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Concept Exploration (sketch model) Reviews
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Danielle Zurovcik
Octopus Prime
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Overall rating from peers, based upon 4 reviews:
1-marginal     2-ok    3-good     4-very good    5-outstanding

Reviewer 1: This model really came together after ...
Reviewer 2: To start, your concept was really great and ...
Reviewer 3: Your sketch model showed the capability of ...
Reviewer 4: This was an extremely productive sketch ...

 

Reviewer 1:

This model really came together after testing and refinement. I applaud the diligence to keep tinkering with the setup, and I think you ve found a really great way to make a lively tentacle. The demonstration reminds me of seeing an eel-like fish out of water. Maybe you could vary the air flow as the attack progresses, with the highest flow rate (and lots of thrashing) at the end which might correspond to the final death-throws of the squid. In this state the squid would have crazy motion of tentacles, corresponding to the description of motion at high pressure offered by one of your reviewers. I m curious, do you know what causes the tentacle to change directions? For example, it appears to wind itself up in one direction, and is able to forcefully unwind itself. Admittedly, I was surprised that this happened. If you knew how this worked, you could possibly have better control of the tentacle motion. I have a minor comment regarding website content and layout. The chronological development is described in great detail, which unfortunately buries the really useful model/ideas that worked incredibly well. I think it would ve taken me a while to figure out the good stuff if I hadn t seen the live demonstration during the client review. You could possibly start with an executive summary, or include links to all of the less-successful ideas. That minor issue aside, this is a firm answer to the important question of providing lively tentacle movement. A successful sketch model indeed!

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Reviewer 2:

To start, your concept was really great and as was the tentacle. I do not like at all the fact that they are shooting it. A way that you can change this is to figure out the animals natural predators and just try to signal for one or something, this way you are providing some educational value to the adventure. I like how you laid out your work in a coherent fashion; however, I really feel that when I am prompted to go to other webpages, they are still in some very messy format that MUST BE CHANGED soon. I really love the concept though. I would suggest perhaps trying to find a way to make the entire object out of foam. You would still be able to put some stiff members in there if need by, but at least the outside would be made from foam. Even the nozzles at the end, you can integrate them into the foam by using a heavy duty paint and then stapling the foam together and then turning it inside out (like a pant leg on a pair of pants). You have included a lot of detail in regards to how you constructed the sketch model which is very useful in my understanding of how your sketch model works. May I suggest that you create multiple webpages for these sorts of things because if I just want to see your sketch model, or just want to see the video demonstration, I can zip right to them (this is just from the human-use perspective of the submission). I love the fact that you really were able to unleash the raw potential of this concept. While the concept might be a bit dangerous, even if you make it out of foam, because people s eyes could be at steak, you really have something here. With some suction cups on there and maybe you can look at the raw fluid mechanics which gives reason to why your tentacle works the way it does. What that right angled end valve provides is just a re-entrance (larger diameter feeding into a smaller diameter) so maybe you just need to make, out of that rubber, a re-entrance valve like you have there. I am sure you can come up with ways around using hard plastic at the end. My last suggestion would be to get all the safety requirements before you press onward because you want to make sure in your next assignment; you have satisfied those safety requirements. This concept is really amazing, great work. It was very clear what you did and why you did it.

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Reviewer 3:

Your sketch model showed the capability of what the squid can actually do. It was a lot more life like than I thought. I loved the look in class - when the squid's tentacle curls itself like 3 helicals. It would be nice to have the video of the tentacle climbing up the wall. I liked seeing the progress of everything you tried to come up with the most squid-like effect and the reasoning behind it all. It will be challenging to combine the looks like with the technical model - especially because you require something light and movable. Make sure as you continue on that the two mesh well.

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Reviewer 4:

This was an extremely productive sketch model. I'm impressed that there were different options tried for many aspects of the sketch model. The photos documenting each step in the testing process were very helpful in understanding some of the aspects of the design that are difficult to visualize otherwise. However, it would be even better to have larger, annotated photos to help clarify things and perhaps eliminate some of the text. The video of the final result was interesting; showing videos of other trials for comparison would also have been helpful. The website is well organized and easy to follow. The future work section highlights good questions when it comes to moving forward to a refined model. Have you tried looking into making your own tubes out of sheets of latex? What about having a tentacle-sized airtight tube instead of a smaller tube and then putting the skin on it?

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