August 2009 Summary

August 16 -  Spent approximatly 10 hours finishing up final report and journals.

August 6 – Found out from George report due date had been extended to Monday August 17

August 5 -  Spent 4 hours working on report

July 29 – Showcase. Despite a rough start we eneded up having a great showcase. We met plenty of people from the industry and ended up taking home the people’s choice award.

July 28 – Spent 5 hours off and applying coats of paint to the prototype. George finalized programming on chip and Durval finished soldering wires.

July 27 – Spent 5 + hours driving around picking up paint with George; then sanding and painting the prototype.

July 25 – Spent 2-3 hours on the first attempt at staining the wood. Results were terrible and had to be thrown out.

July 21 – Spent 2 hours cutting and preparing the first prototype out wood.

Semester 6 Summary

Tuesday May 5th – Had inital Meeting with Ross. Discuussed what were going to upgrade on the project this semester

Thursday May 21 – Had meeting with Ross, reminder that we needed to start on the 10,000 word report. Ross said he would post examples on the website.

Sunday May 24 – Spent 2 hours working on the start of the report.

Sunday June 14 – Spent 1 hour working on report

Sunday June 21 - Spent 4 hours working on report

Thurday June 25 – Talked with Durval about submitting our request for funding for the project.  

Friday June 26 – Meeting with Ross today, got a deadline for the journals, which is Monday, June 29 and then the skeleton report which is do Monday July 6.

Monday June 29 – Wrote this summary for the start of this semester.

April 09 and Showcase

[End of March] Went to active surplus downtown and picked up buttons, switches and a speaker needed for the protoype, total time was maybe 1.5 hours.

[Early April] We finished the software coding needed to allow a laptop to the bridge between our prototype panel and the internet. Features active at this stage are:

- Sending Calls

- Taking a picture of a caller and storing it locally

- Leaving audio recordings for the owner

- Recording custom messages to play when the doorbell is wrung.

[Mid April, Near Showcase ] The final interface prototype was built a few days before showcase, the challeng was making the buttons trigger the correct software commands on the laptop.

[Showcase] Showcase went very well. Project was well received. The entire setup worked consistently for the 3-4 hours of showcase, the only issue was when the internet went down, but it was restored quickly and without any permanent issues.

March 20 / 09

First off, recap of the last week. Nothing happened. Ross was away at a funeral so as a group we collectively took that time off.

It’s still early Friday morning so as things get going I expect to have more to write about. So far I’ve been sending copies of finished reports to group members, planning out the marketing poster for next week as well as waiting for Corey and Durval to finish up their keypad so we can integrate it with the computer.

Recap of February

Jan 30 – Emailed final proposal to Ross

Feb 06 – Worked from 11am-12pm and from 4pm-6pm on getting prototype function with the group. Able to use macro programs to automatically dial a cellphone with one button push.

Feb 13 – Worked from 11am-12pm and from 4pm-5pm on getting prototype function with the group. Successful in getting webcam to take picture while initiating a calling session, still working on sending files.

Feb 20 – Risk assessment now required to get done. Brainstorming sessions occurred throughout the week. New group member added: Santo Mamba.

Feb 27 – Initial risk report completed. Work distributions handed out, personally need to get risk report done. Group cut short for personal reasons.

March 6 – Risk report has been confirmed amongst the group and is being sent off today. Further documentation of weekly work is now required.

Worked on Proposal Jan 23/09

It’s early morning, have been at school since 8 working on the proposal. Plans is to continue till 10, then class. There are two hours of project managment today, we may need both to get close to finishing. Corey showed up around 8:30, no sign of Durval or George yet.

Worked on Proposal Jan 22/09

After a long christmas break, got back and spent 1.5 hours from 8 till 9:30 pm last night working on the proposal with Corey and Durval via MSN and a One-note live sharing session.

Setup Blog

Took 10 minutes and set this blog up at Ross’ suggestion. This will allow me to keep track of all my activities related to this project no matter where I am.

Ross Approved Project

A quick meeting with Ross on Friday, He approved our idea for a doorbell that can call a cellphone and gave us each sample copies of what our initial project outline should look like. Whole thing took about 15 minutes. We have to finish an initial proposal and submit it by the end of the semester.