brain[box] - engineering track

A picture of our brain[box]

Inspiration

As tutors, we’ve all seen the importance of extra assistance outside of school. We understand that not everyone has access to tutors and as a result, parents turn to devices such as iPads. Digital devices like these have contributed to increased passive device consumption, so we wanted to provide a solution that would combat this.

What it does

The brain[box] serves as a reward-based learning tool. Before putting treats or objects of their liking in [box], parents will set a passcode using our gyroscope feature. Once the passcode is set, the user will then be able to answer academic based questions and receive treats from the [box].

How we built it

Although originally designed to be entirely 3D printed, due to time and resource constraints, we opted to laser cut the walls and motor mount out of acrylic and only 3D print the moving components inside the brain[box].

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge we ran into was regarding our CAD model. With only one chance to print our design, we had to make sure every measurement was precise. The ultimate issue we ran into was the [box]'s opening mechanism because there was too much friction between the rails and door segments.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are most proud of our ability to fully print, laser cut, and assemble our CAD model. Alongside this, we were able to fully test our product and understand the parts that did and didn’t work.

What we learned

We learned how to incorporate different sensors and use their data to collectively form a full product. We also learned how to use Onshape and Epilog to design and manufacture the [box].

What's next for brain[box]

One of our first priorities is to develop a mechanical dispenser that users can set to dispense a certain amount of something. This would allow brain[box] to become more customizable and grow with the user’s needs. We would also incorporate artificial intelligence to tailor the project towards each student's needs and also provide more user feedback when answering questions. For older students, they would be able to upload study materials and AI would generate questions for them to practice.