CAD development update

Another productive week for the AlphaSphere. After generating the concepts, these were scored against each other and the best features of all the designs were combined into a final working concept. Externally this has 56 cicular pads of varying sizes, arranged in offset rows with the biggest around the middle, and the smallest at the top and bottom. Lights are embedded around the face of each pad. This was drawn up on CAD software and the layout was experimented with. See below.

a) First attempt at CAD, chunky and clumsy.

b) Base made thinner, pads made less chunky.

c) Lights added to pads, pads enlarged and brought closer together.

d) Pads moved very close together, base made chunkier.

e) Pads sunk into design so they overlap with each other.

f) Experiment with whole design rotated 90°, as sugggested at meeting.

We are leaning towards version c) although that could change easily.

Other than this we have been meeting people and talking to companies about the sensor mechanism and have a possible solution in sight. Another week of meetings, research, and experiments next week. If all works smoothly, and with a lot of fine tuning of the design, then we could be going into production in a couple of weeks time!