CS 1020 - Final Project
The final project of the Lego Robot Design Studio will be a creation
of your own design. By this point in the term you should have some
sense of the range of possibilities available to you. The best way to
end this course is for you to explore a direction of your own
choosing.
Monday, 1/21: Come up with an idea
After getting to know the members of your new (and final) group, talk
about ideas for a satisfying and challenging final project. Think of
this both in terms of engineering challenges and
programming challenges. We will discuss your ideas before the
end of today's lab. To stimulate ideas:
- Consider (variations on) the projects mentioned in class.
- Check out the final projects from previous years (but many of the
student pages won't exist anymore):
- Browse the Internet. A few places to start are the homepages of similar courses taught at other schools:
- Sift through the Lego kits again and find some other pieces that
you haven't used yet, for example, pumps and pneumatic pistons,
differentials, rack and pinion gears. Try to devise clever ways to
incorporate some of these undiscovered toys into your projects.
- Pay attention to your day-to-day world and be on the lookout for
robotic devices that already exist. Think about other tasks that a
robot might be able to do, and then consider whether your group would
be capable of building such a beast.
Wednesday, 1/23: Demo your first prototype
By Wednesday, you should build a working subpart of your project. During lab,
we will discuss and grade your progress on your project so far. We will also
be available to help you with any mechanical or programming problems.
We may be able to help you out with extra Lego parts or motors, too.
In lab, we will also take pictures of your creation so far
(or let you do it yourself). The
homework for Friday is to create a web page that describes your goal and your
progress to this point, and to prepare a 5-minute oral presentation to give
to the rest of the class during Friday's lecture. Your web page should contain
some pictures of your Lego device to be projected during your presentation.
The page should also include:
- A clear description of the problem you are trying to solve
- A detailed discussion of your approach and of your Lego structure
(including the number and kind of sensors and motors used)
- A description of the strategy and program you are implementing
- Possibilities for both more advanced and (more importantly) simpler
versions of your project in case you find things are working out better
or worse than expected...
Aside from these guidelines, there is a good deal of freedom as to
what is specifically expected from your web page (as with the project
itself). At minimum, you need to document the purpose and ultimate
level of success of your project. Whatever else you decide to add is
more or less up to you, but our hope is that your page will convey a
sense of your group's personality as well as its journey toward the
final product.
Friday, 1/25: Presentations and work day
We will start with your presentations. Each group should explain
their project to the rest of the class in about 5 minutes, using your
web pages as visual aids. Depending on your progress, you may also
want to give a very quick demo of your creation! Questions and
comments to help each group along are strongly encouraged from the
audience.
The rest of the lab will be spent as a work day. The homework for
Monday is to complete your project, and to continue developing your web
page. We will prepare posters to advertise the talent show, which you
can help us distribute all over campus. Be sure to charge your
Handy Board during Sunday night!
Monday 1/28: TALENT SHOW!
The first hour of the lab can be used for last-minute adjustments and
packing up. Around 10 AM we will move everything to the Great Hall
downstairs,
hopefully with enough time to adjust all robots to their new
surroundings (stone / carpet floor, lighting conditions, etc.). Be sure to
post your program(s) on your webpage, or bring them on a memory stick
- we will have a laptop
available for emergency programming needs. From 11 AM to 1 PM,
faculty, students, and staff will be invited to come and meet your
robots. This will be an open-house kind of event where folks can walk
around and meet each machine on its own terms and chat with you about
your creation. At least one person per group should be around to
demonstrate their robot at all times, but perhaps you can take turns
visiting some of the other groups as well.
Note: Since the Talent Show will be held during the lunch
hour, you may wish to pick up a bag lunch at the dining hall during
breakfast.
After the Talent Show, please transfer all parts (Lego, Handy Boards,
etc.) back to our lab.
The homework for Wednesday is to complete your webpage and be prepared
as a group to give a 5-minute oral presentation on your project.
There's a lot of talent in this group, and we're looking forward to
seeing what you come up with. Have fun!
Wednesday 1/30: Cleanup
We'll start today at 9:00 with a quick
presentation from each group reporting on your successes and challenges.
After the presentations, we'll complete course evaluations and then
begin the big cleanup. By today at noon you will need to have your creation
completely disassembled, and your Lego kit back to its original pristine
state. Each bin in the kit should contain only the designated pieces
shown on the sheet underneath. If you have borrowed pieces from other
groups, be sure to distribute them back to where they belong.
Leave motors, sensors, and Handy Board
in a neat pile next to your box. Thanks for helping us out (and
remember, cleanup accounts for 5% of your grade :).