Pieter and Ian FLL part 2
- 1. Expertise & Consulting Interviews We have spoken to several past competitors, such as Charles Lawrence who goes to Michigan Tech. We can contact a few more people who are currently in the competition. We also plan on talking to a 3M representative, which is the company responsible for developing the materials for the playing field.
- 2. Questions for Consultants We asked our consultant about his experience in the robotic competition, as well as any advice he had about programming. We can discuss the competition structure with him, since we have participated in it before. Our consultant will have programming education background, so hopefully they will express an interest simply because it is their field.
- 3. Design Process The first part of the design process is to construct the basic robot. From there improvements and attachments can be built according to the specific design challenges. Refinement of previous attachments is the final step of the design process.
- 4. Competitive Analysis Competitors Our competitors would be the other high school teams who are participating in the challenge. Teams keep their progress secret until competition day, so change based on competitive analysis isn’t possible at any prior point. During the day of the competition, if we were actually doing it, we could change our robot based on what we saw. We aren’t going to be there, though, so we wont have that chance.
- 5. Technology We will use the new NXT computer, instead of the old RCX. This is a more advanced base for our robot. We will focus on having our robot stay consistent. Our priority will be to as minimalist as possible. We will not use any technology that might be unreliable. If something doesn’t work, we will either improve it or work it out of the design.
- 6. Proposed Team Resources People: Pieter-Mechanical, Ian-Programming. Equipment: NXT robotics kits, playing field and a computer with the NXT programming software installed. Location: Pieter’s house. Manufacturing: Not relevant. Sales: Good designs are promoted by HSR nationally.
- 7. Procedures There are no procedural differences with the project in comparison to a normal one. Our progress will follow the normal basic steps: Brainstorming, experimenting, building, refining, finalizing.
- 8. Schedule Week 1 - Set up workstation, gather materials, familiarize ourselves with the challenges. Week 2 - Begin brainstorming for possible approaches to challenges. Week 3 - Begin building basic robot, using parameters set in previous discussions. Week 4 - Build attachments for specific challenge approaches. As the end of the quarter approaches, discuss the future of the project. Continue to refine designs, or move on to a new project?
- 9. Current Status We have setup our workstation, familiarized ourselves with the challenge and built the basic robot. Our current status is working on building attachments to address the specific challenges. Unexpected delays: The extensive documentation process consumes our time and prevents us from focusing our attention on the actual project.
- 10. Related Documents Marketing plan Not relevant. Budget We have everything we need already. Post-mortem Not relevant.