RoboBoat 2023
What went well
After a long week of hard work, we’re proud to say Arcturus placed first in design documentation, team video, and website in RoboBoat 2023! This Sunday we ran a debrief discussing what went right and wrong at RoboBoat, where we want to be going as a team, some potential new leadership structures as we prepare for long term continuity, and interest and logistics for the Njord Challenge.
What we need to improve
- Connecting different subteams - have EE/mechE and nav work more closely so that there isn’t a weird divide and everyone is on the same page for system integration.
- Testing earlier and more frequently!
- We should be in the water by the end of the fall semester at the latest so we know what needs to be fixed.
- We need to have a hardware freeze by the end of the first semester so nav can work on programming the boat and debug.
- We should breeze through safety checks in the first day to maximize the number of slots we get on the water during competition.
Takeaways and recommendations for next season
- We need to put a hard deadline to stop building earlier so that we don’t spend time building things that don’t have time to get integrated and give nav more time to integrate.
- More tests! We need to get in the water more frequently - but in order to test, we need to have programming done earlier in the season.
- Testing more also means we have more data to share!
- To this end, Njord Challenge will be super helpful actually because it’ll encourage us to focus on programming in the coming months since there are no mechanical tasks.
- But we don’t want our EE and mechE’s to get bored so after we finish a vehicle and hand it off to nav, we should do another new project and cycle on/off season for hardware vs software for a given vehicle.
- Now until Njord Challenge:
- Nav programs the boat.
- EE and mechE build the sub.
- Next Fall:
- EE and mechE wrap up the sub and design RoboBoat modules.
- Nav begins programming for modules and refines navigation tasks.
- Next Spring:
- Integration of modules and testing of our boat!!!
- If time: begin thinking about RoboSub or other submarine competitions and begin implementing approaches to those tasks.
- Programming first: instead of having our mechE’s ask “can you program it to do x” have nav tell mechE “here’s what is easiest for us to implement, create a mechanical system which can do this.”
- In many ways this is a more interesting task for mechE’s.
- Enables nav and mechE to work in parallel.
- We still want to work hard to give people training when we get back since we have many freshmen on the team.
- Connect new members to shop staff so that you can get to know them better and feel comfortable asking them questions.
- In order to speed up efficiency of manufacturing, we’re creating a part tracking system so that anyone can go to the IDC (a machine shop we use), look at the doc, and start prints or cut parts for others.
- Part numbering:
- Use parametric part numbering featurescript (Jared can do a quick featurescript tutorial).
- ARC-Project-Year-Assembly-Subassembly-Material-Part
- Each project (Ship Happens - SH), assembly (Ball Launcher - BL), subassembly (Turret - TU), and material (1/16” Aluminum - 1/16AL) get an identifier.
- Have the files w the dxf or gcode in the drive with descriptive names of thickness, material, version etc.
- Early season space allocation:
- We need to know where things will go on the boat a lot earlier.
- We can get a reasonable weight/CG estimate earlier.
- Can just use rectangular prisms with approximate weights assigned in Onshape.
- Work on getting us space in N51 (a building at MIT):
- Would enable us to more easily use tools in N51 and interact more with the other Edgerton Center teams working there.
- The Milk Drop shop is clearing out - Audrey can ask about getting space there.
- Next year RoboBoat logistics:
- Having a travel manager is good! Someone needs to manage who’s going where and when AND they should be there at the competition to see it through!
- We should ask Milwaukee Tool for more packout boxes to hold stuff since the cardboard ones aren’t enough.
- Should also get our own set of tools (pliers, calipers, etc) if possible.
- Also would be nice to have smaller boxes with subdividers for electronics and fasteners.
- Someone should be the designated testing director who makes sure batteries are charged, tools are in hand, etc. every time we are going out to test to take advantage of the time given.
- We should have designated divers for the first shift so we don’t pull another all nighter situation.