Work Night 12.10.19

Work Night

Date: 12.10.19
Location: Logan HS
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM
Goal: Define the parameters of the hydration bladder monitor and set goals.
Students: Tommy, Abie, Ella, Clara, Rebecca and Sam.
Guest speaker - Bill Beres-Patent Attorney

Abie, Tommy and Sam finalizing goals for project.

Team discussion to determine final project goals.

Today we answered questions to get a clearer idea about the goals we have for this project.
Bill Beres talked to the students about patents in the scientific/engineering field. He had a mechanical engineer background then became an attorney and worked 23 years at Trane. Went to law school. “Engineering legal work” need a science undergraduate to be a patent attorney protect product from competitors from doing things too similar. Helps us patent our project. Defining what you want to do can be the hardest part.

The team then worked on researching and discussing the questions you see below to define the parameters of the project and set goals.

The main project goals we determined were:
a) Measure volume level
- User Hydration level (time permitting)
- Design/develop a timer system, reminder to drink
b) User has overview of water consumption

Invention Description:
The Logan InvenTeam will design and develop a hydration bladder monitoring device which will measure the volume level in the hydration bladder and transmit that information to the user so they can monitor their water consumption. This device can be utilized by people who use hydration bladders (like a CamelBak) for different activities like running, backpacking, hiking, etc… An App will be created for the management system to display live data on a cellphone or wrist display. The team will also research the possibility of incorporating auxiliary systems that would allow the user to monitor their own level of hydration and remind them when to consume water during activity.

Research Questions:
1. What is the range of volumes we are interested in? List 6 major manufacturers with some variation in size (example: Camelbak 1-3 liter).
Hydration bladder sizes are from 1 to 3 liters
Camelbak 2-3 L
Gregory 2-6 L
HydraPak 1.5-3 L
Mazama Designs 2-3 L
Osprey 1.5-3 L
Platypus 1-3 L
Osprey – 1.5-3 liters
Platypus – 1-3 liters
Gregory – 2-3 liters
HydraPak – 1.5- 3 liters
(3.7 recommended daily for men 2.7 for women). Unigear Tactical Hydration Pack 2.5 L.
Good information:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/hydration-system.html
OlarHike 2L
Vibrelli 2L
Rupumpack 2-2.5L
Water Buffalo 2L
Benkii 2L
Camelbak 1-3L

2. How is the "hydration bladder" used? (We want to describe how a person will use the hydration bladder everyday use, running, hiking, military, places where water is scarce, etc...)
High performance sports where water control is very important
A person uses it to keep hydrated in various activities like running, backpacking, etc.. They eliminate the need for disposable water containers.
It is used to easily access water by storing it on the back of the wearer. It would be used primarily for extensive outdoor recreation that requires two hands and/or no distractions such as biking and running.
People who use hydration bladders carry them on their back; a tube is over their shoulder to make it easy to drink out of it. People use this in many situations but mainly in an active situations. There is a strap on most to help the pack not move as much.
Typical uses seem to be biking and hiking, but snow sports and running are other common uses. Generally speaking, the hydration bladder's main purpose is to provide hands-free convenience for drinking and to carry water to places without clean drinking water. The same backpack that houses the water typically also serves as a backpack for carrying other stuff.

3. How do we want to communicate the output to the user? (Be creative here…cellphone app, monitored on the hydration bladder with a flow meter, etc...)
Cellphone app would be the most convenient for people who have smartwatches because they could check the amount of water left on their wrist
A cell phone is sometimes tucked in your pack. How about the monitor display being mounted on your wrist or on the hydration bladder tube where you can see it easily. We should also consider use in winter when a person wears long sleeves. Could it be mounted on the pack on the chest strap?
With a digital display that is mounted to the wearers wrist or to the bike (if using a bike)
Depending on our key consumers this may very. If we are looking at an average American we can hook it up to an app or a smart watch. If we are looking at the lower class it would work best to attach a device directly to the tube so no other devices are needed.
gauge, connect to smart watch
Output on hose end:
-Would let you see level with same system that you need access to to drink
-Mechanical or electrical
--7-segment–type display?
--Mechanical spinning wheel design?
-Less potential for variety

Smart Watch:
-Kind of people who use hydration bladders are more likely to be the kind of person who owns a smart watch.
-Would be hands-free and accessible
-Would need to have a watch
-Need wireless connection

Phone app:
-Would have to get out phone, which may defeat purpose (what is purpose? see below)
-Would be easy to incorporate other stats like water quality/temp/etc
-Has large potential for variety
-Need wireless connection

Bike-mounted display:
-Would be conveniently located
-Hands-free
-Would need to start mostly from scratch

Hybrid:
-Can have one of above options for quick look, others for more detailed analysis
-Would need to figure out multiple outputs
-Best of multiple designs
-Longer design time probably

4. Do we need to monitor water quality? (Water quality/safety. We need to define this and what to measure or if this means incorporating a filter.)
Probably not
Not a high priority but it would be nice to include. Most water is filtered before it is placed in a hydration bladder.
This is an interesting idea, however, I do not know if it is relevant to the target consume.
depends on target consumer, location using. yes many people like to filter whatever water using even if already clean.
It would be a nifty feature. I think we first need to know how difficult this would be and decide if it's something we can feasibly pursue in addition to other objectives. Alternatively, we could define this as our primary objective and focus on this first.

5. Do we need to monitor water volume? (What is useful to the user?)
Yes, definitely, but it could be calibrated from the volume of the pack and subtracted the amount the flow meter/device for monitoring how much water is being drunk would measure
Yes, the monitoring is a key here. I think it is essential we invent something that would tell the user in terms of how many liters are left. We could do a percentage but 50% of 3 liters is much more than 50% of 1 liter. More exact information for the user.
Yes, the user needs to know how much water is left.
depth gauge? is air>floating lever thing like car gas level monitor, no.
I could see it being useful to maybe a biker, but it's pretty easy to tell how much water is left based on the weight. It was our stated objective at first, but that doesn't mean a whole lot.

6. Should we include monitoring user hydration levels to see if they are hydrated?
That would be nice but I don't think it's a necessity for the project
This would be nice but not necessary a requirement. Might be neat to go down this road for a while, if we see it is a rabbit hole, we can back out.
Yes, it is important to know the hydration levels, especially when running or jogging in an environment without access to water.
Again, I think we need to weigh feasibility and time required to do it versus importance to the project. I think it's worth considering. More research would probably be needed. It would take the amount left in the pack and take it a step further to apply it to solve an (arguably) more useful problem.

7. Is temperature of the water important? (What is the impact on the user in terms of preferences and health?)
It would only be important for the measuring device so it could actually measure the amount of water.
Not so important unless it is really cold water which is hard to drink if you are really hot.
It can be important. The user might prefer to have cold water, and when wearing the hydration bladder for an extended period of time, the water will begin to warm.
depends on target consumer, yes cold water generally preferred, insulation. freezing weather activities, snow shoeing, >cross country ski?
Again, this seems like a pretty easy thing to just test empirically, so it might not be an important. However, it might be a nice touch if we have leftover time at the end.

8. What are some good candidates for software and hardware to help us solve this problem? (Battery powered? How often to read sensors? Is operation only on demand possible?)
The "Hydrate Mate" seems like a good example of the concept.
Arduino NANO (3.3 v operating) -Python, need a display that will interface with it.
Use a battery to power the device.
Possibly monitor pressure, then calculate the volume using the pressure.
Monitor the data with a digital screen (maybe touch screen?)
Idea 1 - Mechanical:
-No battery needed
-Spinning number dials
-Would need gears, mechanical spinning thing, housing

Idea 2 - Digital on Hose:
-Battery
-7-segment or something
-No wireless

Idea 3 - Phone:
-Battery
-Make app
-Need wireless thing
-Something that can turn measuring level into signal

Idea 4 - Bike Mounted Display
-2 Batteries
-Something that transmits wireless signal
-Details really depend on how crazy we want to get
--7-segment display?
-Something to mount it

Really depends a lot on how we approach the problem. If we measure out flow, for example, it might be different than pressure at the bottom or some other way of measuring water level.