2.) Describe what your project does and how it
works 
 
 Our CycleSafe jacket is geared towards
cyclists looking for a safer way to ride. The jacket is made out of a
comfortable, lightweight nylon ripstop. The sleeves are equipped with LED turn signals that can be controlled with a button located in a sleeve that the rider can insert his/her finger into. Another strip of LEDs is located in the back of the jacket and acts as a brake light controlled by an accelerometer. All computer parts are located in the right pocket of the jacket where they can be easily removed for charging.

 3.) What are your overall feelings on your project? Are you pleased, disappointed, etc.?
 

We’re quite happy with the outcome of the jacket. We wish we had a little more time to troubleshoot the electronics because the accelerometer could be better, and there seems to be an issue with the lights. Additionally, it would have been nice to sew in the circuits rather than have wires.

4.) How well did your project meet your original project description and goals?

 Our final jacket met our initial goals pretty well. It does exactly what we wanted it to do on the basic turn signal/brake level. 


 5.) What were the largest hurdles you encountered? How did you overcome these challenges?
 
From a design perspective one of the biggest challenges was working with athletic fabric. We haven’t had a lot of practice with working with stretchy material but it ended up being fine. On the technology end our biggest struggle was dealing with some difficult hardware components. Some of the components did not behave as advertised, and it was difficult to trouble shoot why.
 
6.) If you had more time, what would you do next? 
 
 If we had more time we would spend more time troubleshooting the electronics. We would also sew in the circuits rather than using wires. Additionally, we would like to add additional features like force sensors, and bluetooth integration for GPS directions.

We have spent most of this week waiting for things to come in the mail so it has been a little anticlimactic. Without being able to see and feel fabric it’s hard to know the exact material we’ll want to use for the jacket. Because of this we ordered sample packs of Nylon, Ultrex, and Polartec Power Shield from a fabric supplier called Seattle Fabrics. Once those come in we’ll be able to make a pretty quick decision about what material we need to order.
We also ordered our materials on the electronic end. The Arduino Pro Mini and headers have arrived, and lights, and accelerometer should be here shortly. Also, We have already started writing the code for the computer.

Everything should be in by sometime next week so we’re excited to really get started building!