WEEK 1.LAB: FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH AND MOTIVATION

During week 1, we decided that, for our freshman design project, we would be creating an automatic plant-watering system. This seemed like the best fit for our specific strengths, considering Ryan possesses extensive knowledge on gardening and plants (thanks to doing landscaping with his dad) and all of the members are proficient in the field of product design. We found ourselves excited and eager to create a functioning product and began to see this project as more of an educational opportunity than a chore. 

We conducted research on plant-watering system and, on Ryan's suggestions, decided that creating a drip watering system would be the most intelligent decision to make. Drip watering systems consist of rubber tubing with tiny incisions made throughout, allowing water, when it flows through the system, to be distributed evenly around a plant. These types of systems are displayed in figure 1.

 

Figure1: A medium sized drip-watering ring around a tree trunk. [1]

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