Timeline
It has been determined that the bulk of the work for this project will occur
as part of our engineering and art classes. We will need to spend time after
school and on weekends to accomplish tasks that will not fit into the eighty-minute
class time or require direct instruction with a mentor. This model will allow
us to continue to make progress in the winter months when many of the students
will be working after school on our FIRST robotics team. Here is a month-by-month
break down of how we anticipate accomplishing this project.
November – December
During these two months we will focus on developing techniques in fabricating
a robotic butterfly. We have already performed proof of concept work in the
area of creating the wings using thin sheets of transparent plastic. We will
continue
that work and begin work on testing materials and techniques for creating the
other parts of the robot. We will also make use of our teleconference lab to
learn about butterfly behaviors. Professor Adriana Brisco of the University
of California at Irvine has agreed to teach us about typical butterfly behaviors
via teleconferences. Once we have that background knowledge we will then make
some decisions about which behaviors we wish to have Robotterfly exhibit. We
have already taken a field trip to the Witte museum, which is our client, and
partner, to see typical nature exhibits as well as interactive displays in
the
HEB Science Tree house. The graphic arts group will define three areas of involvement
for enhancing the exhibit materials. They will form three groups and work together
to perform research and develop storyboard ideas.
January – February
It will be during this time that decisions are made as to choice of robot control
system and what types of sensors may be used to provide input so that Robotterfly
can interact with the created environment and provide user interactivity. Once
those choices have been made, programming frameworks can begin to be constructed.
During this same time period work will need to develop robot prototypes so
that the programming group can write code based upon those designs. Additionally,
a group will also need to begin work on designing the enclosure environment
for
Robotterfly. This too will provide context for the programming group as well
as the mechanical group as they each continue to develop the prototype and
initial code. The story board ideas developed in the fall will be fleshed out
and refined.
At this point decisions will be made to identify which software and hardware
will need to be used for the project. Following those decisions, work will
begin on creating two dimensional and three dimensional models.
March – April
During these two months, we propose that the prototype be refined to the final
product and work is focused on creation of the finished product. We will have
been keeping the museum staffs up to date with progress of the prototype during
the fall and winter but anticipate needing to have a formal design review meeting
with their staff as we develop the final exhibit. Construction work will also
focus on the additional details required for a museum quality exhibit such
as signage and artistic backgrounds for the exhibit. The animation production
will
begin to compile all the models in a rough skeleton format.
May
This month will be reserved for working on revisions called for during the
design reviews with the client and preparation of our presentation for the
Odyssey.
This will also be a good time to conduct public demonstrations and invite
the media to view our project. By the end of May we will schedule time for
the
presentation group to present to a panel of local experts and peers from
area robotics teams
to simulate
the environment at the Odyssey. The public demonstrations will also help
prepare the group for the MIT experience. The graphic artists will refine
all work
and pieces to make them display ready.