AENG/MENG 101

Introduction to Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering

Resources

• • Syllabus (Spring 2015)

  • Playpumps

    • First video (8 minutes)

    • Second video (20 minutes, starting about 3 minutes in)

Idea to Product (I2P) Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to practice the process of identifying needs (painstorming) and then developing engineering solutions. We will practice the process of making focused designs and conveying our designs in a focused manner.

Your job is to look around you, and identify something that needs to be fixed or improved. The problem can be anything - something that you experience, something you've seen others experience. The point is to find some problem that can be addressed by the invention/creation of a product.

Your assignment has three parts:

1. A one-page paper that answers the 7 questions outlined below. This can be no more than 1 page (single-sided). If you submit more than one page, only the first page will be read (the rest will be thrown out). The first draft of this paper is due on the first due date; the final version is due on the last day of classes. Note that two of the questions should not be addressed in the first draft. (See below.)

2. A 7-minute presentation focused on the problem (NOT the solution! That comes in the second presentation!). Again, at this stage in the design process, you need to keep your mind open to new ideas. (Remember the space pencil? If you have already decided that your solution is a pencil, you won't even be aware of the possibility of a pen.) That presentation should include:

   1. A title slide

   2. A "show slide" that demonstrates the problem/need in as few words as possible (pictures-only is best)

   3. The answers to the five questions (one per slide). [Yes, five questions: see below for the questions that should be omitted.]

   4. Any concluding remarks

   5. A 15-minute presentation:

      1. Update/improve based on the results of the first presentation, plus your own work

      2. Include your answers the omitted questions from the first round

      3. Include charts that describe your solution, how you would produce it, and how/where you would sell it.

Teams

The Seven Questions

• 1. What is your product or idea?

  2. What is the driving need (pain) addressed by your product?

  3. Is your underlying technology unique? Describe.[SKIP THIS ONE FOR THE FIRST PRESENTATION.]

  4. Is your product or idea innovative? Describe. [SKIP THIS ONE FOR THE FIRST PRESENTATION.]

  5. Who is your market and initial customer group (who will buy it)?

  6. What needs of your customers does your product or idea address (why will they buy it)?

  7. Provide some indication of the general size of the market (numbers are needed, even a rough guess).

Note that most of content of this page requires a SLU login to view. The SLU sign-in is just below this line.

You also must have Javascript enabled.