Look Listen and Learn:

The first phase of the launch cycle is to look, listen, and learn. This is the phase where you understand the basics of something by observing and listening. Although our Blue Sky unit only officially started about a month ago, this phase of the launch cycle actually began last year before I was even in PLP, when I went to the end of the year exhibition. This was where I got to witness some of the projects created by the grades above me and I got the feel for what Blue Sky would be like. At the beginning of this school year we were also given a brief overview of what was going to happen during this unit, and what we were expected to do. Then, when the project finally took off in April, we learned a little bit about the history of what Blue Sky is. It actually originated from the multi-million dollar company 3M (who is responsible for inventions like post-it notes and masking tape) who has created something known as 15% time. This is a time when their employees can work on their own product ideas and pitch them to the company, which saves money and generates amazing inventions that sometimes ends up being the next big thing.

One of 3M’s most famous inventions

Our Blue Sky project closely resembles 3M’s 15% time for it is a unit where we find up with a problem, invent a solution, pitch it to clients, and display it to the world when successful. The problem that I am trying to solve is that instrument cases are way too heavy to carry for tweens, and if they want to buy a wheel case, it costs lots of money and cannot be adjusted to fit multiple instruments. I became aware of this problem when I myself found great difficulty in bringing my trumpet to and from school multiple times each week, which lead me to become interested in solving it. How I plan to solve it is to create wheels and a handle which can attach to an instrument case with clamps, and would be cheap to buy, easy to store and maneuver, and could fit any instrument case, no matter the size.

A sketch of my invention plan

Asking TONS of questions:

I was definitely quite effective in this phase of the launch cycle (to the great elation of my teachers), and starting inquiring about the project almost instantly after it was announced. I first started off with the basic questions, such as when important dates were, and what sorts of problems we were aiming to tackle. I also asked many questions about the project outline to make sure I understood everything on it. Then, I started going into more detail with my questions, such as how interviews with younger people or pets should be conducted, or whether you are allowed to use certain materials. I also came up with questions to ask myself, such as my inquiry question: How could it be easier and cheaper for tweens to transport their instruments? This is the fundamental question of my project that I will refer to throughout it, and had helped me come up with my solution in phase one. Other questions I asked myself included how much it would cost to build my 3 prototypes, how long it would take to complete each section of the launch cycle, how I could reach my clients, and what would my exhibition presentation look like.

A good way to start off any question

Understanding the Process or Problem:

At this point, many of us had our ideas close to being approved and were eager to begin designing our prototypes, but before we could do that, we needed to do a bit more research into our topics. The first piece of research I did after I had my idea was to see if my invention already existed to some capacity. After checking stores websites, google images, and instrument forums, I found nothing that was quite like mine so I went along with my idea. The next thing I did was research possible materials I would need, along with their prices, and found the locations that they were sold at. After that, I drew up some sketches of my prototype from different angles with a few different designs, and decided on what I liked and didn’t like about each. Now it was time to start sharing my plans with the world, and to see if people liked them, I created a survey which I got people from my client age group to answer. When the majority of people liked the plans, I decided to take the next step and share them with my project mentor, Mr. Barnes, my main client, my cousin Alek, and an employee at Deep Cove Music. All of them had previously stated that larger instruments are tiresome to transport, and liked my idea as a way to solve this problem. I also received feedback to make sure the clamps are quite secure so that your instrument doesn’t get damaged. Now that I had done lots of research, I was ready to pitch my idea officially to my teachers to get it approved.

The survey I created

Navigating Ideas:

As soon as I got my idea approved, I was eager to go off on my own and begin working on my first prototype, but before I could do that, I would have to organize all of my ideas and come up with a proper design. The first step I did to create this was make a mind map of all of my prototype ideas. This allowed me to combine and narrow similar ideas and get closer to an actual design. The next thing I did was create some more detailed sketches, for the ones I had up to this point were merely to get the idea across to people of what I wanted to do and didn’t have much detail. The new sketches I drew outlined everything from the distance of the wheels to the case to how high the handle should be able to go to, and definitely helped me visualize what I would be building. Now I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to make, but I still couldn’t decide on a handle design that would be the most efficient. To test them out, I built a mock handle of one design, and when it proves to be awkward to use, I decided to go with the other design.

A detailed sketch of my first prototype

Creating a Prototype:

Now it was time to take all my plans and models and create my first actual prototype. I was quite excited for this stage because I could finally turn my ideas into reality and test them out with all sorts of people. Yet, although this task was exciting, it was easier said then done. My prototype idea seemed deceptively simple: 2 clamps with wheels and a handle which attach to an instrument case, but as I began gathering materials and building, I figured out why the teachers give us 3 drafts and over a month to create these. The first problem I ran into was that materials are not always as easy to come by or as cheap as you might expect, meaning that a lot of improvisation is needed. An example of this is when I couldn’t find a cheap handle to use, so I took an adjustable fly swatter and an exercise rope and created my own. I also realized that there are many little details you overlook about a product when designing it, such as if a clamp will be wide enough to fit a corner, or if the wheels aren’t large enough to touch the ground from the sides. These little things definitely frustrated me, and many times I felt defeated, but I kept trying again until eventually something worked. I ended up making my first prototype from a shoe box, some wheels from a toy tractor, an adjustable fly swatted as a handle, and some clothes pins.

My first prototype

Highlighting and Fixing:

Once I had my first prototype ready to go, I videotaped me using it and presented it to my clients and mentor and got some good feedback. Everyone liked the idea and what I did with my materials and ideas, and the main constructive feedback I got was to make sure the materials I used for my next one were sturdy and light, to make transportation as efficient as possible. Then it was time for me to move on to my second one. Taking the previous feedback I had gotten, I decided to upgrade my clamps from plastic to metal and my handle from a fly swatter to a modified pump. I also decided to make it full scale and fully operational to better demonstrate my design. Another change I made was I put the wheels underneath the clamps and make them swivelling which allowed a greater capability for movement. Since my first prototype captured the design I wanted, this one took a bit less time to build, which allowed me to focus on fixing the smaller aspects, such as one wheel was too close to the clamp handle. When I presented this one to my clients and mentor, they were quite impressed on the improvements I made since the first one, but reminded me to still make it more sturdy, especially with the wheel clamps, and the shorten the clamp handle’s to make sure it doesn’t bump into stuff. They also suggested bigger wheels and to improve the quality of the handle. I soon will begin working on my third and final prototype, and can’t wait until the exhibition!

My second prototype

Launch to an audience

Once all of my prototypes were built and ready, it was time to start preparing for my exhibition presentation. In order to do this, I first needed to think of everything I wanted to have there. Some of the key elements I wanted to include were an activity, a display of my process, my prototypes, and a keynote outlining the whole project. Once I had an idea of the essentials, I started focusing more on the little details such as what I would wear and info that would be presented at my station. After this, I was assigned my group based on the client age I was marketing to (tweens). This was when I started developing more of the aesthetic of my project, so that it would fit with the theme. Some things I did was make my station’s activity an obstacle course that resembled a typical walk to school and pop art instrument cutouts to decorate my stand.

My Project

Now that I has the base, I started working on making the rest of my vision to come to life. To display my info on, I built a black stand which would have a poster board and these journal entrees attached to it. I also set up two separate stands for my first and second prototypes. Then I added some items I created throughout the process (sketches, surveys, etc.), and I was ready to go. On the afternoon of the exhibition, I got to work instantly of setting up, but quickly ran into a few problems. For one, the tweens group didn’t have a lot of decor set up at the beginning, so I suggested drawing tween stuff on the boards created a floor hockey section, set up some manga decor, and brought nerf guns for target practice. I also realized that some of the props in my obstacle course did not work how I wanted them to, so I had to take out the ramp and change the bumpy terrain to paper plate speed bumps (which actually worked really well). When people started coming to see my project, I realized that I didn’t really need a script, and rather just needed to talk about key points of my project and answer their questions. Overall, I had a great time doing Blue Sky, and can’t wait until next year’s!

My Final Prototype