Yuan Xu's Blog

We (Yuan Xu and Andy) searched on the different prosthetic leg companies which are in the market using Google. After comparing the prosthetic legs of each company, we decided to do research on the category of sports prosthetics on the Ottobock webpage. We came across the Runner, model 1E91, on the Ottobock site. We decided to use the 1E91 Sports Prosthetic as our subject for device research. We looked up brochures and instruction manuals on Google for the product by searching “1E91 Ottobock”. After reading and collecting the information on the functions and features of the product, we wrote a brief summary of the collected information and inserted them into ChatGPT to refine the vocabulary and grammar of the summary. The following image is the product we chose (the Runner, model 1E91)

Dear Professor Blackstone, I am Ong Yuan Xu, a year 1 mechanical engineering student in your Critical Thinking and Communication module. This email is to introduce myself, my educational background, my communication strengths and weaknesses, and my goals in this module. Before I pursued a degree in mechanical engineering in Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), I completed a diploma in food science and technology with a certificate in business at Singapore Polytechnic (SP). My diverse educational background sets me apart from my peers, most of whom have a traditional engineering background. During my diploma, one notable module was Instrumental Analysis, where I had to conduct quantitative and qualitative tests on food samples using different instruments. Besides the tests, I had to understand how these instruments obtain the results, which was when I had the opportunity to understand how a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer works; the components, and the principle behind it. T

Quote: "Without clear lines of communication, our ideas would stay within our own small development teams instead of becoming mature products. While this is obvious to those of us who have become experienced engineers, the real question is: why is it lost to us when we are engineering students?” Akbar R Khan, Software Systems Engineer, USA, "Good Communication Is Essential..." (2014) My interpretation: Without clear lines of communication, your teammates within your team might not understand your ideas, what you want. This might lead to miscommunication, causing the team to progress in the wrong direction. Besides communication within the team, investors/consumers might not understand your product as well, leading to them being uninterested in the product and losing its opportunity to become a mature product.  This is lost to us when we are engineering students as we are only taught about engineering, how to solve certain problems, and working towards a certain objective