The Raspberry Pi Foundation, in collaboration with element14, recently sponsored a design challenge in which contestants were invited to conceptualize a culinary-themed device that featured the Raspberry Pi 3Raspberry Pi 3. Example applications included improvements to the fields of food safety, preparation, delivery, etc. We were overwhelmed by the level of enthusiasm that this design challenge elicited from our community, and we ultimately invited fifteen sponsored challengers to join the competition. For many of our contestants, this was their first time participating in a design challenge, and we wanted to know more about their creation process and overall project experience. Check out the following interview with crackedpepper, glennvanderveer, and dougw.
Q1: How did you find out about the element14 Community?
Adrian: I first discovered the element14 Community via an Instagram post that popped up on my feed. I follow the Raspberry Pi hashtag and the initial Pi Chef design challenge announcement used that tag, which led me to the design challenge page within the Community.
Glenn: Doug Wong introduced me to the Community sometime last year. He was competing in the Safe and Sound design challenge and shared his project during a "lunch and learn" session at work.
Douglas: Several years ago I was investigating PSoC 4PSoC 4 and came across the Smarter Life design challenge on the element14 Community.
Q2: What inspired you to enter the Pi Chef design challenge?
Adrian: I had been looking to start a project with the Raspberry Pi for awhile but I just hadn't found the time or motivation. The challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to give myself some boundaries on what I could do and how long I had to complete the project. I discussed entering this challenge with some of my friends mainly as a laugh and many of them encouraged me to do so.
Douglas: In response to some discussions on element14, I was trying to come up with a project in which I could collaborate with a new member to encourage more participation.
Glenn: It was a combination of Doug having the physical electronic components and 3D printing skills, which I could complement as a software developer.
Q3: What were some of the biggest challenges you had to overcome during the competition?
Adrian: The biggest challenges I faced were all related to my lack of experience in certain disciplines. Previously, I had very little experience with circuit design or construction and basically no experience with manufacturing. The manufacturing was probably the biggest issue since I didn’t have the correct tools or access to a decent working environment.
Douglas: Designing and building a large aesthetically pleasing counter-top machine was a huge challenge. Also, the logistics of collaborating with my partner, Glenn, were difficult to work out. It proved to be very hard to work efficiently in parallel.
Q4: If you had the opportunity to do the project again, what would you do differently?
Glenn: Without a doubt, I'd drop the whole Python GUI (Graphical User Interface). I spent a lot of time trying to find a drag-and-drop IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and when I couldn't, more time was spent searching Python GUI libraries. In the end, the Google Assistant didn't really need to have a GUI.
Adrian: While there is a lot I could have done differently, I don't think I would change a thing if I were to attempt the project again. The learning experience of my failures was far too valuable to miss out on. Ideally, I would have spent more time planning and would have been better prepared by either buying or organizing access to better tools.
Q5: Throughout the duration of the design challenge, did you achieve anything in particular that was especially satisfying? Were you able to successfully accomplish something for the first time?
Douglas: Designing a fully customized computer-controlled (voice-controlled) machine with complex mechanics that worked well and looked good was very satisfying.
Glenn: The most satisfying moment I experienced was when I watched the platter spin for the first time via voice control. This was the first time I used the Google Assistant on something other than an Android device.
Adrian: Integrating so many different technologies for the first time was very rewarding (motion detection, voice recognition, and GPIO). This was also my first time using servo motors, and that in itself was a very enjoyable process.
Q6: Doug and Glenn, you submitted a joint entry into the challenge. What was the origin of this idea, and how do you feel the project went?
Douglas: There were several discussions within the element14 Community about the desirability of collaborative projects and also about encouraging new members to participate, so I resolved to see if it was feasible to combine these ideas and act upon them within the context of a design challenge. The idea for the Spice of Pi project took quite a bit of thought since we had to determine how to efficiently and successfully divide the work between the two of us. The project had significant technical and scheduling problems that had to be overcome, but it turned out about as good as possible given the challenges we faced. Even though it required more work to collaborate, I was worried that if we won, it would have been perceived that we had had an unfair advantage. I view this as the main deterrent to trying more collaborations. I had a good partner and lots of fun with the project and learned a lot, but I'm not sure I would recommend collaboration in a design challenge, especially if the object is to win. The extra work and schedule juggling involved in making collaboration feasible resulted in increased pressure and work that isn't publicly perceived or evaluated. Glenn and I each generated at least 10 blogs excluding any cross-educational activities. And, of course, if you do win sponsorship, finisher prizes, or challenge prizes, they have to be split between partners. However, if you enjoy collaborating, it will likely add an interesting dimension to your project.
Glenn: It was mostly Doug's idea to collaborate. He wanted to encourage new people to enter/contribute to the element14 Community, and it became a cooperative project mostly due to my lack of access to hardware components and 3D printers combined with his lack of desire to do programming. The project went well, but better time management on our part would have made the end result much better.
Q7: Do you plan on participating in future design challenges?
Douglas: Yes, I always benefit from the exercise. This particular project showed that a collaborative project and team need to be selected very carefully. We did a lot of things well, but collaboration still really impacted the schedule. Although we worked hard, got everything working, and ended up submitting well over 20 blogs, we were still a couple of blogs away from a fully satisfactory conclusion.
Glenn: Definitely. I really enjoyed working on this one.
Adrian: I will definitely participate in more design challenges since this one was such a great experience. The major obstacle for me entering in the future will be my travel schedule for work. I would also like to give a big thanks to element14 and the Community. This design challenge was a great introduction to the Community and being selected as a sponsored challenger was a privilege.
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