Team:Cornell/testing/project/drylab/3

Functional Requirements

In the development of our device, we first had to establish a set of requirements and constraints.

What sets these constraints? Our ambitions and our "customer," the Wetlab Team.

We sat down with them and came up with the following:

1. The device must operate independently for at least 6 months.
2. The device must be based around an established Shewanella onidensis bioreactor setup for Arsenic and Napthelene biosensing..
a. Reactor size must be 100mL in volume
b. Reactors must have 3 electrodes; 1 reference, 1 working, 1 counter.
c. The potential difference between electrodes must be measured by potentiostat, or an equivalently performing device.
d. The electrodes should have maximum surface area inside the reactor.
e. The electrodes should be in closest proximity without touching.
3. The bioreactor must remain free from foreign microbes; incoming analyte must be cleaned from foreign microbes.
4. Waste water must be microbe-free upon ejection.
5. The device must be field-deployable.
6. The device must store and transmit measured data remotely.
7. System components should be modular, for ease of servicing, and interchangeability.

From these requirements we listed out parameters, split into research groups, and began trying to develop some solid constraints. What did "field-deployable" mean to us? How were we going to transmit data? Or what did 6 month independent operation entail?

We needed to establish our base constraints, and base components. To answer these questions, we began to perform research and engage in brainstorming. The team was divided into "Component Teams" - Each component team would be responsible for researching some aspect of the design (power, inputs, pumps) and become the expert on their piece.

The mind map below illustrates the parameters we associated which each base issue.

Concept Generation

Section content

Primary Components and Constraints

Section content

Secondary Systems

Section content

Potentiostat Section content

Chassis Section content

Server Section content