PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
PRIMARY MILESTONES
A. Primary Milestones
B. Details on Deliverable Items:
Individual Deliverable Items:
( All Items must be submitted in order to receive a course grade)
1.Due 28 Aug.: Individual Product Requirements Evaluation - A written discussion of the detailed product requirements highlighting technical or economic objectives and requirements, critical issues and areas of concern. This should be 1-3 pages in length and attempt to identify each "phase" of the product's operation as outlined in the RFP.
2.Due 4 Sept.: Individual Product Concept - Each member will develop their own concept vehicle for this mission, this concept must include a detailed "hand" (not computer) sketch of a three view external drawing, internal equipment layout and autonomous control concepts for their vehicle with approximate scale. This should also include a two page written concept description highlighting strengths and potential problems with the proposed concept. Key technical requirements must be identified.
3. Due 9 Oct. and 30 Oct.: Individual Parametric Trade Studies - Details provided later in this handout.
4. Due 4 Dec.: Individual Engineering Design Notebook - Each team member will submit their design notebook for review and evaluation. Format and organization is left to the discretion of the engineer although some guidelines will be provided. It is suggested that this be a three-ring binder or comparable notebook so that information can be added and organized as the semester progresses.
5. Due 10 Dec.: Individual Peer Review - Management team will provide form which each team member will complete.
Design Team Deliverable Items:
1. Due 2 Sept.: Weekly Team Task Tracking Summary (TTS) which details individual task based time resource allocation for work conducted up to and including the beginning of the lecture/meeting each Tuesday. This information will then be due every Tuesday for the remainder of the semester. Each team will develop their collection procedure and submit the data using the form provided by the management team.
2. Due 2 Sept.: Design Requirements and Objectives (DR&O) - Formal written report [3-5 pages] This is a very critical document since the team's accomplishments will be evaluated against their own quantitative requirements and objectives. Review of the purpose of the project and then specifically - and in a quantitative fashion - list the:
Requirements: those characteristics or properties that your system must possess. These will guide you as you make decisions but in order for them to be "requirements" they must be things you can specifically control. As an example, you can require things like:
Objectives: these are the things you want to achieve and will make every effort to achieve. You will also use these to determine the success of your efforts. Note, you can't "require" them of the design [ don't confuse this concept with the idea that you may "require" the objectives to be meet before you can sell the product, continue with the development process, beat the competition satisfy government regulations etc....] Some examples:
You need to make as complete a "list" of these two classes of items and quantify to the best of your ability each item. You can begin to prioritize them and determine how each will influence your design process and product. You should also attempt to explicitly express what is the source/purpose of each for that helps to establish their relative importance or impact of a future change to either a requirement or objective.
3. Due 18 Sept.: Team Concept Selection Complete - Three view sketch to scale for presentation at the PDR.
4. By 18 Sept. each team will develop a WWW homepage to provide a brief presentation of their efforts. The management team should be provided with the address of each team's site in order to link to the course homepage. Any links from the team homepage to other sites must be "professional" and follow University guidelines. The team should update their homepage as progress dictates.
5. Due 23/25 Sept.: Project Plan Review [PPR] - A formal presentation by each team describing their planned engineering activities for the remainder of this project. It should include scheduling, task assignments, milestones and design tool development discussions. All team members must participate in the presentation. The presentation should address: Team Organization Team Leader, Director of Engineering, Director of Manufacturing Primary Individual Areas of Responsibility Concept Design and Reporting Phase Planning Details Primary Milestones Details on Deliverables and Responsible Individuals Task Timeline Task Dependencies Prototype Phase Plan Overview Engineering Tools Description of Analysis or Simulation Tools What is available and how it will be used What needs to be developed Description of Required Component Tests or Prototypes
6. Due 4 Nov.: Draft Design Proposal - The primary product of the course is a final engineering report which will take the form of a Formal Design Proposal. Details on the content of the proposal are provided in another document. Emphasis will be placed on quality of content and organization, not quantity, and the document will be limited to a total of 75 pages (12pt font, double spaced). The body of the text should include primary discussions, trade study results and appropriate tables and figures. Detailed supporting technical data, computer output and programs and other pertinent data should be included in Appendices. Each team will be required to develop complete "digital product definition" of their proposed product. Detailed part and assembly drawings should be included with the proposal and will not be counted against the 75 page limit. A major component of the team "grade" on this report is associated with the draft. The team may be required to make certain changes in the final submission but the "draft" should be their best effort and it is the single most important deliverable item in the course.
7. Due 11 Nov: Critical Design Review - This 25 minute, formal oral presentation will take place during the meeting/lab period and will be videotaped for review and evaluation. The design is "frozen" at this point and all further efforts are associated with validating the design through prototype fabrication and test. All team members are expected to participate in the CDR.
8. Each team will construct a prototype for their proposed system. The purpose of the prototype is to validate the design concept, fabrication processes and its autonomous operation. The performance of the system will be evaluated against the requirements and goals specified in the team's DR&O. The design teams are responsible for documentation of the prototype fabrication and this documentation will be included in the Final Design Proposal. Though teams are expected to develop and evaluate fabrication and assembly techniques during the design process, fabrication of parts for the prototype cannot begin until after the CDR. The team deliverable items during this phase of the project are:
a. Due 25 Nov.: Fabrication or acquisition of all mechanical and electrical components for the prototype must be completed and all parts "displayed" for review prior to final prototype assembly. All wiring harnesses and electronic subassemblies must be completed.
b. Due 4 Dec: Prototype Bench Testing- Vehicle assembly complete and all systems should be installed. The vehicle should be ready to participate in performance validation tests. The 5 min. storage and assembly, and 30 minute electronics removal and installation tests will be performed.
c. Due 5 Dec: Prototype In-door Test - These tests will be conducted at a TBD site and will be used to provide basic performance benchmarks. These tests will take place on a Friday evening and each team will have approximately 20 minutes to demonstrate their product's performance.
d. Date 9 Dec.: Prototype Fabrication and Test Report - A written Appendix to the Final Proposal documenting the fabrication and tests is due as part of the Final report. This should include all costs (material and personnel) details for the resources expended on this project.
9. Due 9 Dec.: Final Design Proposal: It must contain all required changes, as identified by management, from the draft submission as well as complete documentation of the prototype fabrication and testing as described above. It should be considered as one of your first professional publications and treated as such. Each team will submit a single, unbound copy of the report and all attachments.
10. Due 9 Dec.: Summary Presentation: Formal 15 min. overview of the project which will be open to the public and invited guests. It should overview the final design as well as prototype fabrication and test. There will be no formal question period. All members of the team are required to participate. C. Team Presentation Schedule: 23/25 Sept Project Plan Review A 30 minute, formal presentation to the project management team only. The specific date for each team will be assigned the week prior to the presentation.
11 Nov. Critical Design Review: A 25 min. presentation followed by a 10 min. period for questions and discussion. Formal presentation with invited guests from industry. 9 Dec. Final Project Summary Presentation (15 min.) Overview of the system, requirements, concept development, prototype fabrication and a testing. Open to public.
D. Preliminary Design Review (PDR) Topic Schedule:
Each team will prepare a number of specific items for discussion at each review. The presentations will take place during the "lecture" time and should include appropriate visual aids or demonstrations. The presentation must be made by one team member ( each team member must participate at least once during the semester). Any specific data items required for this presentation will be posted in the design lab during the week prior to the PDR.
4 Sept DR&O 11 Sept. On-board computing, sensors and other critical technologies
18 Sept. Team product concept description
25 Sept . Getting from point A to point B and back again (chassis and drive-train)
2 Oct . Locating, engaging and picking up the "canister" (kinematics and control)
9 Oct. Loads, stress and weights
23 Oct. Event sequencing and autonomous control
30 Oct. Part fabrication, processes, materials and assembly
6 Nov.. Product manufacturing plan, plant requirements and economics
20 Nov. Prototype test plan
E. ENGINEERING TRADE STUDY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Trade study #1 (due 9 October):
1. Brief statement of the purpose of the study.
2. Detailed list of design variables - those parameters which you can control. List any constraints on the design variables.
3. Measures of merit - those parameters which you will use to evaluate the design.
4. Description of the tools used with particular emphasis on the assumptions associated with them and their limitations.
5. Presentation of results of the study - graphical are preferred but tables or charts are acceptable if they most adequately represent the results.
6. Discussion of the results of the study.
7. Brief discussion of the impact of the study on the design.
The basic format for the presentation of the trade study is up to each engineer. A tech memo format might be ideal. The report should not exceed 8 pages which includes all background, discussion and results. If a trade study involves hardware development, the engineer should discuss with management an appropriate format for presenting their results.
Trade study #2 (due 30 Oct.):
Two or three viewgraphs which are capable of describing the purpose and results of a specific engineering trade study. You will present this study to the class using these viewgraphs and be given 5 minutes to overview the key aspects of your study and its results.