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Team Vision for Problem Definition Phase
The first phase of the project had us first develop our problem statements for the device and come up with different interview questions for our client. We then interviewed our client, Ms. Knight, an art teacher from the Niagara BOCES school, and had her discuss with us her different visions and ideas for the art assistant device. Based off the notes from the interview, new use cases for the device were created; moreover, a list of customer and engineering requirements were drafted with different levels of importance assigned to each of them. The customer and engineering requirements were then compared to make sure that each customer requirement matched up with at least one engineering requirement. Lastly, the team worked together to figure out different stakeholders involved in the project and different risks that we may have to take into account later on in the project.
Project Summary
Art education is essential through primary and secondary education and gives students the ability to express themselves and be creative. Students with limited motion or other physical disabilities have a hard time actively participating in art class with current assistive art devices. Currently, adaptive methods include hand-over-hand methods and different adaptable grips, such as adding tennis balls to markers. These methods increase student dependency on a teacher/caregiver and may limit independence.
The goal of the Robotic Art Assistant is to allow students to create physical artwork with some independence. The device will be compatible with multiple interfaces such as easy-touch buttons and joysticks to give students control of the drawing strokes. This device will be safe, portable, and compatible with many art mediums, including pencils, markers, and paint. A physical piece of artwork for the student to bring home will be the result. The team is responsible for designing and producing a functional prototype with budget, portability, and art utensil constraints in mind. Finally, the team will write and provide proper design, testing, maintenance, and training documentation.
Project Summary:
Project Goals and Key Deliverables
Goals
- An art assist that would allow students to engage independently in their art classes and give them that expression
- Several input methods that allow most students with varying disabilities to engage
- A device that allows students to watch their art being created in real time and physically take it with them that day
Deliverables
- Complete and functioning prototype
- A prototype that is easily carried, set up, and used
- Design, testing, maintenance, and training documentation
- Finalized project paper and poster
Use Cases
Use Case 1:
The student makes use of a digital interface (most likely through a tablet) to complete a drawing digitally before printing it out using the robotic drawing arm.
Use Case 2:
The student directly interacts with the robotic arm through the interface without an intermediary digital interface. There is no room for making edits as the drawing is done in real time
Customer Requirements (Needs)
The document below shows the customer requirements from the PRP and interview with Karen Knight. The Importance is on a scale of 1,3,9. 1 is low importance, 3 is medium importance, and 9 is the highest importance.
Engineering Requirements (Metrics & Specifications)
The list of engineering requirements below is a constantly evolving document derived from the customer requirements as outlined by Karen Knight.
Levels of importance are marked as: 9- High Importance, 3-Medium Importance, 1-Low importance.
Constraints
Budget of $1000. The team must keep the cost of materials, components, and supplies under the initial budget unless additional funding is secured.
The final product must have a small enough footprint to fit on top of a desk, with the input device footprint small enough to fit on a wheelchair table.
The final product must be light enough to be easily transported from room to room, and school to school.
The inputs must be easily accessible and usable by people with varying levels of mobility.
House of Quality
In the document below the columns represent the engineering requirements, the rows represent customer requirements.
Design Review Materials
Problem Definition Review Notes
Plans for next phase
Team Plan
- A list of all functions and subfunctions completed, a solid understanding of current solutions, a concept that exceeds current solutions, a flowchart of the system.
- Well written documentation, up-to-date gantt chart and risk management.