Overview

The second week shifted the team’s focus from broad research to concrete planning. With the project scope firmly defined, the goal was to translate our initial vision into structured technical requirements and a system architecture that will guide the development of the ElectroCap.

What We Did

Requirements Gathering We held a structured workshop to define the functional and non-functional requirements of the helmet. This included setting thresholds for toxic gas detection (CO/VOC), defining the sensitivity for the EMF proximity alerts, and establishing the “self-healing” parameters for the LoRa mesh network.

System Architecture We drafted the first version of the system block diagram to identify how the main components will interact. This includes the Perception Layer for sensors, the Processing Layer using the ESP32-S3, and the Network Layer for the LoRa mesh communication.

Project Proposal Completion The team successfully finished the formal project proposal document. This comprehensive report outlines our technical methodology, the “Environmental Blindness” problem statement, and the full 19-week development timeline.

Web Development Finalization We completed the initial version of the project website. The landing page is now live and fully functional, serving as the central repository for our weekly logs, team information, and project documentation.

Partnership Research We conducted an extensive search to identify and gather a list of companies that align with our mission. We focused on firms specializing in industrial safety, mining technology, PCB manufacturing & design and telecommunications to explore potential future partnerships.

Key Decisions

• Processing Core: Confirmed the use of the ESP32-S3 to handle simultaneous sensor fusion and mesh networking tasks.
• Mentorship Strategy: Initiated a schedule for regular meetings with professors to ensure constant technical help and alignment with academic standards.
• Event-Driven Alert Logic: We decided to implement an event-driven architecture for the alert system. Rather than constant polling, the system will trigger immediate interrupts based on specific sensor events (e.g., a gas spike or a fall). This ensures the fastest possible response time and optimizes energy efficiency.

Challenges

The primary hurdle this week was starting the web development. Since the team has not had any formal web development classes or prior teaching in this area, we had to learn the fundamentals of web frameworks and hosting on the fly. Navigating the learning curve of building a functional site while simultaneously finalizing a technical proposal was a significant test of our time management and self-teaching abilities.

Next Steps

• Circuit Architecture: Start designing the physical layout and architecture of the electronic circuits.
• Code Framework: Begin building the foundational software structure for the ESP32-S3.
• Outreach: Send formal emails to the companies identified this week to initiate partnership discussions.