I worked together as a team for a CAS project. 3 people (me, Yug Patel, and Ryan Lee) worked together on a sustainability-focused air purifier, which can be used in educational environments. We were developing this product for the India innovation challenge, in which we placed 7th across the entire nation. This was a great achievement considering we were rookies. I worked more specifically on the 3d modelling, animation, video curation, and also the technical parts, such as the electronics, the AQI sensor, etc. This project was started on 7th august and ended on 13th October, on the results of the India Innovation Challenge. The main reason I wanted to take part in this event, is that I wanted to push my knowledge and understanding of design and innovation. Therefore, I teamed up with 2 pals of mine to compete in the India Innovation Challenge.

LO1

As we were going through the development of the air purifier, I identified my strengths and weakness. Although at the time, due to my injury of ligament tears in my ankle, my primary weakness was physical work. I accepted that I couldn’t work physically on the air purifier, so I let my pals do the work. However, I felt good, that I was strong with the electronics and coding part of the project. I was very strong with Sketchup rendering, animation, modelling and video editing. It was important that I did this. It allowed me to make sure that I could productively contribute to the project. It also allowed the project to progress much faster as the tasks were effectively distributed such that each took as minimal time as possible for the same. Sadly, however, I couldn’t work on my weakness. As my leg took over a month to heal itself, which was the time when this project came to halt.

LO2

It wasn’t Sundays and rainbows though. Therefore, quite a lot of challenges while doing this project. The main challenge was to get the OLED display running in the AQI sensor that comes with the air purifier that we were making. It was challenging because I had no reliable way to make sure that the OLED that I had was working. Moreover, my inexperience with OLED panels meant that I wasn’t so sure how to use it with Arduino. I wasn’t so sure if my wires were able to conduct electricity, which was also one of the reasons why it didn’t work in the first place. I have used Arduino, from which I was able to retrieve the information from the AQI sensor (Diagnostics). I overcome this challenge, by going through online forums, and making sure that the wires were working. But in the end, I had to change the library I was using to drive the panel. By using a slightly newer library from a different manufacturer, I was able to get the display working, with dim lighting. After replacing the display, I got the display properly working and usable.

LO3

Throughout the project, in order to keep track of everything, I made sure to make a to-do list, which allowed me to effectively organise myself. Although I am usually not an organised person, this definitely helped me a lot. I feel like, for this particular project, the planning was quite difficult, as the time frame was quite short, and we had a lot of examinations during the same time. The planning was also difficult as we were unsure of the resources that we could procure. This was because the parts would take a lot of time to reach, which had its own uncertainty, which made the entire planning unpredictive. One thing that I learned through the initiation of the project is how to use OLED with Arduino. Moreover, I also discovered by creating calendar events and writing down that you have to do something on a certain day, you would be more likely to do it because you have committed to it. I think that due to this, planning and initiating such projects in the future would be easier, as I have a lot of experience in the same. I feel like it is very important to know how to plan and initiate certain events. This allows you to make sure that whatever you plan is able to be implemented properly without many issues down the line. It allows you to mitigate certain issues earlier on, which makes the project more fluid down the line.

LO4

As I mentioned, the OLED was not initially working, because of faulty wires, bad coding, connectivity issues and some issues in the panel itself, which made commitment and perseverance much needed. Moreover, due to the short time frame, I had to make a video, within 24 hours, which for properly made without issues and of the highest quality. This also meant that I had to have grit and perseverance in order to complete this project. In the end, I committed myself to complete the video, no matter what. Therefore, by the last 1 hour, I had the video mostly made with the highest quality assets and was mostly refined. However, I sigh of relief came as the organisers of the competition postponed the deadline so that lagging participants could catch up. But it wasn’t so easy for me to dedicate more than 6-7 hours of my day to just making the video. I also had to do other work. Alongside with my monsoon musings work, I also had to prepare for my summative and other examinations. But it was important for me to show this attitude in my work. This allowed me to complete most of the video on time, which was further used and refined with the extended time we were given. This allowed the project to successfully position 7th place out of 100 entries across India in the India Innovation Challenge.

LO5

Generally, it is harder for me to work with other people, because people have different ideas about the same thing. It is very hard for everyone to come to a general consensus where everyone agrees on the same thing. However, due to the group being small and very close to me, this time wasn’t that big of an issue. It wasn’t difficult to work with other people, as a different part of the projects was independently run by different people. However, we did have difficulties with the project. In the concept phase of the project, we were about to decide whether we want to do carbon ink or air purifier or recycling process for labs. However, by understanding what was possible in our reach in the given time budget and what could be possibly done, we came to a common conclusion of the air purifier, as it was the most possible solution within the given time frame. It was important for me to work with other people this time, as it allowed us to achieve something much greater than what we could have achieved individually. Teamwork allows us to do a greater thing, without the risk of burning out easily, as we have other people to help and follow through.

LO6

The air purifier that we made, was designed with the goal of sustainability towards climate change, “good health and well-being” and quality in mind. These issues are very prevalent globally, and it is very important for us to solve them. Not solving them, could lead to the eventual extinction of the human race, moreover, leaving a world in a mess that cannot be reversed. Improper education can mislead the masses which can further add to the climate change problem. Bad health would directly lead to more diseases and therefore put the entire humankind at risk of extinction, directly. Knowing about these problems, allowed me to become more sensitive to such issues and therefore design a product that can directly address the same. This allows us to take action, even though small, and motivate others to take action themselves. I feel bad that these issues have to arise in the first place, however since they are there, we really have to do something about it. This CAS project intends to at least try to solve the issues. This makes me motivated and generally more hopeful about the future.

LO7

One ethical issue that came across the plan of the air purifier, was that while it was made mostly out of completely recycled and repurposed wood and materials, it wasn’t the most sustainable due to the electronics. Because it requires an AQI which isn’t disposed of and even if is, then there is a high chance that it won’t work anyways. It means that manufacturing would still require some new materials, which might not be available in every place in the world. It means that while people might be able to make the structure of the air purifier, they might not be able to accurately use it. Not just this, but the biggest ethical dilemma was whether to give away the manufacturing plans for the project or not. This issue would directly affect me, as I could easily manufacture the air purifier without giving away the plans, maintain a monopoly, target a niche market and make quite a bit of profit. However, I felt that to do the opposite of just that and make the plans available to the public for the better. The issue made me feel that I could make a difference. Maybe, just maybe, bring sustainability and a ray of hope to some school, somewhere in the world. Before the CAS activity, I thought that I and my group could make a product that can work towards the sustainability aspect and that is truly available to all, without any hindrance or catches. Even though profitability was an option, I put people over profits, before and after and ever will.

In conclusion, through this particular CAS project, I became a thinker. I had to challenge my knowledge and understanding of electronics. This led me to think very deeply about the issues which arose and also quite creatively as well. This CAS project can help the global community at large, by providing them with a product, that they can easily implement in their local environment with complete sustainability. I consider this project a success. I mean we in the top 10 across India. This gave me a sense of accomplishment, while at the same time also a sense of relief. The main thing I learned from this project, is very technical about the OLED panel, but also the finer details of planning, how to manage ethical issues and also how to come to a consensus during a project where teamwork is involved. If possible, I should have just started this project earlier on, it would have been really beneficial. All of the planning knowledge and group work knowledge will be used as I come into professional life, where I have to constantly work with new people. We as the entire group wish to mass produce our air purifier for our school and plan to bring a change in the community.

Minimalist Green Life brochure

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