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Cornell University

Service Design Methodology

An Intervention for Engineering Design

2. Props

Page Contents

Learning Objectives

  1. Identifying the Right Props: Find appropriate props that effectively meet user needs.
  2. Choosing the Right Props: Evaluate and select appropriate props that will meet user needs and design requirements.
  3. Incorporating Props: Explore how props can be used in iterative prototyping and testing to gather feedback and refine design solutions.

Examples

Below are examples of props that students have used in previous BEE/ENGRC 4590 classes for their physical designs.

The ZED camera was used to measure the depth of a manure pit by capturing stereo images and calculating depth for the COWCULATORS team in Fall of 2024. This prop provided efficient and precise measurements without manual input.

A black ZED stereo camera mounted on a small tripod, positioned on a light wooden desk. The camera has two circular lenses and 'ZED' branding with a blue LED indicator. The background shows a blurred office environment with laptops and other equipment.

There are also digital props, such as StereoLabs ZED SDK, as shown here. The COWculators use the StereoLabs ZED SDK to get the depth measurement from the ZED camera and present it on the computer.

Computer screen displaying Python code in a dark-themed IDE or text editor. The code shows imports for pyzed.sl, numpy, and cv2 libraries, with lines for initializing a ZED camera and configuring camera settings. The terminal output shows depth measurements with 'Vertical distance to ground' readings in meters. A blurred workspace is visible in the background.

Here is a prototype of a design for the Smart Bug Trap. The props labeled are critical for the function of this design. The PVC Pipe provides structure to trap the bug, while the Breadboard, Jumper Wires, and Raspberry Pi are used as part of the electrical and digital components of the design.

Electronics workbench showing a Raspberry Pi single-board computer connected to a white breadboard via colorful jumper wires. A white PVC pipe structure is positioned to the left of the breadboard. The setup is on a wooden desk with various cables and a keyboard visible in the background.

Props Video

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