Three day knowledge transfer - Noel Wilson x Aaron Wieler
We have three days with these two guys from San Francisco. There was so much we learned compacted in a single day that when I got home at night I had to write everything down in fear of forgetting it. Report writing / story writing is a good skill I suppose, so perhaps this post will come in handy some day, if not just to jog my memory.
First, we introduced ourselves, and the project in general, and then each of our individual focus in the project. They then asked us how we came to our project focus --What are our motivations?
For Andrew, it was innovative opportunities through income generation via the tricycle
For me, it was to increase the bicycle (drivetrain) power to do other things
For Ruby, it was to increase accessible mobility through extended mobility
For Alyssa, it was sustainable development through addressing manufacturing methods and standardisation
Second, they gave us feedback and useful resources to check out.
In terms of "bicycle power":
Third, they addressed the multiple-agenda holders in the project. This was a scary looking list (because it was so long) but it was really good to see what we (as students) need to fulfill and what are the expectations of others. They also pointed out that we needed to be realistic about our time boundaries. (An 8-month project) and that being said, what do we want from it? "You need to be a little selfish" one said as the other nodded in agreement. "One time when I was hired," Noel began, "My manager asked me what I wanted out of the job, and I gave her my answer. Good, was her response, I don't like to keep/hire people who don't know why they're here or what they want." So make sure you know what you want and communicate it to others so there is a level of transparency throughout the process --that'll help make things easier.
Fourth, Aaron brought in a prototype he was working on. For students, a prototype usually ends up looking more like a crap-up, so when he pulled his tricycle-wheelchair FLAT PACKED out of a box everyone just went starry-eyed. We put it together under Aaron's directions and asked him questions along the way. Why some parts are like this, and why features are that. He talks a mile-a-minute but we learned a lot about the small details of the design of a wheelchair-tricycle. Once it was together, we took it outside, had a quick orientation and then hand-pedalled off into the night.
A new understanding of wheelchair-tricycles: increase gain of +10 points *Thanks to Ruby for her photos **Thanks to Aaron for bringing his prototype all the way here and letting us learn from it!
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