Third Full Day of Work

Today, Wednesday, each team worked more on their projects, and although the the group was separated for the whole day, we all feel that great progress is being made. Read more about how each team spent their day below!

Electrical Team

TJ and I met with Thomas Meir to discuss our results from looking over the solar systems yesterday. We learned a lot from him as he has designed and installed many solar systems. We then walked around to troubleshoot a few of the systems and realized that the software is not quite working correctly. We can’t fix it ourselves but we have helped them to realize the systems could be improved. Most of their battery banks are either 12 or 24 volts. We are going to spend the next day or two building a 48 volt system to see if it will work. We enjoyed thinking through that challenge this afternoon and look forward to building it tomorrow.

-Dereck

Wheelchair Team

Today, the Nepal Wheelchair Team visited some long-time wheelchair patients in villages located in the hill regions outside Pokhara. Although more than 5 hours of the day were spent traveling along the bumpy roads outside the city, we had three very productive visits with wheelchair patients. We were able to observe the living and working conditions of two rather capable patients, and one who needed much aid from his family. We had the opportunity to ask the patients specific questions about living in wheelchairs, and gained valuable feedback for moving forward with our own design.

-Peter

Prosthetics Team

Today, our group spent this absolutely beautiful sunny 65 deg day finishing up the initial design of an adjustable standing frame, and adjustable standing desk for the occupational therapy department. Also, some time was spent seeing what modifications could be made to the existing frame for the time being. Tomorrow we will show the CAD model to Meghan, the resident OT to see what modifications need to be made. Our evening was spent relaxing at dinner and overhearing the music from a festival nearby.

-Matt