Blog Posts

Week 4: Concepts, PDS, and PDR!

Our Friday Pre-Liaison meeting

This week was all about laying the groundwork for a successful project. We kicked things off by outlining our project and creating a roadmap with a GANTT chart. This visual guide will be an aid in keeping us on track and prepared for major milestones like the Systems Level Design Review (SLDR).

We spent time refining our Product Design and Specifications (PDS) document with valuable input from Dr.Stubbs. This meant we went back to the drawing board to better understand and rank our requirements, which led to a great brainstorming session for new concepts.

A major highlight was our meeting with the liaison engineers. To prepare, we finalized our PDS, began working on our Product Design Report (PDR), and compiled a list of questions that arose throughout the week. The meeting was incredibly informative; it clarified expectations and provided a clear sense of direction for our project.

As we look to next week, we’re excited to finalize our draft PDR, gather more technical details, and schedule a site visit!

Week 3: Coach and Liaison Meetings!

Our current team logo, created by Natalia Piascik, ME!

This week, LineTech, has made significant progress on the project. We began the week by holding meetings to gain a better understanding of the project’s scope and expectations. On Monday, we met with Dr.Stubbs at the IPPD lab, and on Tuesday, we connected with our liaison engineers.  

The middle of the week was dedicated to defining the project’s technical framework. We met on Wednesday and Thursday to work on our Product Design Specification (PDS) sheet. This involved brainstorming how to quantify our product’s performance and discussing the technical elements needed for a successful prototype.  

Looking ahead to next week, our primary goal is to complete the PDS and get Dr.Stubbs’ approval. We’ve also started to have more questions because of our brainstorming sessions, and we plan to get more data from our liaisons after we’ve finalized our non-disclosure agreements. We’re also hoping to arrange a site visit and tour so we can speak directly with the linemen who will be using our product. In parallel with these efforts, we have begun researching existing literature and off-the-shelf components as we move toward the design and development phase.  

Week 2: First Meeting!

Photo from Thursday’s team meeting.

Welcome to the blog of Team 8, also known as LineTech! We are thrilled to partner with Florida Power and Light and our faculty coach, Dr. Kimberly Stubbs. Our goal is to develop an automated conductor hoist to improve efficiency and safety for linemen during the sagging and tensioning of conductor lines. We will be documenting our progress throughout the project on this page throughout the year!

On Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025, we had our first class meeting. We spent time reviewing the project’s scope of work and sharing our backgrounds. We held our first team meeting on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025. During that meeting, we established our team’s name, logo, and process for assigning/rotating team roles. We also discussed some team logistics, like file sharing and meeting times.

Next week, we will be meeting with our coach and liaison to gain an enhanced understanding of our project and continue to develop our next steps. We plan on performing some preliminary brainstorming and researching regarding our design solution.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Our members:

Ethan Ardavin, CpE

Szander Brenner, EE

Harsh Panchal, ME

Matt Szatkowski, ME

Natalia Piascik, ME

Nieed Guillaume, ME