This week Ion Clad presented the first draft of our demonstration video in front of the IPPD class. We had a lot of fun making this and were excited to get the chance to show it off. This week we’ve also continued in our final stages of testing and development for both designs. We are in the final stretch now of the project, and hope to give a stellar presentation at FDR.

This week focused on advancing both the Robin and Batman prototypes toward final integration. The PCB for the Robin prototype has been ordered and is expected to arrive early next week. In parallel, the final electronics housing for the Batman prototype was successfully 3D printed, featuring a more compact design and an improved user interface.

Additional progress included attending Prototype Inspection Day, where valuable feedback was gathered on current designs and testing approaches. Based on this input, updates were made to the Robin design, particularly improving PCB mounting and switch interaction.

Looking ahead, efforts will shift toward documentation and final assembly. The team will continue drafting the Final Design Review (FDR) report and begin preparing the presentation. On the hardware side, the plan is to 3D print the finalized Robin design, integrate the PCB, and complete assembly of both the Robin and Batman prototypes with their updated components.

This week, our team focused on human factors testing, with an emphasis on evaluating the comfort and usability of the costume during real-world movement. We specifically tested how it feels to wear the Chewbacca costume over extended periods and how easily a user can move while wearing it as well as the battery packs.

During testing, we assessed factors such as heat buildup, range of motion, visibility, and overall comfort. Participants were asked to perform basic movements like walking, jumping, and squatting to simulate realistic use conditions. These activities helped us identify areas where the costume may restrict motion or cause discomfort.

One of the main takeaways was that while the costume performs well visually, extended wear can lead to increased heat and reduced comfort. Additionally, certain movements, particularly jumping were somewhat limited due to the bulk and structure of the costume.

Overall, this round of testing provided valuable insight into how the costume functions beyond appearance. Moving forward, we plan to make adjustments to improve mobility, and ensure a more comfortable experience for the wearer.

Hello from Ion Clad! We are excited to announce that we now have a functional prototype for the Robin design. As you can see, Ben is wearing Robin as well as a string of LED lights that are being powered by the device. Not every feature we planned is ready at this time, but enough is ready to begin conducting our human factors testing regime. Ion Clad is very happy to share this achievement with you all and wishes everyone in the UF and IPPD communities a happy spring break.

To simplify the wiring mess that everyone saw in our impromptu IPPD update , we are building a PCB. We tried building the PCB in Altium , but setting up a custom footpring was an absolute nightmare. With the help of our liasons , we moved everything over to KiCad. Most of the footprints are built in and making a custom footprints is super simple. One of the biggest issues we had was figuring out what was going to be a trace and what was going to be an actual wire and then representing that on the PCB.

Currently the PCB is still unfinished and we are expecting another week to 2 weeks since PCB development was not considered for our design. The goal of the PCB is to house all the electrical components onto one piece for ease of access and trouble shooting. Most of the components are ready except for the mosfet switches which will just need mounting holes. Once all the components are built in KiCad , we can start the routing process and then send for printing.

We’re getting very close to a major milestone: our team is nearing completion of our first full prototype.

Over the past week, a few critical parts finally arrived, which means we can push forward with assembly and continue production on both designs in parallel. At the moment, we’re expecting the Robin design to finish first. The Batman design is still moving forward, but it’s slightly behind due to a couple of 3D printing errors that forced us to reprint and rework some pieces. Even with that setback, we’re still on track overall, and our timeline is holding steady.

With the main mechanical progress nearly complete, our focus is shifting to the parts that make this more than just a bench-top project. The next phase is about turning it into something that can actually be worn comfortably and used reliably.

Before we can confidently move into full testing and demonstrations, we need our safety features fully implemented and validated. This includes making sure protections and safeguards work the way they’re supposed to under real operating conditions.

Our next steps are focused on improving the design.At this stage, we’re not just building something that “works.” We’re building something that works reliably, works safely, and works in a way that’s usable for the person wearing it.

This week was a very productive week for team Ion Clad! Our focus shifted toward getting Robin
moving from pieces on a table to an actual build we can test, while also starting early
preparation for QRB next week. We put together the first electrical Robin prototype, and it’s now
essentially assembled and ready for the next step, which is getting it properly housed. We plan
to present the first functional prototype at the QRB. The batman prototype is underway and the
battery casings have been 3D printed.

Robin electrical V1 (unconnected to battery)

On the human factors side, we’re close to finalizing the human factors testing plan for our
prototypes. The next step is completing a short review of ergonomics and usability testing
references so the plan is built around established methods and validated rating scales rather
than anything we made up on our own. By Monday we should have a testing plan in place for
our prototypes.

Human factors reading

The team made significant progress this week by conducting electrical load testing on the Robin design to evaluate performance under expected operating conditions. In parallel, MOSFETs and boost converters were tested in the lab using controlled loads to verify proper functionality, efficiency, and reliability. These efforts are helping confirm that the power electronics can withstand real-world demands while maintaining stable operation and safe thermal performance.

Beyond hardware validation, preparation for human factors testing is actively underway, including coordination of test subjects and refinement of testing parameters to ensure meaningful and consistent results. For the virtual analysis work, the team is currently establishing the parameters and boundary conditions that will guide upcoming heat transfer and mechanical load simulations. Defining these inputs now will ensure that future modeling accurately reflects real-world use cases and provides reliable insight to support design decisions.