Author: George Crichlow

Since we last met I did a lot of field research. I visited several bars. I shared my prototype with bartenders, got some feedback and made many observations about my audience. All of which improved on my product design (see the above).

The physical prototype is still a work in progress but I learned alot about how to improve my design. Below are my learnings so far:

The Bartenders

This is Rebecca. Rebecca is a bartender at Bedford Hall.  She told me that as a bartender she can’t attend to everyone, so it’s more important that the wait staff that takes drinks over to the tables be her eyes and ears.  She thinks the smart coaster idea is more important to the waitresses than to her because its their job to go over to the people and bring drink orders back to the bartender. Rebecca also suggested that I move the LEDs from the outside of the coaster to the middle of the coaster.  Her feedback was that the LEDs could be distracting in a dimly lit space, so its better to defuse the light through the drinking glass.

The Glasses

After visiting several different bars I learned that I have to account for six different kinds of drinks glasses. There is water, wine, beer, martini, whiskey and a mixed drink glasses. When placed on my FSR sensor each register a different weight.  This presents a challenge because in my current arduino sketch the bartender would have to calibrate the coaster to each glass.

My current design solution is to calibrate the coaster to recognize all the weights. I did this by storyboarding the optimal use case scenario of my coaster.

Storyboarding

I learned quickly that it is far easier to show how to use the coaster than to explain it.  So I sketched out what the ideal scenario would look like when the smart coaster is in use.  I also found this technique helpful when it came to re-writing my code.

When planning out how to revise my code I sketched out what each step should look like. This is slightly different than sketching out a storyboard for users. Sketching out code is called Puedo Code.  It maps out each technical step of my use case scenario. For example “flash yellow LED’s when the coaster is processing”,  this helps me understand how I need to write code to meet these conditions.

Prototype

After taking in lots of feedback, I began to plan out how I wanted to revise my concept. the above photo shows how I began thinking about revising my cardboard prototype into wood. I used a laser cutter to cut out my materials.

Currently I am considering different way to reduce the size of my concept.  As is the form factor is to large.  I found some sample projects on instructable here and here I want to take a look at.  Revisions coming soon.

/George

For my final project I want to revise my waiterlite coaster.

The initial concept was designed to alert wait staff when patrons need help getting a bartender’s attention during high traffic times such as happy hour. I would like to revise and build on this concept.

The challenge I face with my current sketch and prototype is that my FSR sensor only works for specific type of glasses. This is because my current sketch is design to recognize the weight a single type of cup. Each time a new cup is placed on the sensor I have to reset the sensor to recognize new thresholds for each new glass.

My next steps will include calibrating an FSR sensor to automatically recognize when a glass is full or empty.  I will attempt to revise my arduino code using motor limits to automatically recognize the upper and lower thresholds that a glass will exert of the coaster.

I also would like learn how to use the CNC machine so that I can cut out a nice coaster made out of wood.  Ideally the coaster will be designed to house and conceal the flora board and the battery pack in single form factor.

Next Steps:

Target Audience

Although the concept is designed to help bartenders to quickly recognize when users need a new drink, they are not the true target audience.  The real challenge is to identify a bar that is not able to meet consumer demand during volume.  Three places I am considering are places with

Sweet Science

Mo’s

Apotheke

Sketch Concepts

Explore ways to create prototype. Buy materials like cork and wood and see which materials are work best.

A coaster with LED light indictors that notifies waiters when you need service.

I used an FRS censor to create three thresholds that identify when a class in full, half drank or empty. Within the arduino code I used several “if else” statements that distinguish between the weight of the glass.

 Then I used a glue gun to and wooden sticks to connect the two parts.

The FRS censors are calibrated to recognize three thresholds or weights.  When the glass is full a red LED indicator turns red. When the glass is half full the LED indicator turns tell. This tells a waiter that you are ok and don’t need help.  The final LED state turns green when the glass is near empty, indicating that you need a refill.

This assignment was fun. Through exploration, trial/error I learned that the Digitalpullup button needs a resistor in order to recognize the full circuit.  When a resistor is not used the flow of energy circles around in a “high” state from the LED to GND. A resistor is need to resist the flow of energy to return to GRN enabling the LED to light up.

A seconding finding for me was within the StateChangeDetection sketch.  Defining input and output is crucial to defining the state of the LED (on vs. off).  The pushbuttoncounter is also important and dictates how many “clicks” it take to turn the LED on and off.  I also found that if you added-in a delay feature you can change the timing of when the LED turns on and off.

I’d like to create a picture of the night sky. The material inside the picture frame will be fuzzy. Everytime someone passes by, the stars will “automatically” twinkle.  Maybe I can include a little jingle that plays in a 10 second loop as well.