Weekly Progress Reports (see sidebar), the Gantt chart, and this Project Management page should be printed out before meetings with the sponsor and instructor.
All team members should be able to explain all items on the progress report.
Place a "*" at the beginning of the title of the active week Progress Report (see * in sidebar).
Project Objectives
Concisely list and prioritize the project objectives and constraints
High Priority Objectives
Reliable safety mechanism using sensors
arm bar is current idea
safety mechanism for when wheelchair stops abruptly, study dynamic loads and use Finite Element Analysis
place for camera sensor to be mounted on
sensors can be mounted and work properly
there is no shade, meaning the sensors have full range of vision with nothing blocking its view
Second Priority Objectives
implement LIDAR sensor, which has, at best, 360 degrees field of vision
determine best location for LIDAR sensor to be placed where it can provide the best readings and not be a hindrance to the user
make wheelchair modular, containing an autonomous and semi-autonomous feature
power consumption
know how long the wheelchair can run before next charge
potentially implement a backup battery supply
perception and mechanics
how fast can the chair sees things
how fast can the chair respond to objects before crashing
Other Constraints and Issues
wheelchair must be manufacturable anywhere, especially in third world countries
essentially, parts cannot be heavily machined
must be portable; can be folded and fit inside cars (like a regular wheelchair)
budget of about $1000
per information gathered from interviewing customers, wheelchair may have many different designs
some customers liked the bar in front, others disliked the bar
WOW Design Solution
Adding a braking system that can help guarantee the safety of the rider.
Completely customize-able wheelchair, easily manufacturable, contains autonomous and semi-autonomous functionality, and can traverse any terrain and level (stairs, dirt, ice, etc.) without potentially harming the user
Risk Reduction Strategy
List areas of risk and strategy that will be used to eliminate risk really in the design process.
Arm bar:
If used as a braking mechanism, then the risk is that it is not strong enough to withstand a human load and break
Solution: material is important consideration, as well as the clipping mechanism
Clipping mechanism needs to be strong to withhold forces from arm bar
Solution: Design it so it can withstand forces and not be the weakest link
Camera placement:
There is a risk that poor positioning of the camera may cause problems, such as not being able to read the surrounding environment, or user problems where they may accidentally block the sensors
Solution: Test multiple areas where the camera can be placed while keeping in mind the rider and the camera's positions.
Intermediate Milestones
Identifying meaningful intermediate milestones is a critical for effective project management. Together with your sponsor identify such milestones, and specify specific performance requirements you aim to meet at each milestone.
First prototype of the Arm bar
Research
While there are many solutions, we need to come up with one with the special criterion that we have.
Need to creatively solve the solution while being cost-effective, easy to make, and made from common parts.
Design
After researching what is the best solution, coming up with designs is the next step.
While satisfying the criterion, we need to use the research we found to make something that somewhat works, or at least proves a point
Manufacture
Build the prototype and look for ways to improve
Look at things like oversights (things we have overlooked when designing), easy of assembly, check if it satisfies our requirements, etc.
N-th prototype of the Arm bar
Follow the above steps
Final design
Like prototyping, but this time it is the last time, so we need to make sure everything works the way it is intended and hopefully no problems occur last minute.