Project Meeting 9

Date: 28^th June 2011

Time: 1345 - 1415

Venue: Outside staffroom

Members : Gary, Boning, Akira, Teacher Mentor

No.

Discussed

1

PlantPlat prototype ·       Gaps and holes between wooden planks must be covered (with silicon) ·       Akira came out with another small plastic prototype ·       Decided to put the include the water sensor in the plastic prototype instead because it is transparent ·       Decided to raise the slope using a recycled plastic board ·       Gary to stick the slope on ·       Boning to smoothen the sharp and rough surfaces and edges of the PlantPlat

Finally, the prototype is produced. However, there are many faults found in the prototype that can be improved on. We were glad that Akira managed to produce a mini-sized PlantPlat which allows us to include the water sensor in. One more thing that we have to settle with is the colour of the PlantPlat which is dull and brown. Semi-finals is just round the corner. I hope we can complete the prototype in time to try it out.

Project Meeting 8

Date: 08^th June 2011

Time: 1200 - 1400

Venue: Clock Tower Benches

Members : Gary, Haoyu, Boning, Akira

No.	Discussed
1	Water Sensor ·       Together, the group brainstormed about using a floating ball as our water sensor. A stick will be punctured through it and fixed vertically in the drawer. When water level rises, the float rises with the water until a level which marks the maximum height.
2	Checking on progress of prototype ·       Haoyu has just began to trim and saw the pieces of wood to get ready to assemble them ·       Brainstormed about whether we should include water sensor in the wooden prototype as it may be a little tedious
3	Project Synopsis ·       Began to start typing out the synopsis ·       Gary to complete the synopsis and submit it at computer lab after the meeting

 As our group members had very tight schedule and many external programmes since the last meeting, not much progress could be make to the prototype. However, we managed to brainstorm for various ideas for the water sensor. We then eliminated the other choices and came to a final choice that may still receive further improvements. We also submitted the project synopsis early to prevent any rushing in future. After all, it is one less thing to worry about. However, we are glad that Haoyu has already began the piece out the pieces of planks together. 

Project Meeting 7

Date: 12^st May 2011

Time: 2100 - 2130

Venue: Online

Members : Gary, Haoyu, Boning

No.	Discussed
1	Confirmation of design ·       Water sensor is workable ·       Confirmed that the design is suitable and to proceed on with building the prototype
2	Method of Construction for Prototype ·       Decided that we try out with our own cheap and available materials ·       Art teacher has also agreed to lend us some pieces of wood to work on the prototype ·       Choose only wood which are water proof
3	Materials to use for the prototype ·       Trial: wood and metal sieve, nails and hammer, saw and tools to cut rings ·       Actual: Plastic if we are capable of doing so
4.	Time to construct Product ·       Haoyu will help to work on the prototype first since he has many wooden planks in his house

 We feel that we are making quick progress. But we decided not to slow down our pace as any problems could crop out after we have completed our prototype. Semi-finals is two months away. We will be meeting up with each other often to discuss on the prototype and to check on its construction progress. However, we are also constantly thinking of new and better ideas to improve our invention. In the mean time, we are still pondering what materials are required for different components of the prototype and how can we ensure that the drawer is easy to use and how we can prevent future problems from appearing once we have our prototype.

Project Meeting 6

Date: 12^th April 2011

Time: 1440-1455

Venue: Outside Staffroom

Members : Gary, Teacher Mentor

No.	Discussed
1	Introducing a new idea: Water Sensor ·       Suggested using a mechanical water sensor to mark the maximum level of water the drawer can hold ·       Water sensor to be added at the front of the drawer (water level can be seen below the handle) ·       Continue brainstorming for ideas on how the water sensor should be like
2	Building of prototype       ·        Each Member to check if they have spare materials at home for building of       prototype       ·        Decided that would and plastic are most suitable to build the prototype:             + Both are cheap and easily available             - Wood may not be waterproof             - It is not easy to mold plastic into our desired shape
3	Inventor's Log ·       Continue updating the inventors Log as we proceed to semi-finals

After this short discussion, we discussed together as a group and aimed to complete building the prototype by the June holidays. However, we have to decide if we will be asking external vendors to build our prototype or building it ourselves with suitable materials that we may find in our homes.

Project Meeting 5: Powerpoint Slides (With teacher mentor)

Date: 22^th February 2011

Time: 1425-1440

Venue: Outside Staffroom

Members : Gary, Hao Yu, Boning(CCA), Akira(CCA)

Mentored by: Teacher Mentor

Discussion and consultation on Prelims PowerPoint Presentation

No.	Discussed
1	Slide 1-Addressing of Group Members and Introduction of Project ·        To add in an image of the PlantPlat in the first slide
2	Entering scenes? ·         Is there any deas to attract audiences’ attention?
3	Need of a Plant Pot Plate ·        Explain clearly why roots need to breathe (Include some pictures) ·        State an example (e.g. Mangrove tress)
4.	Disadvantages of Plant Pot Plate ·        Lifting the pot is inconvenient. How so? à Heavy, back straining ·        Dengue Fever Show related news articles showing that such mosquitoes breeding areas can cause outbreak of dengue.  ·        Some types of plant pot 'dish' is inconvenient because it is difficult to lift the plant pot
5.	Structure of Plant Plat ·        Explain how the drawer works, in details, how the water is emptied (animations)
6.	Advantages of Plant Plat ·        Explain how it can be more convenient ·        How can it reduce dengue cases ·        In what way is it more convenient to empty it as compared to plant pot dish
7.	Others ·        Consider more aesthetic designs (interest of the consumers are very important) ·        Prelims à Show our basic idea (intended product), advantages and how it is better than plant pot plate (state evidences) ·        Semi-finals à  Prototype must be done, choose the right materials

 During this meeting, our teacher mentor gave us many useful tips for improving our Powerpoint slides. We then continued to work hard on the slides and gather more relevant information to include in the slides. Our group then think of more ideas to improve our presentation.

Task allocations:

Haoyu: Work on slides

Akira: Work on scripts

Boning and Gary: Search for related information or articles

Project Meeting 4: Literature Review

Date: 14^th February 2011

Time: 1520-1530

Venue: Classroom

Members : Hao Yu, Gary, Boning, Akira

No.

Discussed

1

Literature Review ·         Research on cases of dengue fever in Singapore and what control and preventions have been done by the government ·         Research on similar inventions – Green and Environmental inventions ·         Research on the percentage of plant-keepers and the inconvenience of keeping the plants (Idea of survey abolished--too troublesome and may not recieve very accurate results)

Tasks

Haoyu – Research on Dengue Fever and Green inventions (books resources)

Boning – Research on Dengue Fever and Surveys (internet resources)

Gary – Research on Green inventions and Surveys

Akira – Compile and Create Presentation slides


The main topic of this discussion is to research for important pieces of information to explain the underlying problem of our project and how we are going to solve it. We are also researching for similar ideas to ensure that our invention has never been invented before. This is also for updating our literature review.

Project Meeting 3 - Designs and Shapes of Product (with teacher mentor) 7th February 2011

Date: 7^th February 2011

Time: 1350 - 1415

Venue: Outside Staffroom

Members : Hao Yu(absent), Gary, Boning, Akira

No.	Discussed
1	Design of product ·         Material: claylike-plastic  -Strong -Not very costly
2	Hinges       Not feasible. It will increase the cost for the Plantplat.
3	Preparation for Prelims ·         Start Preparation on Slides  ·         Prepare script

Tasks Allocation:

Haoyu and Akira: Work on slides and script respectively. Update slides and scripts when necessary

Boning: Consider the advantages and disadvantages of other materials

Gary: Think of other outer designs and shape of the PlantPlat for aesthetics qualities and further convenience

During this meeting, our group started to consider more improvements to our product for increase aesthetics value or other conveniences. At the same time, we started to prepare our slides as our teacher mentor advised us to prepare early to avoid last minute preparations.