Benn Thomsen

Third Year Fourth Year Second Year First Year An integrated part of the course structure Electronic Circuits Digital Systems & Comms Physical Electronics Maths & Computing Engineering Professional Practice Project based scenario Systems, Communications and Software Devices, Materials and Nanotechnology Wider Context Individual Project Systems, Communications and Software Devices, Materials and Nanotechnology Wider Context Group Project Fundamentals Specialisation Project based scenario

Scenarios First Year Scenario A: Electromagnetic lifting Redesign an electromagnet to maximise the lifting force using only a single battery. Scenario B: Java based image coding for airport security. Develop a piece of software in java to scramble and descramble passenger images using a secret key. Scenario C: The Transistor Radio Kit Design and build an radio that could be assembled by hand in a third world country and powered off the grid. Second Year Scenario X: Call Detection System Design, build and test a system that is able to non- intrusively acquire the signal from a phone line and determine the number that has been dialled. Scenario Y: Due Diligence Report on Broadband Access Solutions Research, assess and compare the performance, practicality and economic implications of three potential next generation broadband access technologies.

E.g. Scenario A: Electromagnetic weight lifting A company hired a mechanical engineering design firm to produce battery powered electromagnetic for lifting, however, the magnet produced did not provide sufficient lifting force. At this stage in the design process of the robot it is too late to change the mechanical design or the battery type (either a 1.5V C or 9V. You have been contracted to redesign the coil of the electromagnet to maximise the lifting force. Constraints Mechanical design Two battery types Constraints Mechanical design Two battery types Goal To lift the most weight Goal To lift the most weight Validation Weight lifting competition Validation Weight lifting competition

Essentially an optimisation problem Need to determine and apply theory to produce a mathematical model Some parameters need to be determined experimentally The optimum solution determined by the model is then constructed and tested E.g. Scenario A: Electromagnetic weight lifting

Checkpoints Scenario Project Model: CIDO model Planning Problem definition Research Innovate Design concept Assign Roles Resource Requirements Design Develop design concept into deployable design specification Refinement through several iterations Realisation Build and test subsections Problem shooting Refinement Validation Test and debug Verify performance against project specifications Reporting Presentation of results Production of project documentation Reflection Concept & organisational approval? Design approval? Specification Met?

Feedback and Assessment Feedback Regular facilitation sessions Reports are submitted and marked online in moodle, feedback and comments provided by using Turnitin and GradeMark Post scenario debrief session Feedback Regular facilitation sessions Reports are submitted and marked online in moodle, feedback and comments provided by using Turnitin and GradeMark Post scenario debrief session Assessment Formative Checkpoints Competitions Summative Group Presentations Individual technical reports Traditional reports Critical Assessments of other teams solutions Group technical report User manual Due diligence document Individual Narratives Assessment Formative Checkpoints Competitions Summative Group Presentations Individual technical reports Traditional reports Critical Assessments of other teams solutions Group technical report User manual Due diligence document Individual Narratives

Evaluation Questions? Do scenarios excite and motivate students? Is it feasible to carryout a practical engineering design project – from concept to product in a week? Does the scenario reinforce what is taught in lectures?

Student Comments I liked getting to apply theory to a real problem and building something to demonstrate and test the designed solution I was surprised a single battery could lift so much, even though our theory indicated it could It was great to beat the lecturer Once the Scenario B teams were announced, I instantly felt relieved. I was never good in programming to begin with and there in my group is student A, a good programmer. I now have a new insight into programming as I did not realise simple codes are enough to program something I presume as difficult. As I do have previous programming experience I did my best to explain algorithms, object oriented programming, Java and general programming basics to the team members. It was a rewarding teaching experience, as most team members did understand my explanations and learnt from them. I learnt more about biasing transistor more in a week than I ever did in lectures although I attend every single lectures I liked the combination of almost all our modules to produce a very commonly used device I really like the lab and scenario experience. I believe a better explanation during the year of the scientific and/or engineering approach to solve a problem will be very useful for the scenario and lab. Otherwise we fall into the de-engineering process: 1. Go to internet; 2. Find a similar design; 3. Try to understand how it works; 4. Modify it for our task. I really believe that the engineering way is: 1. Study what we have (measuring); 2. Understand what we want in the output; 3. Design the "black box". Now I have clear in my mind these fundamental steps. Probably it was your way to give us a task and see how the students discover the engineering process. I really like the lab and scenario experience. I believe a better explanation during the year of the scientific and/or engineering approach to solve a problem will be very useful for the scenario and lab. Otherwise we fall into the de-engineering process: 1. Go to internet; 2. Find a similar design; 3. Try to understand how it works; 4. Modify it for our task. I really believe that the engineering way is: 1. Study what we have (measuring); 2. Understand what we want in the output; 3. Design the "black box". Now I have clear in my mind these fundamental steps. Probably it was your way to give us a task and see how the students discover the engineering process.

Summary Students particularly liked –the practical aspects of the scenario –Group work and the increased social interaction –Competitive testing Areas to improve –More facilitation staff –More guidance on team working and report writing –It is extremely important to have a timely debrief session after the reports are marked