Update on the prototyping process

By Loïc Daubresse July 20, 2017 Edition CHIC 2016-2017Discover Ilanga project

Hi everyone!

We are glad to update you about the work we are getting done these days. Aside two pitches (on Tuesday at HAX and on Wednesday at Massive Hardware) since the last post, all the team members are checking boxes on their to do list.

Today I went at a mall in town to meet with locals and canvass their feeling about Ilanga. There were plenty of parents but I struggled to communicate with them as almost no one was speaking English. From the first impression I got, they are globally really aware of the danger of the sun and the necessity to protect themselves as well as their children. This is the good news. However, explaining our device and having a relevant feedback on it was not possible. I am now thinking about having a paper questionnaire, translated in Cantonese, in order to gather this information.

Now on the design aspect, both Dimitri and Thomas are doing a very good job. Dimitri spent some time to find all the components he needed to make the first prototype of the hat and was able to do it very efficiently. He spent today at x.factory to start working on it. Thomas is also busy developing the design of Ilanga’s mobile app. We are glad to present you the first renders below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, today is the day our engineers have been waiting for! As a reminder, until today, Ilanga did not have a working PCB. The engineers were struggling to establish a connection between the prototype and the computers. They tried a lot of different things without any results. This lasted for weeks.

However, in Shenzhen, thanks to access to great resources, both people and tools, they progress much faster. They were finally able to do what any normal engineer would not: build a complete PCB, and then remove components one by one until it works. Then put it back together. Seriously. But hey, it works now! And they don’t even have to modify the PCB for our prototype, which means we can hope again of leaving Shenzhen with a working prototype!

To sum up everyone is having a exciting time here and time flies. Stay tuned for a new update very soon!

Ilanga