May, 2022. The cost and the components are also expected to be ascertained on that date. 

The survey that is being carried out by the team is set to be concluded by the 13th of May, 2022. The report of the survey would then be collated and needed actions would be taken based on the outcomes of the survey.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions below. Watch out for more weekly publications from VOSCUU Novus.

...the future is now

 Project Review and Reporting (2)

"People don't just use a product because of a great design, a great design helps them use the product"

- Viran Anuradha Dayaratne (UX Technical Architect)

This week the VOSCUU Novus group showcases some aspects of its designing process which aided the overall design success so far. 

One key aspect of the design is the actual physical product sketch. The sketch helps the team to visualize and confirm that all features highlighted so far are included and have the best aesthetic appearance. It is also important that the design meets the physical functional requirement of the electronic circuit embedded within it.

Below is the sketch of the physical product which would be the basis for the final computer-aided design.

Figure 1: The Physical Product Sketch

The sketch above shows the collar having a Bowden cable embedded within it to give mechanical strength to the collar and prevent the possibility of the collar being cut off the neck of the pet easily. There are a pair of cameras on either side of the collar to provide dual vision and a mechanical rotary passcode lock at the rear end of the collar. The lock is directly linked to the Bowden cable to complete the secure circle of the collar around the pet's neck. The lock can only be opened with the knowledge of the correct passcode.

The LED strip would be lined across the collar, and the material selected for the product would hold all components in place.

The team's marketing activities have been ongoing for some weeks and are gradually coming to an end. Findings from the survey would be shared in the coming weeks.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions below. Watch out for more weekly publications from VOSCUU Novus.

...the future is now

 Project Review and Reporting

“Remember, your output is not a work of art; it’s a work product designed to help the customer – whoever the customer is.”

― Krista Van Laan, The Insider's Guide to Technical Writing

The VOSCUU Novus group, this week, embarks on a review process of the project so far. Within the past week, the group continued to receive feedback from the market survey being carried out. The responses so far have been very positive, however, the survey would still run for a few more weeks before its outcome would be recorded. The costing of the product has also been almost completed, thus, this would be combined with the market survey report to determine the product selling price. 

Having completed the circuit design to ensure accurate functionality and having developed a physical product design, the group proceeded with documenting the details of the project so far. A structure for the report has been generated and would be distributed among all members of the group. After every part has been completed, the report would be collated and reviewed by the entire group before the writing phase is finally concluded.

So far, the VOSCUU Novus team has been very homogeneous and the level of commitment of every member has made the design project a success. Henry Ford, an American industrialist, and founder of Ford Motor Company once said, "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." This has indeed been the experience of the team.

In order to ensure that every member of the team is equally motivated and maintains the same vision, each member had an interview with the team leader - Shadrach Olarewaju. During the interview, they were asked about their experience in the team so far. Here is an extract from what each person had to say:

Uzoma Gerald Nwokebuihe

So far it has been really exciting being in a group where everyone seems to understand themselves. Each person always seems ready to contribute his or her own quota. This helped the team in coming up with a highly innovative product that does not only have academic value but would have a big market commercially. Everyone loves pets so the product is going to stay valuable for a very long time. Also, the leadership of the team has been great in ensuring that each team member's thoughts are correctly channeled, and each person feels valued and remains committed to the group. It is so interesting to see how committed everyone is to the team, that when it is time for meetings, everyone literally rushes to ensure that they do not miss out on any part.

Vishnu Muraleedharan

The group has been fun to be in. Everyone receives tasks that never seem to overwhelm anyone. So we are able to carry out the tasks efficiently without feeling stressed. Everyone has been also very committed to ensuring that tasks are completed as when due. The team has ensured that we are never behind schedule with the progress of our project. 

Godsgift Ojukwu

The team has been a very committed one. I cannot have wished to be with any other team. Everyone does their best in ensuring that the team's goals are actualized. Everyone also seeks to help others so one person's expertise rubs off on the next person making it a highly effective team. During brainstorming sessions, no one looks at the other person's idea as useless but they are all collated and used to make perfect decisions that everyone is happy with.

Uchechukwu Theresa Onwuatuelo

The VOSCUU Novus group has been really nice so far. The team is always the sense of togetherness that makes us achieve maximally. No one holds back nor gives excuses when tasks are given, this helps us to achieve our targets. 

Chinonye Fortunate Ogbeje

The group has indeed been an inspiring one. Every team member has brought their A-game to the table. Every team member seems to be very professional and sound in their area of expertise. The contributions have made the team able to develop a highly effective product with some of the best desirable features.

With tireless determination, the VOSCUU Novus Group would continue to proffer solutions to various problems across the globe.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions below. Watch out for more weekly publications from VOSCUU Novus.

...the future is now

 

Final Product Design   

“Be stubborn on vision but flexible on details.”
– Jeff Bezos, Amazon

The VOSCUU Novus group only gets more interesting by the day! After a successful brainstorming to decide on the features of the product - A Pet LED Reflective Collar with GPS and Hidden Camera, within the past week, the company focused on the more detailed aspects of product development. The two main aspects were the electrical circuit design and the physical product design. These two aspects of the project are very vital as they determine the pricing of the final product, the possible profit margin, the procurement of raw materials, and many other key aspects. 

Physical Product (Material) Design

The physical product design process was led by Chinonye, the company's Technical Marketing Design Specialist who was successful in drawing up a sketch that suits the aesthetic and functional needs of the customers. In carrying out this design, he was also very particular about ensuring that the product was comfortable for the necks of the pets while paying attention to the need for securing the product to prevent theft. The sketch is, however, yet to be modeled using CAD software. The challenge was getting suitable CAD software. However, this stage of design would be completed within the coming week for proper documentation.

Electrical Circuit Design

Figure 1: The Schematic Diagram

The electrical circuit design is the second highly critical aspect of the product design phase. This design determines the functionality, efficiency, and durability of the product. The electrical circuit design was led by Shadrach, the Technical Design Team Lead. The schematic design was done using an online design software called EasyEDA V5.3.14. The software has the capability of designing and simulating various electronic circuits. It is a very effective software, having over 1 million real-time updated components with links to actual products for easy purchasing.

The circuit made use of the following components;

1. 555 timer
2. Resistors
3. Capacitors
4. LED Array
5. Single pole 4 throw switch
6. Single pole single throw switch
7. Photo NPN transistor
8. 5V Voltage Source
9. GPS Module
10. Camera Module

As seen in the schematic diagram above, the circuit is designed such that the GPS Module is permanently connected to the battery to ensure that it is constantly transmitting to identify the position of the pet.

The switch U4, when closed, supplies power to the camera and the rest of the circuit. After current flows through U4, it may go through the phototransistor which would only permit the flow of current between the emitter and collector if there is no light incident on it. This enables the product to work in automatic mode, turning the LEDs on when there is no light and turning them off during the day or when there is light in the environment.

If U3 is closed, it serves as a by-pass for current, thereby overriding the function of the phototransistor and causing it to power on regardless of if there is light. U2 is a single-pole 4 throw switch that makes an owner able to manually control the frequency of the blinking of the LEDs. The switch, when closed to position 5, totally turns off the LEDs.

Figure 2: Internal circuit of a 555 timer.

The basic 555 timer gets its name from the fact that there are three internally connected 5kΩ resistors that it uses to generate the two comparators' reference voltages. The 555 timer IC is a very cheap, popular, and useful precision timing device that can act as either a simple timer to generate single pulses or long time delays or as a relaxation oscillator producing a string of stabilized waveforms of varying duty cycles from 50 to 100%. The 555 timer component is used in this project to control the blinking operation of the LEDs.

The entire circuit is powered by a 5v 3000mAh Lithium-ion battery which is light, durable, and able to power the system for at least 3 days.

The datasheets of all the components can be found here for further understanding of the technical and physical specifications of each.

The design was also not without its own challenges as the simulator had issues with some user input components that were selected for the circuit. However, there was a need to do some further research on components outside the software to ensure functionality.

Market Research

The market research was started in order to understand the likely demand for the product, an acceptable price range for it, and other behaviors of pet owners. This aspect is led by Ojukwu, the company's sales, and marketing manager. The questions asked include what pets people love and how often they are with the pet all day for those who have one or more. The form was designed using Google Forms and can be found here. 

Figure 3: People's love for pets

The survey is currently being carried out and we would have an outcome in a few weeks' time.

Following the progress highlighted above, the team would be starting off with report writing. As discussed during the team meeting on the 6th of April, 2022, the report would be structured and each subheading would be shared with respective team members and later collated and vetted to have detailed and concise documentation of the project.

The following would be the focus of the team for the coming week;

1. Product material design.
2. Further review of the technical design and simulation.
3. Market survey.
4. Costing and vendor selection for components.
5. Report structuring.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions below. Watch out for more weekly publications from VOSCUU Novus.

...the future is now