This will be the first in a series of posts concerning my progress with my current University project - SCOTSMAN. Phase 1 of the project required that in groups we outline an engineering opportunity and produce a brief for a solution. Each group presented their opportunities in the studio on 31/01/14 and I now have 8 possible briefs to answer. Before deciding which to take forward, I want to consider which brief interests me most and which I feel I can provide the best answer for.
So, first off lets review each brief:
1 - Flood Defenses
This brief was my groups chosen opportunity, so it is a topic I already know a lot about. I know what the need is, which businesses and consumers would be involved and know what competition there is. However, I would probably prefer to explore someone else's opportunity rather than one I found myself.
2 - Dakar Rally
Whilst I found this prospect interesting, I found it hard to see the design opportunity. Surely archaeological sites etc. could be protected from fences, markers or tarpaulins.
3 - Rough Sea Fisherman
This was one of the stand out brief as it was a bit different in comparison to the other areas of research. I feel that getting direct research would be quite difficult as I don't know of anyone in this industry. However I have a few ideas of possible avenues I could go down with this brief so it remains one of the ones that I may choose to answer.
4 - Diabetic Care
Another brief that interested me was this brief that outlined a need to improve blood sugar monitoring and insulin administration in teenagers. I had heard before that there can be trouble convincing teenagers to keep track of their care due to social strains etc. and coming up with a product to tackle this would interest me.
5 - Sustainable Foods
Whilst I agreed with the motive behind this brief and feel that it raises an important issue, I am not interested in tackling it. It is not one that interests me greatly.
6 - Food Storage/Transportation in Africa
Everyone knows that there is a food shortage in Africa, though few know that a lot of food goes to waste. Having lived in Africa for 2 months and visited markets etc. I seen that food is improperly stored in dirty homes, and many perishable goods are damaged in transit i.e. tomatoes, onions etc.
I feel that this brief outlines a good cause and it is another I may be interested working on.
7 - Alcohol Consumption
As a student (I'm not alone here...), alcohol consumption is something I know about all to well. I for one would like to keep track of my alcohol consumption on a night out to avoid repercussions of drinking to much. I also feel that it would be easy to conduct market research to aid in reaching the best design as I can easily get the information I need by asking friends and colleagues. For these reasons this is the brief I am weighing towards most at the moment.
8 - Smoking Sensor
I for one hate the smell of cigarette smoke and don't like being in a room that has been smoked in. If it began to bother me I would just leave. However, the product in question would be used by someone who cared about those that would be sharing the room but wouldn't want to be in a smoked-in atmosphere. If they felt badly enough about it to buy such a product, surely they would just smoke outside?
Anyway, these are my feeling on each individual brief. I will perhaps sketch up some ideas concerning the briefs that interest me before my next addition to the blog, but I hope to have chosen which brief I will answer by that time. Ciao 4 now!
R.
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