Overview

The first week marked the official start of the ElectroCap (VertexShell) project. The team came together to align on the vision, divide responsibilities, and lay the groundwork for the development phase. This shorter initial week (starting Feb 18) focused on structural organization and defining our unique value proposition.

What We Did

Scope Definition — We held our first full team meeting and collectively defined the project’s scope. The core objective was agreed upon: build an active smart helmet that eliminates “environmental blindness” in high-risk industrial environments (mines/construction) using sensor fusion and mesh networking.

Role Assignment — Responsibilities were formally divided based on the project requirements and technical expertise:

• Duarte Biscaia: Hardware lead (circuits, power), battery management, and web architecture.
• Tomás Santiago: 3D printing, mechanical helmet design, and front-end development.
• Vivian Chipanga: LoRa mesh networking protocol and project logistics.
• Afonso Lopes: Data acquisition software (IMU/Gas/EMF) and creative direction.
• João Campos: Full-stack integration, electronic support, and video production.

Key Decisions

• Selected LoRa as the primary communication protocol due to its long range and low power consumption in obstructed environments.
• Agreed on a modular hardware architecture using the ESP32-S3 to allow independent subsystem development for the different sensor arrays.
• Established a hybrid alert system combining haptic feedback, visual LEDs, and acoustic buzzers to ensure workers are alerted even in loud environments.

Challenges

Getting everyone aligned on scope was harder than expected, initial ideas ranged too broadly. We spent extra time narrowing the focus to a single coherent product (the smart helmet) rather than a collection of disconnected features.

Next Steps

• Web Development: Begin building the project’s digital presence and landing page.
• Project Proposal: Finalize the formal documentation and technical specifications for the proposal.
• Faculty Mentorship: Initiate regular meetings with professors to ensure constant technical guidance and alignment with academic requirements.