Creating a Successful Engineering Notebook Presented by: Renaissance Robotics, Team 5937.

What is an Engineering Notebook and why should my team do one? An Engineering Notebook is a collection of all the work your team has done. It helps to…. Document and keeping track of robot construction, allowing team, mentors, and anyone who views the notebook to understand how your team progressed from point A to point B. Allows team to qualify for named awards, including Inspire and Think. Engineering notebook combined with judging scores make up 25% of your team’s state ranking. Robot game makes up 50%, and midseason video makes up the last 25%. Provides an easy-to-show, informed, and accurate representation of your team, which is handy for outreach events, along with curious friends and family.

What goes into an Engineering Notebook? An Engineering Notebook is composed of three sections Engineering Section, which includes robot design, CAD and hand sketches, task and reflections, and pictures of your robot. The Team Section is where the judges get to know the team. This section includes bios for team members and team structure. A Business Plan, Strategic Plan, or Sustainability Plan is also required.

Handwritten vs. Electronic Long story short, they’re the same. It’s personal preference of what works best for your team! Pros of handwritten Very personal feeling. Judges never question if the work was done by the students Cons of handwritten Hard to correct mistakes. Messy handwriting is hard to read. Pros of electronic Spell check. Files can be shared and sent to team members for easy work distribution. Cons of electronic You may need to reprint it. Numbering is difficult in some word processing programs.

Rules and Requirements Since the season, FIRST has opened up a lot on what you can and cannot do, meaning there’s really not a lot to go over. For full information, please check out the Game Manual Part 1. The three big rules are: Team name and number must be visible on the outside of the notebook. A summary is required. Engineering Notebook must be divided into multiple sections, including: an engineering section, a team section, and a business plan, strategic plan, or a sustainability plan.

Any questions? This presentation will also be available at