About the Project (Abstract)
The creation of the solution for this project was motivated by one question: “How can we make body armor more comfortable?” Police officers that use ballistic vests regularly experience various injuries and discomfort from body armor that can make them reluctant to wear it on the job. To solve this, we needed to improve several aspects of ballistic vests and ballistic carriers without compromising the function of the armor. The product has a firm foundation in large amounts of research and the creation process was guided by professionals to develop a viable solution. Ultimately, we created an unique triple segment design that bears little resemblance to traditional carriers. During the project we had to become experts in several fields, take initiative, and reach out to professionals in order to create the best possible product. This project challenged the limits of our agility and flexibility to overcome the numerous setbacks and obstacles we faced with this complicated project. Throughout the process, the prototype was revised based on observations and feedback from our School Resource Officer. Overall, we’ve learned a variety of things including planning, time management, communication, skills, and adaptability.
We completed a multi-disciplinary project that involved seemingly endless paperwork, and have each dedicated a few hundred hours of our time to it. We achieved much over the course of this project, but looking back there are many things that we could have done better or differently. When we started the project, we did not realize how much work it would end up being. We had to narrow our focus several times in order to get the project done in a timely manner. But, regardless of the limits we had to impose on ourselves, we were able to do what we had originally set out to do: design an armor that is more comfortable to wear in day-to-day use.