1. Multidisciplinary Teamwork An Undergraduate Robotics Course Emphasizing Integrated System Design
A CCLI – A & I Grant
funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education
Grant #

2. A Multidisciplinary Teamwork Experience
The pedagogical goals of this project include:
learning to work in a cross-functional team
learning about integrated system design
learning about group dynamics and teamwork
a hands-on experience in practical robotics
The educational goals of this project include the development of course materials to teach an integrated system course using robotics

3. Interactions Between Sub-systems
Complex systems consist of multiple sub-systems, each one has the potential of interacting with every other one.

4. Complexity comes from Multidisciplinary Systems
Complex systems can be an integration of mechanical, electrical, chemical, and computational sub-systems.
Like vacuum cleaners, washers, cars, hard drives, space shuttles, …, and ROBOTS.

5. Integrated Systems
Integrated systems are comprised of interdependent components that can include electrical, chemical, mechanical, and computational components.
Theses systems are developed in cross-functional teams made up of members from the different disciplines.

6. Robotics: Electronics, Mechanics, & Computation
Inexpensive robotics kits provide a tool for designing integrated systems of mechanics, electronics, and computation
Working in multidisciplinary teams students develop labs that include:
Designing & Implementing a 2 DoF planar robot arm
Designing & Implementing differential light & sound sensors
Designing & Implementing mobile robots

7. Course Objectives
To study the mechanical mechanisms necessary for robot movement and actions.
To study the electrical mechanisms of sensor sampling and signal processing.
To study the computational mechanisms necessary for sensory perception.
To study the computational mechanisms of autonomous robotics.
To learn about integrated system design.
To provide a hands-on experience to practical robotics.
To learn to work in a cross-functional team.

8. Integrated Course Topics
ME: Translationa & Rotation, Degrees of Freedom, Forward & Reverse Kinematics, and PID Feedback Control
ECE: Basic Circuits, Transducers, and Signal Processing & Filtering
CS: Basic & Heurstic Search Techniques, Multi-Processing, Worst Case Complexity Analysis, Image Processing
IE: Multi-agent Planning Systems, Shared Information & Communication
Specific to Robotics: Robot Control, Navigation, & Localization
Topics on Teamwork: Group Dynamics, team process, running effective meetings

9. Multidisciplinary Teamwork
Teams formed of students from Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Industrial Engineering
Each team has at least one student from ECE, CS, and ME.
Teamwork and group dynamics are covered
Students are given a team process
Students are encouraged to study as a team so that learning from each other is a natural part of the team activity

10. Designing, Building & Programming
Each class member will participate on a cross functional team consisting of 3 or 4 students from different disciplines.
Teams will work on a variety of lab assignments that include designing & building mechanisms, circuits, and robots
Robot will be built using the Handy Board Microcontroller (

11. What is a Team?
Two or more people who interact with each other, are interdependent, and define themselves and are defined by others as a team, who work together to achieve a common purpose.
Otherwise you are a group ( or a party).

12. Team Process How are decisions made? How are conflicts resolved?
Team Roles
CTO: Chief Technical Officers (Facilitator)
Keeps the team focused and productive
Scribe
Documents the activities and decisions of the team
Rat Hole Watcher
Makes sure the team doesn’t get too far off topic

13. Running an Effective Team Meeting
Meetings must have a detailed agenda
What topics are to be covered, what activities will be performed
Team Roles Assigned
CTO, Scribe, Rate Hole Watcher
Document the Meeting
What was discussed or accomplished
What are the “action items” and who is responsible for each one.
Provides a group memory
Reminds individuals the assignments they need to complete

14. Team Meeting Exercise Get into your assigned teams
Introduce each other and trade contact information
Run a 10-minute team meeting
Assign roles, use the meeting minutes template
Here is the meeting agenda:
Individual team members list 5 characteristics of a good team member
Individual team members list 5 characteristics of a poor team member
As a team come to a consensus of a top 5 list for good characteristics and poor characteristics in order of priority.

15. Review Lists My list of top 5 “Do Be’s” Completes assignments on time
Communicates
Uses constructive criticism rather than destructive criticism.
Is on time for meetings
Sense of humor

16. Solve the given jigsaw puzzle without looking at the picture
Puzzle Game
Form Teams
Solve the given jigsaw puzzle without looking at the picture

17. What did we observe?
It is difficult to solve the puzzle without having a clear picture of what the objective is
Team members automatically assumed certain roles based on their personality types and styles

18. General Lab Philosophy & Expectations
The assigned labs are to get hands-on experience applying the concepts covered in lecture to elements of robotics.
Labs are for preparing the team for designing and implementing the final project.
The labs are for developing effective teamwork skills.
The labs are for learning from each other enough about other disciplines to be able to work on a multidisciplinary project.
Lab work is team assigned; it is to be done as a TEAM.

19. General Lab Philosophy & Expectations (continued)
Teams are expected to meet, discuss, plan, and develop the labs together as a team.
Team meetings are to be run as discussed in the class, each member should be assigned a role, each meeting must have an agenda, task assignments must be made, and progress documented.
Team roles must be assigned appropriate to the topic. The Chief Technical Officer (Facilitator) will be the person with the appropriate background, for example, an assignment on circuits will be led by an electrical engineer. The other positions assigned will be Scribe and Rat Hole Watcher (Timer).
With each assignment teams will hand-in their team meeting minutes. Minutes must include who was present, assignments, what was discussed and accomplished, and the amount of time met.

20. Lab 1: Rube Goldberg Machines
Lab Goals
To get familiar with materials in the robot kit.
To get in an engineering frame of mind for designing and building.
To get working as a team.
To have some fun.
Build a Rube Goldberg Machine that will capture a mouse without harming it (a non-violent mouse trap).

22. Lab 2: Bug Behavior Lab Goals
To get familiar with the Handy Board, sensors, and different types of motors.
To design a mechanism for a 1-DoF joint.
To work as a team on an integrated system that includes mechanics, electronics, and computation.
Team Assignment: Build a Bug with an Appetite
Build a mobile bug.
Using a shielded light sensor, the bug should wake up when a strong light is shined on it.
The bug should scan the area in front of it for the closest object which it will assume is a food source. Use the sonar sensor placed on a turret mechanism for this. The turret must be turned by a servo motor.
Once the bug identifies the closest object, it should move in the direction of the object.
When the bug finds the food with its antennae, it stops to feed.
If the food source is removed, the bug searches for a new food source.

25. Lab 3: Design a Custom Light Sensor
Lab Goals
To become familiar with interfacing sensors to the Handy Board
To design, build, and test a custom electronic circuit that can locate a light source
Team Assignment: Homing Light Sensor
Design and build a light sensor for use with your mobile robot that can “home in” on a light source.

27. Lab 4: Robot Arm Lab Goals
To design a mechanism for a 2-DoF manipulator.
To implement PD feedback control.
Team Assignment: Build a Robotic Manipulator
Design and fabricate a two-link manipulator that can hold a pen.
Implement PD closed-loop feedback control to achieve accurate tracking of the circular path for both inverse kinematic solutions.

28. Final Project
Cross-functional Teams will design and build a robot to complete in a Urban Search and Rescue Challenge

29. Adaptation & Implementation
This project adapts material from:
CMU’s General Robotics Course, H. Choset
Swarthmore & Bryn Mawr’s Robot Building Lab Project, D. Kumar & L. Medeen
Drexel University’s Education Tools for Low-Cost Robotics, L. Greenwald
Tuft University Robotics Academy
KISS Institute for Practical Robotics
Links to these resources can be found at:

30. Jerry B. Weinberg, CS
William White, CS
George Engel, ECE
Cem Karacal, IE
Ai-Ping Hu, ME