Final+Group+Project+(25%)

5. Technology Design Project (presented in lab with documentation on wiki, Mar 21, 25%)

Project documentation and final design ideas will be presented in the labs Mar. 21 in 5-7 minute "science fair" style presentations.

A few considerations:

The design should focus on communities not normally targeted by designres - e.g., design for the other 90% - and solve particular problems experienced by these communities.

You are encouraged to learn from and incorporate existing technologies in your design. Do an environmental scan to see what's available and learn about how these technologies work and how they're designed.

Within that, feel free to be creative in proposing and solving a problem that the initial design does not consider. This could mean tailoring the technology to meet unaddressed needs, adapting for use in a particular context or population, etc - what you choose is up to you, but a focused, creative and feasible plan is better than one that is unfocused, derivative or impossible.

Avoid "magic bullet" solutions - i.e., technologies that cannot possibly work given current physical limitations (e.g, don't propose that a rooftop solar panel will light and heat a village in perpetuity. It won't, and you should know why that's not feasible through your research.)

Also consider contextual and economic factors in your design. If your technology costs more than the community could ever possibly afford or locks them into relations of dependence with the supplier in perpetuity, it's not particularly appropriate.

Document all your work on your group wiki. If you change direction in full or in part, don't delete your work - build on it. Consider the wiki as documentation of process vs. a final polished piece - that's what you're offering up in the final presentation.

The presentation should make the scope of the problem clear as well as outline how your solution would address it. Virtual or physical prototypes are often handy to make the end product more tangible and easy to understand. You will only have limited time to present - aproximately 5-7 minutes in a "science fair" style where we will visit your group to have a direct discussion. Plan accordingly - if you have a 15 minute YouTube video you want to show, cue it up to the important message. We can watch the rest later.