About

Torches were once pieces of wood that were doused in flammable substances and lit to illuminate the way in the dark. Today, torches (also known as flashlights) are battery powered and come in all shapes and sizes for different uses. A torch is so useful that every home should have one. Bulbs and batteries have improved in recent years, resulting in torches with powerful light beams and long battery life.
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Your task

Design a battery-powered pocket torch for general use. It may be for use in the home, for camping, and so forth. It must be small enough to fit in a pocket or handbag. The torch should be for general-purpose, not for specialised use, such as for police or any other profession. Work on this project on your own, or together with a classmate.
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The design thinking stages

Follow the five design thinking stages to ensure that you think of everything and do everything necessary in order to succeed in your design project. First, you must UNDERSTAND the design topic and the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DECIDE what is important to your design solution and what is not so important. Then you CREATE to come up with ideas and improve them. Then you BUILD your chosen design idea in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Finally, you TEST your built design idea to get the opinions of users. ​​​​​​​Use the methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you follow the design thinking stages.
 

Note for teachers

Doing student design projects that use electrical parts or microcontrollers such as Arduino requires:

• teachers who are able to supervise such a project;
• laboratories or workshops with electrical and electronic parts and tools;
• and students who are trained to work with electricity, tools, and equipment.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the BUILD Stage for Level III to safely supervise this design project.