Approach to MCR

Key Areas of Focus

Our approach is centered around two standards: Safety, and Efficiency. Safety is the primary factor in our decisions. Not only do we not want to bring injury towards a team member, but also almost no task can be accomplished without providing a safe environment to work in. Efficiency can be found in our desire to work as quickly as possible while keeping quality of work at the helm. It can also refer to the effort each team member puts into the project and the productivity of the AEV the team hopes to achieve. In addition to these standards comes an economic approach of saving money and budgeting to keep the AEV effectively running and simultaneously cost-effective

Objectives:

1. Safety

  • Ensure that standards are kept in construction of the model from design of the model to its physical shape.
  • Maintain an attitude of everyone check continuously for safety hazards and wear gloves when appropriate.
  • Place safety measures such as brakes on the vehicle to minimize penalty costs.

2. Efficiency

  • Have the AEV fulfill the need of transportation in an urban desert and provide a smooth ride back to Linden.
  • Complete the goal of creating an AEV that can complete the task in as little time as possible for the established route of returning to the original destination.

Our Plan:

Our division has developed a sound approach for the AEV project. After meeting and discussing our individual strengths and abilities, the team has decided to break down the AEV project into subsections and assign our division’s group members to roles that they were knowledgeable and comfortable in.

Some of these subdivisions include:

3D Modeling and design in Solidworks

 Responsible for creating 3-D printed parts and ensuring that these parts are appropriately dimensioned to fit on the AEV as planned  

Programming of the Arduino board

Responsible for developing code to control the motors on the AEV and interpret data collected via external sensors (such as the reflectance sensors) to accomplish the tasks required of the AEV.

Wiring and cable management

All members of the group are responsible for monitoring the readability of cable layout on the AEV. Without such knowledge, cables may be improperly secured and the AEV may encounter problems while being tested.

Structural integrity and design

Responsible for ensuring the integrity of the AEV during prototyping. If the AEV becomes unbalanced in weight, it may fall off the track and damage AEV components, incurring additional fees and potentially causing safety issues.

Marketing and finances

Responsible for documenting the division’s progress via photos and videos and uploading those videos to the division’s website. Additionally responsible for monitoring the division’s budget and advising division members about both potential and current financial issues.

Our group has agreed that assigning only one person to a specific task is dangerous for the team as a whole. Without assistance and another group member to work with one individual may get lost or may be unable to follow another group member’s ideas. As a result, our group has decided that each member will be responsible for a part of a subdivision of the overall project.

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