As we were learning and researching about the Industrial Revolution we learned that a lot of inventions were made and some we still use to this day, so in the spirit of that we were assigned to create our own invention that was fairly realistic and people would want to buy. We first had to brainstorm ideas, around 20, and then we picked 3-5 that we liked the most. After the whole process we ended up with sunglasses that would produce energy like solar panels, but there was one main flaw which was that you couldn’t use them year round because they were based off of sunlight. So, then we needed to make and invention that you could use year round and in any climate, and finally we came up with Power Step. Power Step is a gel pair of gel insoles that you would put into your shoes that by impact on the ground will charge any device that it can wirelessly connect to through Bluetooth. Here’s how it would work, by they six main pressure points on your foot (the balls of your feet and your heel) we would put spring technology in so when you stepped down the springs would press down and collapse by the force of a step. When the springs close down they produce energy which will connect to the wireless piece via THW wires. Then once it has reached the wireless piece it will transmit energy to the device of your choice.

We used a lot of skills and competencies, but the one that we felt most impacted us was our communication skills. In any group project communication is needed and depending on how well you can communicate with your group members will possibly change our mark. Although I did a lot of talking during this project I was able to see both sides of an argument and respect the others opinion which is a key life skill. Me and my group members were also able to split the work evenly among and  I took responsibility for some roles and tasks in this group. This project was also a good representation of the work and effort I always put into these projects. We also were able to come up with a design or a plan and carry it out and although we didn’t win the most we still feel like the effort and work that went into this did in fact pay off. When we were giving our sales pitch to customers we were also connecting and engaging with other students and teachers.

As a group of three we could improve a few things. Although this wasn’t a setback it ended up in some group members doing more of the work then normal. During this project me and one of my group members were responsible for more of the workload and the reason for this is our other group member was sick on the day we had time to work on it and never really made the time back up. Another thing we could have improved on which wasn’t in the criteria was a prototype. Although this wasn’t asked for many teachers and staff such as Mr. Rud, Mr. Clerkson and Mr. Sun said “you should have a prototype” or “people love to see these inventions”. And one of our group members did do a very in depth drawing we decided by the end that if we had a prototype we would have won.