Rapid Prototyping

CREATIVE IDEA

In our class, we were put into small groups and given a piece of paper. This piece of paper had three words, radio waves, plastic, and dirt. Our job was to create a quick prototype (without worrying about the tech or laws of physics) using these three items to make some type of environmental change.

What We Created

My small group, which included my classmates Helena and Sydney, came up with the idea of a drone which would use radio waves to change plastic, which does not easily decompose or recycle, into dirt. It could fly over oceans or landfills and reduce the planet's plastic waste. The soil it makes could then be moved to create gardens and plant trees.

Although creating this might not be possible, there are many ways we can help the earth by simply reducing our plastic waste. http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/nationalgreenweeksub/waste-reduction-tips/tips-to-use-less-plastic.html

SOCIAL ISSUE

We stayed in our small groups and were given a different piece of paper with a social issue. Ours was homelessness, and we decided to prototype an app that could help this problem.

What We Created

We named our app ConnectNYC, focusing on helping the homeless in the New York metropolitan area, where our school is located. This would be a free downloaded or website accessed app that would help homeless people find the resources and people they need to help their situation. The first page is the home page, which has their profile, calendar, and schedule with events they can book on the app. The next tab is the near me page, which has homeless shelters and open food kitchens so they can find a place to sleep and get food. The las tab is the discover tab, which includes programs that can help them with what they are going through, people that can mentor them, as well as job opportunities.

These were all of our rapid prototypes!