Situation

1
Situation

• The BEST Robotics competition currently uses
  commercially available remote control transmitter
  and receiver systems for diving the motors and
  servos on the robots.
• BEST is moving toward incorporating a
  microprocessor based system on the robot,
  specifically using the Infinity DSP system.
• The first stage of this effort will require the
  DSP system to be transparent to the user, that
  is, it will act just like the standard servo and
  motor drivers.

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Situation - continued

• In the future, the DSP system will allow for more
  automation to be incorporated into the robot.
• There also is the possibility of altering the
  amount of information sent from the transmitter
  to take advantage of the microprocessors
  capability.
• In addition, the current transmitter and receiver
  is becoming more expensive.
• The current transmitter is a Conquest T4NBF and
  the receiver is a Futaba R127DF
• The frequency of operation for remote controlled
  devices is carefully regulated by the FCC

3
Assignment

• There are 2 different approaches
• Develop a system that duplicates the
  characteristics of the current transmitter and
  receiver, but is cheaper and more flexible.
  (Replacement System)
• Develop an entirely new system with possible
  different input/output capabilities, but still
  meets all FCC regulations and is inexpensive.
  (Alternative System)

4
Product Groups

• A number of different product groups will be
  formed to develop prototype systems.
• Cost, reliability, interference and development
  time are of critical importance.
• Each product group is independent and may have a
  somewhat different product from other groups
  depending on what they consider to be the best
  product.
• At the end of the development cycle, one engineer
  will be assigned to continue the product through
  production and, therefore, will be required to
  know all aspects of the product.

5
Matrix Organization

• The company is organized in a matrix structure.
• Each product has a product/project director and
  team.
• The product team members are from the Development
  Engineering Group.
• Therefore, each team member reports to both the
  Development Engineering manager and the
  Product/Project Manager.

6
Development

• Design and development requires the examination
  of alternatives. The best alternative depends on
  the criteria for best.
• The Development Engineering group, your group,
  has been given the task of developing prototype
  systems for the individual Product Managers.
• The System Engineering group recommends a DSP be
  used to precondition the signal before it is
  modulated and transmitted.
• The performance, cost and manufacturability are
  all important in determining which, if any,
  system is to be manufactured and sold.

7
Function Development Teams

• Product development may be organized by Product
  Teams and Function Development Teams
• Each team member may serve on one product team
  and at least one functional development team
• Teams may change as the project develops
• Each section can be developed and tested
  independently

8
Product/Project Reporting

• The Product/Project Managers are concerned about
  their products.
• Therefore, each product team must report on the
  development of all aspects of the product on a
  weekly basis to the Product/Project Manager
• Each member must also indicate their individual
  activities.

9
Goals

• The over all goal for the project is to develop,
  construct and evaluate a prototype system. A
  complete prototype system is essential.
• The evaluating process must involve quantitative
  measurements.
• The individual product teams are responsible for
  all aspects of product development.
• Each team member must be prepared to become the
  follow-up product engineer.

10
Past Work

• Previous groups have made some progress on the
  project
• These groups have moved on to other task, as is
  frequently the case in industry
• Past work should be considered, evaluated and
  used, when appropriate, to assure completion of
  the project
• There are enough new members to investigate
  additional alternatives

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