Final Capstone Project Report: Force-Sensing Swimming Starting Block; The Terra Luna Crash: Examining Developer Responsibility Over Economic Algorithms

The technical research project was to design a diving block for the UVA swim team to help collect useful metrics that will be utilized to adjust workout routines to improve race day performance. The STS research paper analyzed why developers were responsible for the Terra Luna crash with the Actor-Network Theory framework. Both the project and the research paper assess how systems can be ethically developed to make sure all users are able to benefit from using the system. The research paper specifically highlights how the generalized assumptions the developers’ based their system design off led to the cryptocurrencies crash. It shows how vulnerabilities and assumptions should be assessed so all users are interacting with a fair system. The Capstone project paper shows the strategies used to ensure all users were able to benefit from using the diving block through accurate metrics regardless of body type or skill level.
In competitive swimming, every component of the race needs to be perfected to give a swimmer the best offs of winning. The start of the race is the most important component of the race as this is where the swimmer will generate the greatest acceleration. While there are devices currently on the market used to enhance training strategies for the start of the race, like the KiSwim performance analysis system, they are incredibly expensive, difficult to handle, and require complex installation. The UVA swim team requires a more affordable and user-friendly device tailored to their team’s specific needs. The diving block device that was developed in Capstone utilizes force sensor placed on the front of the block and on the back fin of the block to record the magnitude of force exerted by a swimmer when they dive off the block. This data is displayed, recorded, and analyzed in the web application that was developed to serve as the bridge between coaches and the diving device. The device will be used to help improve swimmer performance by adapting training routines to prioritize areas of improvement coaches detect based off their dive performance.
The Terra Luna crash was a pivotal event in the cryptocurrency industry as it led to a decline in the cryptocurrency market due to the instability it created. The STS Research Paper focuses on assessing why developers bear responsibility over the cryptocurrency’s collapse by analyzing the causes of the event with the Actor Network Theory framework. The paper stipulates the argument that assumptions and biases made by developers manipulates the behavior of users utilizing the system, leading to an unfair system that is vulnerable to attack.
Developing a diving board that users with very limited technical knowledge can intuitively used was the basis for the argument that was developed in the Research Paper. The technical project introduced the importance of understanding the users’ of a product and adapting the project around the needs of the user, even if they don’t necessarily know what they need. Since the Research Paper examines the responsibility developers must uphold over their users, the lessons that were learned through the development of the diving board helped in understanding how to frame the analysis of the argument presented.