There were many challenges that I had to face during this terms project, in which we were split into groups and we had to design and construct a product. One of the things I liked about this project was that we could specialise in what we could do best. In my case when thinking of our roles I believed I could contribute to the group the most by having the role of the 3D modeller.
We began the group with six members, however soon after the first day two left to join other groups. Apart from this there were no other problems. The group worked really well with each other, bouncing ideas back and forth. Another positive about the team was how each of us provided constructive criticism and helped the other members of the group with their work. Each member was organised and time efficient in their work which allowed us to meet our own set deadlines. Setting deadlines made sure that we as a group kept on track and didn't fall behind as well as our own individual work.
When it comes down to my input into the project as a whole I think that worked hard and came up with many good ideas that pivoted the project into a new direction. For example, when in the early stages of developing ideas for the project I came up with the idea to have a pair of Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. As a group we developed this to aid people with disabilities such as deafness.
I also designed around eight concept designs for the product, these varied from having different frames or having different methods of creating an AR experience. We came into some design flaws. One including that the product wouldn’t be available for people with prescription glasses, nor would it work for a large percentage of people due to varying head sizes and shapes. So, I came up with the idea that we had the product as a clip-on device that could then be used on any pair of glasses irrelevant of size and prescription.
This solved that design flaw and we were able to move on in production and begin researching different methods of clipping the product onto the frame of the glasses. I looked into foldback clips and a magnet alternative. There were problems with both of these methods. The foldback clip was far too large and distractive to be used and wasn’t very effective. The other method of connecting the product was using magnets to impermanently attach it onto the glass’s frames. The problem with this idea was that not all glasses frames are made of metal, for example some glasses uses a plastic material. So, I began to look into alternative methods. The one that we ended up using was a slide on and off grip design.
We decided that the method of creating an augmented reality experience that would be the easiest for the user to attach was to have a projection device that clipped onto the inside of the glasses frame.
When researching advertisement styles and methods I found that I wanted to creative something similar to the Huawei adverts that pan around the product and the video cuts in time with the music.
Here is one of the adverts that inspired me to take on this style:
Before this I hadn't done much video editing so I am happy with what I was able to produce with my lesser experience.
I think the presentation could have been better but I believe this is down to half our team being off ill for the week before and during the presentation. So in a way I am actually proud of what we managed to do in the presentation with only two of us. Due to there being four of us in total we saw this project as an opportunity to prove ourselves even when we started at a disadvantage.
I think the advert that had been drawn by Dan frame by frame was one of or the best part of the project just because of how hard he had to work and how well it turned out in the end.
Overall, I enjoyed the project and I think that I did very well. I believe I have learnt a lot from this project and have gained valuable skills such as time management and keeping up moral within the group even when it was getting stressful. Working in a group is extremely important as it prepares us for what working professionally with a team would be like. I also was able to use my 3D modelling skills within a new program, Fusion 360. I found this software much more complex than the previous ones I had used but I understood that basics relatively quickly. I think it was good for me to gain a greater understanding of 3d modelling in other software and not just in blender.
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