ENGINEERING DESIGN LAB IIENGR 102 WINTER 2015 - 2016

WEEK 9 LECTURE

Brandon Terranova, Ph.D.

WEEK 9 – EXTERNAL PROJECTS

FINAL REPORT

EXTERNALLY ADVISED PROJECTS

External Advisor form

Required for all external projects

Deadline extended to March 14

New link on course website for external projects

looking for more group members.

If you want to advertise your project, submit a project

description using the google form here:

http://goo.gl/forms/y8MfAK6KVN (caps matter).

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WEEKLY SCHEDULE – ROBOT MODULE

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Week Lab Deliverables

1 Jan 4Intro to NXT Programming

NXT Motor ControlN/A

2 Jan 11Introduction to Sensors

Collision Detection/AvoidanceN/A

3 Jan 18

The Light Sensor

Effects of Shrouding

Light Seeking Algorithm

N/A

4 Jan 25 Gripper Design Teamwork Evaluation #1

5 Feb 1 Design and Test Robot

Signoff Sheets Due

Design Proposal Due

Lab Notebook Weeks 1-4

6 Feb 8 Design and Test Robot N/A

7 Feb 15 Preliminary Competition Prelim Competition

8 Feb 22 Design and Test Robot N/A

9 Feb 29 Design and Test Robot Teamwork Evaluation #2

10 Mar 7 Final Design Competitions

Final Competition

Final Report Due

Lab Notebook Weeks 5-9

11/F Mar 14 No Lab N/A

All deliverables must be completed at the start of your lab period.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE – BRIDGE MODULE

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Week Lab Deliverables

1 Jan 4 K’NEX Failure Modes and Connection Types N/A

2 Jan 11 Failure Prediction of K’NEX Trusses N/A

3 Jan 18 Introduction to Visual Analysis N/A

4 Jan 25 Iterative K’NEX Truss Bridge Design Teamwork Evaluation #1

5 Feb 1 Design and Test Bridge

Signoff Sheets Due

Design Proposal Due

Lab Notebook Weeks 1-4

6 Feb 8 Design and Test Bridge N/A

7 Feb 15 Preliminary Competition Prelim Competition

8 Feb 22 Design and Test Bridge N/A

9 Feb 29 Design and Test Bridge Teamwork Evaluation #2

10 Mar 7 Final Design Competitions

Final Competition

Final Report Due

Lab Notebook Weeks 5-9

11/F Mar 14 No Lab N/A

All deliverables must be completed at the start of your lab period.

WEEK 10

Final Report – Week 10

A template can be found on the course website under

week 8 resources

Competition – Week 10

Robot competition rules

Bridge competition rules

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THE PARTS OF A LAB REPORT

Abstract

Introduction

Experimental procedure, results, and discussion

The exact structure and sequence differs from one report to another

Describe the procedure taken

Present the experimental results

Analyze the results

Conclusion

This general format applies to other technical writing e.g. conference and journal papers.

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THE ABSTRACT

This should be a concise summary of the entire

report.

The abstract is intended to give the reader a

quick overview of the document

The abstract should be short, around 300 words.

It is often easier to write the abstract after you

have drafted the main document.

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COMPONENTS OF AN ABSTRACT

These are the basic components of an abstract in any

discipline:

1. Motivation/purpose: Why do we care about the problem?

What practical, scientific, theoretical or artistic gap is your

research filling?

2. Methods/procedure/approach: What did you actually do

to get your results?

3. Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the

above procedure, what did you learn/invent/create?

4. Conclusion/implications: What are the larger

implications of your findings, especially for the problem/gap

identified in step 1?8

THE INTRODUCTION

This section should indicate the motivation for

performing the lab, discuss the procedure you

will follow, and explain the objectives and

deliverables.

You should not discuss experimental results,

analysis, or conclusions here.

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EXPERIMENTAL INFO

The experiment:

Relevant experiment info such as handling, location,

cautions, etc.

How did you collect the data?

Experimental design with focus on important aspects

Controls, treatments, important variables, number of

samples and sampling rate, independent verification of

methods employed, etc

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RESULTS INFO

How did you analyze the data?

What results did you get?

Objectively present your key results, without interpretation, in an orderly and logical sequence using both text and illustration.

May use tables and/or figures to present the results, but you should use text to refer the reader to your figures and tables.

Keep in mind that tables are useful when the reader wants to know the exact numerical value of a result, while graphs are useful for showing trends.

Both tables and figures should be numbered sequentially, and each should have a descriptive title.

Important negative results should also be reported.11

DISCUSSION INFO

Interpret your results in light of what was already

known about the subject, and to explain the new

understanding.

To connect the reader to the introduction by way of

the hypotheses or questions posed and literature

cited.

Should include some or all of the following:

Comparison between your results to others in the class or

to other sources (cite), evaluation of how your data

supports or refutes your original hypothesis, future

application of information/skills learned, and analysis of

possible sources of error.

If multiple experiments are discussed (as they are

here), some connection should be made between them.12

CONCLUSION

Briefly remind the reader what the lab was about

and why it was performed.

Discuss what was learned by the exercise and

present an overall analysis of the important

results.

Draw conclusions based on the work you did

throughout the term.

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POINTERS FOR TECHNICAL WRITING

Presenting technical content

Don’t present data (tables, graphs, sketches) without

explaining it

All figures, tables, graphs must include a caption

Annotate graphs properly

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POINTERS FOR TECHNICAL WRITING

Presenting technical content

Know what to graph, and what to put into a table

Use the proper number of significant figures

This depends on the accuracy of the measurement

equipment you are using and other factors

Don’t just use the default settings in Excel or the entire

value given by your calculator

For our purposes, 2 decimal places is probably sufficient.

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POINTERS FOR TECHNICAL WRITING

Grammar in technical writing

Generally very precise and succinct

The author is “detached” from the work

Use of 3rd person is generally preferred

Refer to experiments and events in past tense

Don’t include unsubstantiated statements and

opinions presented as fact

No colloquial (informal) and conversational style

Spelling

It is difficult to proof-read your own work

Have more than one person read through the entire

document just before submission. 16

POINTERS FOR TECHNICAL WRITING

Use sections and subsections to organize your

material

Break up long blocks of text with subsection and

paragraph headings when appropriate

There is no single correct way to organize your

paper.

When you proof-read, you should also check that the

document flows, i.e. the ordering of sections and how

data is presented seems appropriate.

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POINTERS FOR WRITING TECHNICAL

DOCUMENTS

Always include a leading zero before the decimal point, e.g. “0.2” not “.2.”

Avoid first person.

“m”, not “meters”, etc

Figures should be within text (no appendix of figures)

Captions on bottom of figures and on top of tables

All graphs are as condensed as possible while still being readable.

No oddly large graphs or titles

Be consistent with font size, spacing, margin, etc.

If printing for submission remember if you used color in your graphs!

All numbered citations are in numerical order.

All notations, acronyms and symbols are explained.

Avoid jargon.

Avoid using –fold, such as “20-fold smaller”, “times more” or “times

less”.18

CITATIONS

Use IEEE style:

http://www.ieee.org/documents/ieeecitationref.pdf

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USES FOR REFERENCES

In the Introduction or Background sections

To discuss prior art

To justify your project

In the Experimental section

To discuss related technologies

In the Discussion/Conclusion sections

To support claims you are making

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APPROPRIATE TYPES OF REFERENCES

Book chapters

Conference and journal papers

Patents

Magazine articles

Manufacturer’s product datasheets, application

notes, whitepapers

Generally, no references to web pages (e.g.

Wikipedia).

Sometimes information is only online – be careful

here.21

REFERENCES APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR

PROJECT

Robotics

How specific sensors work

Algorithm design

Mechanism design

Bridge

Method of Joints

Bridge failure case studies

Material test procedures

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LIBRARY RESOURCE PAGES

Robotics Module

http://www.library.drexel.edu/blogs/engineeringlibrar

yinstruction/?p=1169

Bridge Module

http://www.library.drexel.edu/blogs/englibrary/2013/0

2/01/bridge-design-resources/

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THE END