On Monday, Nov 24, the team met to make final adjustments to the first prototype before the presentation. In particular, we utilized the temporary base for the load cell that simplified and made the process of weighting more accurate. Additionally, the load cell was calibrated again, i.e. a new equation was generated using the values displayed on the liquid crystal display (LCD) (picture attached). The frequent calibrations of the load cell were expected since it is very sensitive to any environmental changes.

On Tuesday, Nov 25, C.G and N.S were invited to the laboratory room to observe the current progress of the team. In particular, 2, 6 and 10 kilogram (kg) weights were placed on top of the load cell and then the appropriate weight was displayed on the LCD. A snapshot of the first prototype displaying 2 kg is attached. The laboratory presentation was followed by a formal presentation in Kaiser 3056.

For the rest of the week each member of the team worked on writing particular parts of the proposal update:
M.M – Load cell;
M.L – Amplifier;
O.Y – Arduino and LCD;
W.Y – Next steps and overall progress;
M.S – Intro, toggle switch, push button.
In addition, M.S worked on editing and merging the parts of the prototype 1 report.

On Saturday, Nov 29, M.S sent the prototype 1 report and presentation slides to C.G, N.S, E.M and each team member.

Abbreviations: M.S – Maria Serbanescu, O.Y – Oscar Yang, M.L – Michael Li, W.Y – Weng Fey Yu, M.M – Mustafa Mussayev, C.G – Cristian Grecu, N.S – Navid Shafiei, E.M – Eric Molendyk.

On Tuesday, Nov 18, the team had a dry run of the project presentation.
M.L and O.Y were presenting before C.G, N.S and the rest of the team. C.G and N.S gave the presenters a feedback on the appropriate set of the body movements i.e. hand placement, stance, etc., as well as the feedback on the content of the presentation itself. The team found the feedback very helpful for the actual project and future presentations.
For the rest of the week the team did not meet, however, on Sunday, Nov 23, M.S worked on creating a temporary base for the load cell. Two pieces of medium-density fibreboards (MDF) were cut out and attached under and on the top of the load cell. The bottom MDF was attached so that the load cell is elevated above the floor and can be kept unmoved, while the top MDF was attached for the purpose of placing on different weights.

The tasks for the next week:
1. Utilize the base of the load cell;
2. Calibrate the load cell;
3. Integrate mechanical and software parts of the first prototype.

Abbreviations: M.S – Maria Serbanescu, O.Y – Oscar Yang, M.L – Michael Li, W.Y – Weng Fey Yu, M.M – Mustafa Mussayev, C.G – Cristian Grecu, N.S – Navid Shafiei.

On Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014, the team had a meeting with TA. We showed our current progress on integrating the separate parts of the project. After the meeting we set following tasks for the rest of the week:
1. M.L, W.Y, O.Y, M.M and M.S – to complete the integration of the load cell and amplifier with the microcontroller and LCD ;
2. O.Y and M.S – to implement the push button and toggle and write the appropriate code;
3. M.L, W.Y and M.M – to test the load cell and the amplifier even more, refine the equation for the voltage-weight conversion;
4. M.L, W.Y, O.Y, M.M and M.S – to start preparing presentation slides;

All the tasks were completed
1. M.L, W.Y, O.Y, M.M and M.S worked on the integration; the LCD shows appropriate values of the weight;
2. O.Y and M.S implemented and wrote the code for the push button and the toggle switch; push button resets the microcontroller and screen, the toggle switch changes displayed weight from kg to lbs and vise versa;
3. M.L, W.Y and M.M refined the equation by applying a wider range of voltages to the load cell (picture attached);
4. Each member of the group started preparing presentation slides.

Abbreviations: M.S – Maria Serbanescu, O.Y – Oscar Yang, M.L – Michael Li, W.Y – Weng Fey Yu, M.M – Mustafa Mussayev.

On Tuesday (Nov 4, 2014) the team had a meeting with TA and we reviewed the progress from the previous week. After the meeting we set the following tasks for this week:
1. M.S – send NDA/IP forms to the client;
2. M.M, M.L, W.Y – to implement the amplifier using the newly purchased INA125, test the load cell and acquire an equation;
3. M.S and O.Y – to have a separate working code for the microcontroller and LCD;

All tasks for this week were completed
1. M.S sent the NDA/IP forms signed by the professor and the group members to the client;
2. M.M, M.L and W.Y used INA125 to implement an amplifier (pic 1) that gives a theoretical amplification of 5000 times. In practice, we acquired an amplification of 4 times that was sufficient for the first prototype. The load cell was tested using different weights and an equation was determined that can be used to obtain voltages for a range of weights (pic 2).
3. M.S and O.Y implemented a working code that displays a dummy voltage on the LCD.

Abbreviations: M.S – Maria Serbanescu, O.Y – Oscar Yang, M.L – Michael Li, W.Y – Weng Fey Yu, M.M – Mustafa Mussayev.