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The last blog…

The time has finally come. The last blog. It has been a great year and team can’t believe it’s over. Next week is the FDR, and the team’s liaison and team will be coming to Gainesville to see our final presentation and the other IPPD projects. This past week, the team has been diligently preparing for the FDR. On Tuesday, the team had a peer review of their presentation, and received great feedback. The team is currently working on the FDR report, ensuring that all the necessary information for Newell Brands is provided. We are so grateful for everything we’ve learned this year and for all the support from our coach and sponsor! We are so proud that we have collaborated together and grown as a team to create a functional prototype for our sponsor. Thank you IPPD for an unforgettable senior year!

The team and our liaison!

The Final Countdown

This week, the CaffeGators completed their testing. Over 50 people participated in the testing. That’s 50+ cups of espresso! The team had a lot of fun meeting new people during testing and getting feedback. Many changes to both the physical prototype and AR app are in progress. In addition to finishing testing, the team created their first video and poster draft for the FDR. The video showcases all of the team members and showcases the features of the prototype and app with exceptional cinematography and flawless editing. The poster highlights the design process and the different parts of the prototype and app. Next week the team will be further analyzing the testing results. Next week the CaffeGators will be preparing for the FDR, updating the poster, video, app, and physical prototype.

Poster Draft
Testing Setup

Testing Phase 1 Complete!

This week the CaffeGators have completed their first phase of testing! On Wednesday and Thursday, the team had volunteers use their prototype and AR application to make a cup of espresso. Each test subject completed a survey after so that the team could collect feedback on the process. This feedback has been critical and has resulted in many updates and changes to the design and app. The team tested 36 people in two days. Each person received free espresso and Krispy Kreme donuts, and each participant was entered into a raffle to win 1 of 3 coffee machines. Overall, testing has been an invaluable experience for the team and has given us much to think about. We will be testing again next week with updated changes to the prototype and AR app to get extra feedback and insight on more changes that need to be made before the FDR. We had a lot of fun testing this week and can’t wait to see how people react next week to our new updates!

The team at thier testing table in HWLEE

PID Completed

This week the team presented their prototype and AR app to 6 judges. They received great feedback, including creating a phone dock for your phone and including a range of motion scale on the handle for easier control of tamping pressure. Unfortunately at the PID event, there was a slight issue with the AR application. The team has plans to fix the unexpected lighting issues they experienced with the AP next week to be ready for testing. Overall, the team received very helpful feedback from judges and will be making some updates this upcoming week to prepare for testing. The team can’t wait to start testing and seeing how people interact with our prototype and app. Newell Brands has sent us three machines to raffle off to our testing participants! We’ve ordered Resident Coffee beans for testing, a local Gainesville roasting company that won the best roaster in the state of Florida, and have our aprons ready to start serving espresso!

The team at the PID
AR application preview

Back and Better

This week the CaffeGators returned from spring break and are ready to get back to work. Next week is the PID, and the CaffeGators plan to have a functional physical prototype to demonstrate during the presentation. The team worked in the lab this week preparing the machine to integrate the prototype into. The team got to use various tools in the HWLEE to cut a hole in the machine to place the prototype! The prototype is 3D printing the prototype and will place it into the machine this weekend. As for the AR application, the team is working hard to incorporate all the steps into the app by the PID. Testing will begin next week. All participants will be entered into a raffle to win a espresso machine from our sponsor!

Sara getting the machine ready to install the prototype
Will cutting another piece of the machine

Spring Breakers

The CaffeGators are ready for spring break! This week they presented their progress to the Newell Brands team. They received excellent feedback from Newell Brand’s global espresso team. The UK espresso team was even in attendance! The CaffeGators showed off their new CAD model, new handle design, new AR prompt format, and updated testing design. Newell Brands was impressed by the design of the prototype and the potential of the AR app. The team is excited to return from spring break and get to work. Testing will be conducted to determine the funnel efficiency and the overall function capability of the prototype. Testing of the app with the prototype will occur in two weeks. See you in two weeks!

New CAD design with the updated handle and transparent funnel
New AR Prompt Design

QRB2 Completion

This week the team presented their progress to two coaches to receive feedback on their design and AR app. The team demonstrated their integrated prototype models and the first prompt in the AR espresso machine. The team also explained their current testing plan. The feedback the team received from the coaches was very insightful. For the next two weeks, the team will work hard to incorporate the feedback including updating the handle design to make it more intuitive, merging the testing surveys for the app and prototype, and simplifying the testing process to ensure accurate data collection. Overall, the team is excited to present their QRB2 progress to a Newell Brands team on Tuesday next week and receive more feedback.

Integrated prototype model
Functionality of prototype

QRB2 Prep

The CaffeGators are working hard to prepare for the QRB2 next week. They can’t wait to show off the progress they’ve made including their AR application process map and integrated prototype. The AR process map walks through the user’s experience in using the application to make a cup of espresso. The rough draft version is shown below:

This process map allows the CaffeGators to plan out the development of the app. The team will present an AR app demonstration showing one of the squares (or espresso making steps) during the QRB2 presentation. As you can see in the process map, “barista tips” will be given through the app process walkthrough based on DOE trial data. For example, users will be recommended to use freshly roasted beans and filtered water when using the machine.

As for the physical prototype, the team will present a 3D printed model of the prototype placed in the espresso machine that has been deconstructed. The team will present the pros and cons of this integration and how the design evolved.

Overall, the team can’t wait to WOW the coaches at the QRB2 next week!

QRB2 Sprint

This week the CaffeGators got to deconstruct an espresso machine! Newell Brands sent a deconstructed espresso machine for the team to work with to understand the machine internals and the limitations of integrating the prototype into the machine. It was a great learning experience for the team. It allowed the CaffeGators to brainstorm new evolutions of the 4-bar linkage prototype to meet the sponsors specifications of seamless integration of the machine and tool. In addition to the machine deconstruction, the team began the AR application process map outlining the various functions and features that will be incorporated into the app. This process map allows the team to organize the app’s layout as well as prepare the written content that will accompany each step. The team presented the working draft of the process map to Coach Jackson and received great feedback, including which functions to leave out and also the UX/UI.

Below is an image of the team taking apart the machine in the HWLEE.