MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MCDIG

CENTER FOR DIGITAL GEOLOGY

Progress Log for the Digital Compass - Summer 2002

Week of 6/3/02:

First week of work begins. Older prototypes of a possible digital field compass were looked at
and analyzed. Functional and technical requirements for the digital compass were determined. A
requirement comparison chart was also created.

Week of 6/10/02:

Now that higher order requirements have been specified, initial design concepts could be created.
Four possible design concepts were generated. Pros and Cons of each of the four concepts were
analyzed.

Week of 6/17/02:

After reviewing each of the possible concepts the single handed design was chosen because of its
advantages and its ability to fulfill the requirements better than the other possible designs.

Week of 6/24/02:

Parts to be placed inside the enclosure were inventoried. In addition, Solidworks models were created
for each the parts. This allows easy manipulation of the parts to determine the most efficient way to
pack them inside of the enclosure.

Week of 7/1/02:

Design schematics for the items in the compass were developed. CAD modeling of the first version
of the enclosure began.

Week of 7/8/02:

First version of the enclosure design was completed in Solidworks. Possible flaws in the design were
analyzed. Possible manufacturing options were explored including 3D Printing and Milling.

Weeks of 7/15/02 through 7/29/02:

Drew was gone for these three weeks. Chris proceeded to have Version 1.0 of the enclosure design
3D Printed over at MIT's Media Lab. Chris then proceeded to install of the components into the
enclosure and make all of the necessary electrical connections. The compass was coded to be usable
for the August 5 Field Test.

Week of 8/5/02:

The compass performed rather well at the Field Test. Certain issues did arise as either a coding,
electrical, or mechanical nature. The rest of the week was spent redesigning the enclosure. The result
was a slightly smaller design that could be made on a milling machine allowing more robust materials
to be used for the composition of the enclosure.

Week of 8/12/02:

Taking the V2 of the enclosure one step further, a environmentally sealed version was developed.
What resulted was a slightly larger, however, very rugged design. Time was also taken to research
other options for components making up the guts of the compass.

The Digital Compass is going to be present at the 2002 Denver Annual Meeting for the Geological
Society of America on October 27 - 30. You can find a copy of the abstract here.

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