StayAware Longboard

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In our class, Maker's Lab, we were tasked with creating a device that sends information back or sends some kind of data. We instantly decided to do something that you could use in daily life, something you could ride-on that wasn't too big but not too small either. We decided to do a longboard. Everyone in the group is great at different things so it all worked out really well. Morgan designs, she did the whole custom design on the bottom of the board that implemented a piece from all of our lives. Joana measures, she makes sure everything is exact to a t. She's great with hands-on and pretty much anything brain related. I construct and program, I longboard and skateboard in everyday life so I understood what would we need to put the board together and what we could use to make be a  sought after and useful tool to other longboarders. Together, we are MJM Hacking.

 Our main goal was to create something that other people, besides ourselves, would find beneficial. That's why we chose to do this Longboard. It's equipped with ultrasonic range finders, so that the rider is alerted of incoming cars, debris or anything that can cause safety issues towards the rider. It prevents the percentage of accidents for the rider because they can focus, solely, on what is in front of them and let the board tell them the rest. 

We started with the design. Going with our main sports on the bottom of the board was easiest, it allowed us to cut a lot of time. Morgan put together this awesome design that incorporated a swimming design for her, basketball for Joana, and field hockey for myself. Initially, the plan was to paint it on the board but after talking with our teacher we decided it would be better if we laser raster it on instead. So after a lot of trials and lasering onto plexi-glass and other materials we finally rastered it onto the board itself.

It looked pretty awesome but you can judge for yourself. 

After it was done, we painted it, let it dry and finally we constructed it. After the construction, I worked on the program element of the project while Joana worked on 3D printing and coming up with ideas on how to protect the rangefinders on the board. 

We finally finished the project, put some grip tape on the board, and took it out for a spin. It rode like a dream and the rangefinders worked great.