For our project, all team members will take on the shared responsibility of learning and contributing to ROS and Perception, as these are central to our project and require collaboration from everyone. In addition to these shared roles, each team member will take ownership of a specific domain based on their strengths and interests:
Iman – ROS, Perception, Team Manager & Design/Fabrication Guru
Iman will lead project coordination, timeline management, and decision-making. He will also focus on the design and fabrication of any physical components needed for integration with the Stretch robot.
Eric – ROS, Perception, User Interface Guru & Documentation/communications Lead
Eric will be responsible for designing and implementing the user interface that enables interaction with the robot. He will also handle weekly blog posts, project documentation, and communications with course staff and stakeholders.
Sohrab – ROS, Perception, Hardware Guru & User Research Lead
Sohrab will oversee the robot hardware setup, integration, and maintenance. He will also lead user research efforts, including interviews and usability testing with our target audience (e.g., diabetic individuals and caregivers).
On a weekly basis, all team members will:
Contribute to ROS and perception-related programming tasks
Learn and apply new technical concepts relevant to our project
Communicate progress and blockers during team check-ins
Participate in documentation and team updates
Conduct relevant research (e.g., on user care routines or robot navigation)
Test and debug robot behavior with Stretch
We will also rotate smaller sub-tasks (e.g., preparing a mid-week sync summary or maintaining the Kanban board) to ensure balanced workload and skill development.
Over the course of the quarter, our collective responsibilities include:
Developing a functioning assistive robot prototype for user support
Designing and fabricating any attachments or tools required for delivery
Building a user-friendly interface to trigger or schedule robot actions
Conducting user interviews and research to inform design decisions
Submitting all deliverables, including the project proposal, final report, and presentation
Testing and refining the system based on user feedback
To ensure that everyone gains the knowledge and skills they want from this capstone, we’ll prioritize skill-sharing and support. We plan to:
Maintain daily communication through Discord or group chat to resolve blockers quickly
Host weekly technical syncs to walk through ROS and perception code together
Divide learning goals early (e.g., one person leads initial ROS navigation, another perception), then regroup to share findings
Reach out to TAs or mentors proactively when we encounter technical roadblocks
Ensure that each member gets hands-on time with both software and hardware tasks
Rotate exposure to different tools and domains to support well-rounded development
With strong communication and collaborative problem-solving, we believe we’ll not only build a great assistive system—but also come out of this quarter as stronger roboticists.