In
this section we will begin by looking at two situations where school
control projects have been designed and made so they can automatically
monitor and care for something or someone.
After
completing the activities further down the page, you should be able
to think of your own ideas for useful projects to design and make.
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Example 1
Automatic Desktop
Cooling Fan
Who
Benefits?
Grown
ups (and younger people) by keeping them cool and therefore more
comfortable when working.
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Example 2
Soil Dryness Indicator
What Benefits?
Plants
and flowers
that could die if left
in soil that was too dry.
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Activities
1, To
help you choose a useful control project to design and make, copy
and paste all of the items from the left hand side of the table below
into a Word document. |
Category
|
Control System Aims
|
People
|
Keep
them comfortable
|
Toddlers
or young children
|
Assist
with their special needs
|
Teenagers
|
Keep
healthy
|
Grown-ups
|
Keep
them operating or working
|
Things
|
Prevent
damage/spoiling
|
Products
that are moved about
|
Prevent
losing/misplacing
|
Products
that remain fixed
|
Avoid
accidents
|
Environment
|
Make
tasks easier
|
Man
made world - urban/towns
|
Keep/make
them safer
|
Natural
world rural/countryside
|
Keep
them cleaner
|
Plant
life
|
Keep
in the correct conditions
|
Resources
|
Keep
fed and/or watered
|
Pollution
|
Assist
with their learning
|
Animals
|
Develop
a skill
|
Birds
|
Record
an event
|
Wildlife
|
Save
energy
|
Pets
|
Protect
them
|
Protected
species
|
Entertain
them
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2, Next to each of the items
you have copied, pick statements from the column on the right that suggest
how a control system could help them. You should try to add some of your
own too.
An
Example:
Category: People
(Grown-ups)
Control
System Aims: Keep them comfortable, assist
those with special needs, keep healthy, avoid accidents, make tasks easier,
protect, entertain, inform, assist learning/ develop a skill.
3, For the two control systems
shown in examples 1 and 2 above, write down:-
a, Who/what would gain from using
them?
b.
Why these control systems would be useful?
c, Where and when they might be useful?
Choosing
your own Project to
Design and Make
4, Try to think of three
different control systems of your own. They should be useful and
appeal to other people. Use the table above to help you do this
along with your answers to questions 1 and 2.
Remember
to ask yourself:
Who/What would gain from using
them?
Why, Where and When would
they be used?
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-Words/Hints
which may help you-
Off/On/Up/Down/In/Out/Bright/Dim/Visible/
Dry/Wet/Moving/Still/Illuminated/Hot/Warm/Cool/
Informed/Turning/Quiet/Noisy/Hidden/Clean/Wiped/
Open/Closed/Noticed/Warned/Accessible/Available/
Rigid/Locked/Touched/Unlocked/Sliding/Indicate/
Amused/Happy/Found
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