Labs

SES #	TOPICS	LABS
1	Class overview Introduction to engineering and the design process, engineering drawing, sketching, back of the envelope calculations	Introduction to the OETL (PDF) Solid Works tutorial Machine shop skills and safety (PDF)
2	Basic design analysis Free body diagrams, Newton’s laws
3	Electronics and water: two great tastes that don’t taste so great together… Exploration with instrumentation	Light banks (PDF) (Courtesy of Kate Thompson. Used with permission.) Electronics Assembly (PDF) (Courtesy of Kate Thompson. Used with permission.) Solid Works tutorials/parts library
4	Hydrostatics, pressure and water proofing
5	Holiday - no lecture	Instrumentation panels introduction and construction (PDF) Information on sensors (PDF)
6	Design brainstorming, project ideas, Solidworks repository development
7	Motors and electronics Guest lecturer: Prof. Steve Leeb, MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science	Waterproof sensors/lights Design brainstorming
8	Design analysis, error estimation, data presentation Propulsion: power vs. thrust and efficiency
9	Engineering ethics and using your best judgment	Motor building and testing Team development and brainstorming
10	Communicating engineering design Promoting your ideas/inventions
11	Exploration on the Moon: mission planning for EVA and geology, part 1 Guest lecturer: Prof. Dava Newman, MIT Aeronautics & Astronautics	Testing sensors in lab Design analysis Brainstorming!
12	Exploration adventure part 2 Guest lecturer: Prof. Dava Newman, MIT Aeronautics & Astronautics
13	Student presentations: in-class design review	Build Revise analysis Parts list submission
14	Design iterations, recalculations
15	Cool robots and bomb disposal	Build, build, build!
16	Bio-Robots, Gecko feet, and cool stuff!
17	Engineering and society	Dunk-test vehicle (Pool) Photos Complete electronics
18	Guest lecture
19	Pool testing at the Z-Center	Troubleshoot Data analysis from dunk test (Pool) and/or field test at Sailing pavilion (River)
20	Engineering at MIT: things to think about… choice of majors
21	No class, optional Boston Harbor Day trip + lunch	Off site testing (River) Photos
22	Guest lecturer: Prof. Steve Dubowsky, MIT Mechanical Engineering, mobile robots
23	Guest lecturer: Prof. Sangbae Kim, MIT Mechanical Engineering, bioinspired design	Off site testing (TBA)
24	Engineering after MIT: things to think about… grad school, consulting, FE exam, professional engineers certification, internships
25	Guest lecturer: Dr. Sheri White, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, underwater exploration	Further data analysis (PDF) Design review poster preparation
26	Guest lecturer: Prof. Jeff Hoffman, MIT Aeronautics & Astronautics, aerospace engineering design
27	Final student poster presentations
28	Lab clean up, evaluations

Pool Testing Photos

Students with their robot, before testing. A cube-framed robot named Nemo. An angled profile helps reduce drag. Once in the water, students attempt to steer the robot around, dive to the bottom, and gather data. To verify that instrumentation is working correctly, video is transmitted and displayed in realtime. Repairs to the robot structure or electronics may be necessary after testing.

Videos

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(WMV - 11MB)