
Week seven marked a pivotal moment for our Brick by Bit team as our project continues to develop in scope and expand in collaboration. This week, our liaison updated us with a list of additional students joining the larger project team, allowing us to gain a clearer picture of how development will be divided moving forward. Within this broader group, new sub teams are forming to focus on key areas such as gateway development, sensor device design, user interface development, software network design, and data security.
Our team met with both the new and previous researchers involved in the project to gain a clearer understanding of their specific research interests and contributions. During a meeting with our liaison and just the IPPD team, we explored different network topologies for the sensors and compared LoRa and Wi-Fi communication methods to gain further insight and direction for our ongoing research.
Our IPPD team’s role within this growing project was further clarified, as we will lead the prototype design phase. This includes conducting in-depth research into each component of the product and maintaining strong communication across all internal teams to ensure a cohesive system-level design.
As we continue refining our approach, we also focused on preparing and practicing our Preliminary Design Review (PDR) presentation. This included participating in a peer review session with other IPPD teams to gather feedback and strengthen our delivery. Looking ahead, we will continue to define the expected deliverables for this semester, ensuring our prototype development aligns with the broader project goals and sets a strong foundation for future progress.

Above shows the whiteboard we used to discuss the different topological options for our system and what our liaison’s main goal is for our team.