My time in Paris so far has been amazing. First of all, the food is awesome. All week I have stuffed myself with crepes, baguettes, and croissants. I also visited a market that had some great meats and cheeses, as well as the best figs I have ever eaten. I even tried escargot, which I actually really liked. Outside of food, I have already visited so many iconic spots, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Catacombs, the Notre Dame, and the Sacre Coeur. Additionally, I have also had some amazing, unexpected experiences, such as a surprise Jay Z concert, Paris Pride, and Fete de la Musique.
Inside the classroom, I really enjoyed the prototyping challenges that we were given to test out the prototyping kits we had created the previous day. The prototyping Pictionary and launcher contest were such enjoyable ways to practice quickly creating low fidelity prototypes, and the competition aspect made the activities really engaging. It was also really exciting to receive our challenge, form teams, and get to work. My team’s objective is to create a device that can help an elderly stroke survivor with low manual dexterity slice cheese in order to create their own charcuterie boards.
While designing our device, due to budgeting restraints, we decided to only use a wire in our prototype for cutting cheese. However, wires are typically only used for cutting soft to medium cheeses, with knives being the preferred tool for hard cheese. In the future, I think it could be beneficial to make the wire detachable, so that it can be switched out for a knife whenever the user is slicing hard cheese. This detachable set up could also make it possible to attach different blades, specific to the cheese, to allow for the best possible cut.
So far, I feel like I made my best contributions during the collaborative brainstorming. I really enjoyed sharing ideas with my teammates and then using each other to build up a concept. On the other hand, I think I struggled a bit doing the beforehand research. I was tasked with researching the client’s abilities, which meant I had to read through some not-so-fun medical articles. I also felt a bit rushed by our limited time and wish I could have looked deeper into the effects of strokes on dexterity.
A highlight from this past week was when we went to visit the Eiffel Tower. We brought food, drinks, and a blanket and sat on the grass in front of the Tower. In the hours we spent there, we watched the sunset and a couple of proposals. Not only was seeing the Eiffel Tower really cool, but I also had such a good time just enjoying the summer evening outdoors.
Some advice that I would give future students visiting Paris for iSEED would be, firstly, to look into booking tickets for museums and common touristy spots early on, especially if you want to go as a group. Also, try going on a picnic. There are so many beautiful gardens in Paris. It’s really fun, easy, and cheap to pick up a baguette and other snacks at a market and go sit outside. Finally, Paris is a big city that I have learned always has a lot going on. It’s important to keep your eyes open because these local events can make your experience in Paris really unique.
Food!
Eiffel Tower at sunset
Flowers at a local market