Thoughts and Considerations

The end goal of this project was to provide, less room for error in the parking lot. To keep people from parking poorly and dangerously as snow and less visible conditions made it harder. At the beginning of this long process, I was wide-eyed thinking of all of the most advanced things that I wanted to create and accomplish with this project. But as problems kept approaching, I quickly realized that I was going to have to adjust my project so that it would better fit my limitations as a school student. I started with a small sort of bumper that would sit above pavement, and soon realized that production of this wouldn't solve a thing, and several more unrealistic solutions, before landing on the parking pods design, I have presented. At the end unfortunately I was still unable to get what I had initially hoped would be my final project, it was however most of what I had set out to create. What I was able to show for it however, was a functioning shell of what I intended to create. The only category that I felt I could improve substantially in was the ability to hookup the solar panels, so that it would charge the battery. little did the audience know that though as it could still be sold as working that way.

 

The process as a whole was a challenging one, and I struggled from the start to the very end. One of the things that for sure gave me the most trouble, was trying to figure out the solar panels. By the end of the project me as well as everyone I approached about it and took a stab at it, and could not figure it out. I also struggled with the circuit as a whole, as many of the parts I tried to use were either too poorly made, and fell apart on me. I had to spend many days that turned into weeks just experimenting with the circuit to try and find the circuit that worked closest to my vision. Both of these were made worse, by the time pressure that was present throughout the entire process, this created a lot of stress, that in my opinion decreased my ability to create the product that I had been hoping to achieve. Although it was challenging I thought it was an incredibly rewarding process. The biggest reward was seeing it all come together, even though it was not what I had intended for in the beginning of the project it was still an incredibly proud moment for me to see that the project was done. Which leads into a second reward, as the relief that was felt especially after the review and the expo was nothing like I had experienced before, and I would go through it all again for those feelings alone. 

 

This capstone project, really encapsulated the entire STEAM program over the last 4 years into a 2 trimester class. This class really emphasized the need for not just being a textbook student, but being one that problem solves and one that can adjust when things don't go as intended. Those are the biggest things that I have personally taken away from the STEAM program. Problem solving is an essential skill for anyone in the workplace to have and I think STEAM has enhanced my ability to look for solutions to problems. The second part of that skill, is adjusting to once you've solved your problem, as many solutions require the complete shift in direction to be effective.