Studying at York
Engineering Project 22/23 - ELE00067H
- Department: Electronic Engineering
- Module co-ordinator: Prof. Steven Johnson
- Credit value: 40 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
Module summary
This module further develops the team-working skills introduced in the first and second year projects, this time applied to a self-driving vehicle(s) to efficiently and intelligently map the chemical and/or physical characteristics e.g, pH, temperature, tubidity, of a closed body of water. The first part of the project (Part A) in the Spring will require students to select and design, informed by customer requirements, the hardware and software for the vehicle(s), including sensors and actuators. The second part of the project (Part B) in the Summer will require students to physically build and demonstrate the vehicle(s) in a representative environment.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 to Summer Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
Subject content aims:
The third-year MEng design group project provides the final step in the sequence of projects before the capstone individual project. It aims to develop all the engineering design and transferable skills described in programme documents and detailed in the MLOs below.
Graduate skills aims:
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To develop skills in applying knowledge learned in class to a challenging hands-on project
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To consolidate and further develop skills in teamwork, engineering design and project management
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To develop skills in technical writing and dissemination to both technical and non-technical audiences
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To develop skills in effective communications with team members in charge of the mechanical, electrical, software aspects of the robot and sensor design.
Module learning outcomes
Subject content learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
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Develop a design specification according to the customers’ requirements, that fully considers technical, financial, regulatory and other constraints.
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Understand and be able to describe control and navigation systems in the context of self-driving vehicles.
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Understand and be able to describe the operation, specifications and limitations of a variety of optical, electronic and mechanical sensors for monitoring aqueous contaminants including their associated figures of merit e.g., limit of detection, specificity, repeatability
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Demonstrate skills in the design of complex electronic, electrical and mechanical systems, both through simulation and experimentation.
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Produce an integration and test plan for the product.
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Demonstrate technical skills in fabrication, evaluation and integration of software, electronic, electrical and mechanical systems in order to construct, test and refine floating vehicles, sensors and actuators.
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Robustly evaluate the completed floating vehicles according to customer requirements, including technical, financial, regulatory and other constraints.
Graduate skills learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
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Apply knowledge learned in class to a challenging hands-on project
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Consolidate and further develop skills in teamwork, engineering design and project management
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Demonstrate skills in effective communications with team members in charge of the hardware and software aspects of the robot design.
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Demonstrate transferable skills such as presentation skills (to both technical and non-technical audiences) and time management
Module content
This group project will require individual groups to design, develop and evaluate a self-driving, floating vehicle(s) that can navigate a closed body of water, collect water samples at well-defined locations and perform analysis of the physical, chemical and/or biological characteristics of the sample. In the first part of the project, groups will deliver detailed designs and specifications of the system and associated sub-systems that consider customer requirements alongside technical, financial, regulatory and other constraints. Specifically, groups will:
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Produce a detailed technical specification of the full product and associated subsystems based on customer requirements coupled with simulation and initial experimental trials e.g. materials analysis, manufacturing approaches. Students will be expected to demonstrate good quality design philosophies for all software, electronic, electrical and mechanical subsystems and produce a full Bill of Materials for their product and a drawing set complying with current published standards to enable their product to be manufactured.
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Groups will produce a full intended operational environmental specification, statement about the expected life of their product and associated subsystems (such as any required batteries) and how all of these should be disposed of at the end of the product's useful life, taking into account WEE, COSHH and other relevant legislation.
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Groups will be required to produce an integration and test plan for their product and produce a formal risk register.
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Groups will be expected to establish their own group structure and communications, coordination and control mechanisms to ensure they complete the project in an efficient and effective manner. Students will be expected to critically review the group's performance in their individual report. Students will be expected to manage their own meetings, planning them with agendas, keeping records of meetings and tracking their own actions. This will include all internal team progress meetings, all product development process meetings (design reviews, etc.) and all meetings with clients or clients' representatives
Indicative assessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Project Report and Designs (Individual) |
N/A | 75 |
| Groupwork Initial Project Presentation (Group) |
N/A | 5 |
| Groupwork Presentation and Demonstration (Group) |
N/A | 5 |
| Groupwork Project Specification and plan (Group) |
N/A | 15 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Final Report (Individual) |
N/A | 100 |
Module feedback
Formative feedback:
Immediate feedback in practical sessions and workshops regarding progress and feasibility of students’ designs.
Summative feedback:
Immediate summative feedback will be provided in discussion for the presentation tasks and project specifications, formal feedback will be written and provided for the Project Report and Designs, and the Final Report.
Indicative reading
This is an open project in which the students will be required to identify solutions based on independent research. Some general relevant resources include:
- Environmental perception for automated vehicles : localization, mapping and tracking; Choi, Jae Bum; 2016; ISBN : 9783736992665, ISBN : 9783736982666 (e-book)
- Water quality assessments: a guide to the use of biota, sediments and water in environmental monitoring; Edited by Chapman, Deborah V.; 2nd ed, London : E. & F.N. Spon 1996
- Disposable Sensors in Diagnostics, Food, and Environmental Monitoring; Dincer, Can ; Bruch, Richard ; Costa-Rama, Estefanía ; Fernández-Abedul, Maria Teresa ; Merkoçi, Arben ; Manz, Andreas ; Urban, Gerald Anton ; Güder, Firat; Germany: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Advanced materials (Weinheim), 2019, Vol.31 (30), p.e1806739-n/a