ENGR 100-600

Design-Build-Test-Communicate Demo

The ROV Project: Lots of designing and building, lots of documentation!

Learn what technical communication is all about, and then learn how your audience impacts your communication style. Practice your new skills with professional emails!

Tour the lab and learn about hydrostatics with a simple underwater vechicle.

Welcome to Week 2!

We'll be learning about some basic hydrodynamics concepts, like drag and thrust, and how the placement of your thrusters impacts how you can control your ROV.

We'll also talk about a specific kind of informal technical communication report called a memo and how you can use a memo template to set up your own reports.

Stay on top of your work! We're starting to get into a routine of assignments that are due. Make sure you complete these on time for full credit!

Join the course late? Not to worry! Email the instructors to introduce yourself and then check Week 1 for links to things you need to get caught up on.

Try out an ROV driving simulator for some frustrating fun 😊

First, watch the demo video

Then, try it out! (this might work best in Chrome)

🗨 Dr. Alford says: Feeling angry after trying to drive this ROV around? ME TOO! Think of how you could design an ROV that is easier to control! 🎉

a computer graphic of a bunch of dials, switches, and buttons

Image: Unicom Communications

Post-Lab 1

Pre-Lab 2

This is Labor Day. If you don't want to do these assignments today, just do them early! There's no penalty for submitting things early.

Intro to ROV Hydrodynamics and Controls

Tandem Beginning of Term Survey

ROV Controls Activity

Real World Engineering: Industry Guest Lecture

Experienced engineers from a local engineering consulting firm will share their real-world engineering experience and answer whatever questions you have!

Learn about memo format for informal reports and practice using a template to create a proposal.

Investigate a demo ROV and practice soldering by building a basic control circuit.

Welcome to Week 3!

We'll talk about how hydrodynamic stability is (or maybe is not!) a design decision for your ROV. There are specific calculations that you'll need to report on for your ROV. This is a prototype ROV, so we're going to focus on some "high-level" numbers to describe the ROV.

We'll also talk about how you make design decisions and what sort of tools you can use to help with this process.

Join the course late? Not to worry! Email the instructors to introduce yourself and then check Weeks 1 and 2 for links to things you need to get caught up on.

This student-facing post from Arizona State University talks about office hours: why to use them, how to prepare for them, etc. We hope you'll come visit us in our office hours, and we want to emphasize that you can come to discuss course-related questions or concerns, but you can also come to ask us about majors, about your resume, etc. We are very excited to meet with you 1:1!

a student getting help from an IA about their 3D model of the ROV payload

Image: courtesy of Robin Fowler, Ian Rosenberg, and Lyn Tran

Post-Lab 2

Pre-Lab 3

Hydrodynamic Stability, Where Ideas Come From, Technical Prose

ROV Prototype Calculations

Practice making design decisions in a group and look at some specific characteristics of technical prose.

Individual Design Proposal

Learn how shape, orientation, and location of thrust affect an object's movement through water. Calibrate a load cell.

Welcome to Week 4!

You'll be making a lot of visuals for your presentations in this course, so let's find out what makes a good visual! You will also get to meet your ROV team! And we will learn about CRAP, and how you can use CRAP principles to make your ROV team's visuals not be ...crap. 😉

Then, we'll be learning more about how objectives and constraints help us make decisions in early design.

We'll also talk about where ideas come from in the early design process, and how you can clearly and concisely describe those ideas in technical writing.

This article from Wired asks Does Jewelry and Big Hair Slow Down Olympic Runners? We really like how the article uses basic equations and common sense to see if there's any big differences in "operating conditions", as opposed to looking for tiny nuances to optimize. We'll be taking a similar approach with our ROV calculations.

a stick figure running; long hair and a cape are streaming backwards

Image: Laura Alford, adapted from an image by Rhett Allain in the article

Post-Lab 3

Pre-Lab 4

Visuals, Presentations, Pitching Ideas; Meet Your Team; CRAP

Introduction to Design: Objectives and Constraints

Get feedback on your Individual Design Proposal before you submit it, or just use this as scheduled time to finish up your proposal. See Canvas Announcement for more details!

Sunday, September 15th, 11am - 1pm

B505 Pierpont

Learn about combining ideas and prepare for your PDR

Learn how to create a basic 3D model of an ROV in SolidWorks.

LOCATIONS: Lab 601 will be in CSRB 2230. Lab 603 will be in EECS 2331. Lab 605 will be in the NAME building at the Undergraduate Marine Design Lab (UGMDL).

Welcome to Week 5!

Coming to a consensus on your team can be hard... but don't worry! We will learn some approaches that will help!

The ROV Project starts in earnest this week, with a preliminary design review. Make sure to have your slides ready for this meeting.

Lab is 3 hours this week. We need more than 2 hours to get through all of the preliminary design reviews, so we'll combine lab and discussion time this week.

This article about the need for more people trained in maritime-oriented jobs from our own Prof. Matt Collette shows how interconnected the maritime industry is, both globally and in terms of the different types of people needed to keep everything moving across our waters.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Post-Lab 4

Pre-Lab 5

3D Printing; More ROV Examples; Team Dynamics

Tandem Early Survey

Operating agreements and coming to consensus on ROV team design

Meet with your instructors to talk through your ROV design ideas, and learn about what can (and can't!) be built in the lab for your ROV.

This is a three hour lab. Please go to lab at the start of your discussion time.

You will spend your discussion time at the lab; discussions will not meet separately this week.

Welcome to Week 6!

Believe it or not, your first "real" team presentation is next week! We'll continue to talk about what makes a good technical presentation. We will have a lot of work time during lecture so that you and your team can be ready for your DDR presentation next week. Bring your computer and be ready to work!

Discussion and lab will be all about getting your team's ROV plan in place and then getting started with building your ROV system!

Why are visuals so important in presentations? Because they convey both your data and why your audience should care about that data. This article on the myth of letting data "speak for itself" shows how important it is for you to put your conclusions and take-aways right there in the visual along with the data itself.

two lines respresenting the deflection of a beam over time, theoretical vs. measured. There are labels pointing to the lines describing how the lines differ at various points and why. Good visuals have lots of helpful labels!

Image: Laura Alford

Post-Lab 5

Pre-Lab 6

Technical Presentations and DDRs in this class

Readability / Easability, Gantt charts, work time for DDRs

There are a lot of moving pieces to this ROV project, and a lot of people working on the various tasks. It's time to get organized!

Detailed Design Review Slides

Your team is all prepped for the ROV Project... now it's time to put together a formal plan to coordinate your design and efforts so you can successfully build and test your ROV!

Here are the times when the IAs will be holding open labs in 108 GFL. These are extended periods of time when your ROV team can be in the lab working on your ROV. Here's the sign-up sheet for slots!

Sunday, Oct 6th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 9th: 6-9pm
Thursday, Oct 10th: 6pm-9pm
Saturday, Oct 19th: 3pm-6pm
Sunday, Oct 20th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 23rd: 4:30-7:30pm
Saturday, Oct 26th: 12pm-3pm

Welcome to Week 7!

There is a LOT to get done before Fall Break, and we will be busy this week! Open Labs have started. Make sure you and your team know which ones you will be going to. You will NOT be able to complete your ROV on time without going to Open Labs.

The Detailed Design Review on Tuesday is a chance for you to get quality feedback on your ROV design while there is still time to revise your plan. Review the Deliverables section on the DDR for how to get the most out of your time with your external reviewers.

The rest of the week is building your ROV system and updating your project plans based on the feedback you got from your DDR. Make sure your timeline will set you up to successfully drive your ROV at the MHL in a few weeks!

Did you know that Justin, our lab manager, made his own canoe and participated in the 2024 Au Sable River Challenge? Each canoe was given a GPS tracker, and this GPS data was shown live on a tracking website so that friends and family could see where each canoe was (and who was winning!). You can replay the race and get a sense of how everyone did. Justin is canoe C12, can you find him?

Map of middle part of the lower pennisula of Michigan. A river winds across the map from left to right. An animation plays with little circles following the river at different rates. Each circle has a different label, such as C1 or C12.

Image: Laura Alford, adapted from https://trackleaders.com/ausablechallenge24

Post-Lab 6

Pre-Lab 7

Detailed Design Review with External Reviewers

Updating the plan and preparing for your CDR

Individual Change Recommendation Memo

You've got your ROV plan and it's time to GO! Everyone should come to lab ready to make significant progress on building your ROV system (vehicle and control box).

This is a three hour lab. Please go to lab at the start of your discussion time.

You will spend your discussion time at the lab; discussions will not meet separately this week.

Here are the times when the IAs will be holding open labs in 108 GFL. These are extended periods of time when your ROV team can be in the lab working on your ROV. Here's the sign-up sheet for slots!

Sunday, Oct 6th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 9th: 6-9pm
Thursday, Oct 10th: 6pm-9pm
Saturday, Oct 19th: 3pm-6pm
Sunday, Oct 20th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 23rd: 4:30-7:30pm
Saturday, Oct 26th: 12pm-3pm

Welcome to Week 8!

We made it to Fall Break! We hope you're able to do a few things that you help you to rest and recharge.

Next week is your team's Critical Design Review and the last lab period before we go to the MHL.

There is no lab this week because of Fall Break. Make sure your team is going to Open Lab to finish building and testing your ROV. Your goal should be to have a working ROV by next week's lab so that you can do any final testing and tweaking in GFL before the performance evaluation at the MHL.

Intro to engineering courses inspire students to create all kinds of interesting products! The founder of Cocoa Press, a machine for 3D printing delicious-looking chocolates, came up with the idea while in an intro to engineering course in high school. Where do you think the CG and CB are for this chocolate boat?

Image: Cocoa Press gallery

No lecture and no assignments due

Check-in with CDR slides and generally just how things are going

Critical Design Review Slides

No discussion because of Fall Break

No lab because of Fall Break

Here are the times when the IAs will be holding open labs in 108 GFL. These are extended periods of time when your ROV team can be in the lab working on your ROV. Here's the sign-up sheet for slots!

Sunday, Oct 6th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 9th: 6-9pm
Thursday, Oct 10th: 6pm-9pm
Saturday, Oct 19th: 3pm-6pm
Sunday, Oct 20th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 23rd: 4:30-7:30pm
Saturday, Oct 26th: 12pm-3pm

Welcome to Week 9!

This is our last week before we go to the MHL for the performance evaluation. It's going to be a busy time!

This week, your team will have its Critical Design Review. Your goal is to show that you have a completed (and working!) ROV system.

In lecture, we'll go over the procedures for the performance evaluation at the MHL so you know what the plan is for next week. We'll also start discussing the final deliverables for the ROV project.

The Minestro tidal power plant Dragon 12 generates 1.2 MW of power via the motion of a huge underwater "kite". The "kite" is designed to move in a constant figure-eight motion, and the motion is used to drive a generator to create electricity. The Dragon 12 has been successfully commissioned and, in the early morning of February 9, 2024, delivered its first electricity to the national grid in the Faroe Islands.

A yellow airplane looking thing suspended via orange cables from a crane.

Image: Minestro

Post-Lab 7

Pre-Lab 8

Review MHL procedures for performance evaluation and plan what data to record

Tandem Mid-Term Performance Review

Presentations: advanced topics; setting up documents for the final ROV deliverables

Meet with your instructors to update them on your progress. Bringing your ROV to this meeting will be very helpful!

This is a three hour lab. Please go to lab at the start of your discussion time.

You will spend your discussion time at the lab; discussions will not meet separately this week.

Here are the times when the IAs will be holding open labs in 108 GFL. These are extended periods of time when your ROV team can be in the lab working on your ROV. Here's the sign-up sheet for slots!

Sunday, Oct 6th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 9th: 6-9pm
Thursday, Oct 10th: 6pm-9pm
Saturday, Oct 19th: 3pm-6pm
Sunday, Oct 20th: 11am-2pm
Wednesday, Oct 23rd: 4:30-7:30pm
Saturday, Oct 26th: 12pm-3pm
Sunday, Oct 26th: 11am-2pm

Welcome to Week 10!

This week will cover the calculations you need to scale your ROV from the prototype that you are building in this course to the full-scale ROV that would be the next stage of the project.

The last pre-lab assignment is due this week. There will be no more pre-lab assignments for the rest of the semester.

It's MHL week! We're heading to the MHL to evaluate your ROV's performance.

These squishy magnets were developed by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany. The researchers hope that material like this gel could eventually be used for safe and innovative medical treatments.

A human hand wearing a blue surgical glove is shown squeezing a transparent yellow disk of gel.

Image: BioInspired Materials Lab, University of Michigan

Post-Lab 8

Pre-Lab 9

ROV Scaling and Handling Risk in Engineering

No lecture! We've earned a break after going to the MHL.

Go the MHL to evaluate the performance of your ROV! Review the MHL performance evaluation procedures before you arrive.

This is a three hour lab. Please go to lab at the start of your discussion time.

You will spend your discussion time at the lab; discussions will not meet separately this week.

Welcome to Week 11!

We made it through the performance evaluation at the MHL! 🎉

We can now consider all the data and documentation that we gathered and determine what other measurements, video, and pictures we might want to get to help support your documentation in the final presentation and final report.

We will also talk about the innovation video that your team will be making. You'll want to make sure you get some good raw video to use in this!

The last post-lab assignment is due this week. There will be no more post-lab assignments for the rest of the semester.

Need a distraction for somewhere between 5 minutes and 5 days? Check out Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Technology and Power Since 1500, an incredible visual that shows just how complicated human society is. You can zoom in/out and scroll around to see the evolution of communication, how we view human bodies, energy production, how we tell time, and many more!

Black background with a whole lot of tiny line drawings.

Image: CalculatingEmpires.net

Post-Lab 9

Ethics and talking about failure, Innovation Videos and what additional data and video you need

Working meeting: final report and presentation

Planning innovation videos: shot lists, dialogue, etc.

As a team, go over all the data you have and figure out what you still need to get. Then, get the data, take pictures, record video, whatever you need!

Welcome to Week 12!

Your team's Prototype Review Presentation to Client (aka your "final presentation") is next week. So this week, we'll spend a lot of time polishing up slides and rehearsing the presentation!

But don't forget that after your final presentation, you still have a major report to complete about your ROV! We'll have work time for this as well.

Shipping routes to some of the biggest ports in the world also coincide with routes used by whales. These Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are helping ships avoid striking whales. The AUVs gather data that is then shared with nearby ships, alerting ship captains to the presence of whales. The ships can then slow down, giving the whales time to avoid the ships.

Yellow AUV being slide down a ramp to launch into the ocean

Image: CBS Sunday Morning

Working meeting: final presentation

Working meeting: final report

Meet with your instructors to practice your final presentation. During your practice run of your presentation, you will probably find that you need additional data or pictures of your ROV. You will have time in lab to get any last minute documentation you need!

This is a three hour lab. Please go to lab at the start of your discussion time.

You will spend your discussion time at the lab; discussions will not meet separately this week.

Prototype Review Presentation to Client

Welcome to Week 13!

This week is all about the Prototype Review to Client presentation. Otherwise known as your final presentation!

We'll also do a check-in with your team and see how you're progressing, with reference to your Gantt chart.

Your IA will do a final parts and costs audit on your ROV before you disassemble your ROV.

This article at The Verge talks about a study published in Nature that used AI and massive numbers of satellite images to create maps of human activity on the world's oceans.

Maps like these are critically important as we make policy decisions regarding how we use our oceans, from building new offshore wind farms to establishing new nature preserves.

a huge mess of overlapping lines; the lines are white, pink, yellow, and teal

Image: Global Fishing Watch

DRAFT Prototype Review Report to Executive Team

Cost Worksheet

Prototype Review Presentations to Client -- The First 6 Teams

Prototype Review Presentations to Client -- The Other 6 Teams

Work time with Gantt chart check-in

Your team will submit your ROV for a cost audit wherein your IA will check the final version of your ROV against the cost worksheet that you submitted to Canvas. After your cost audit, you will disassemble your ROV. Remaining time will be work time for the final report and innovation video.

Welcome to Week 14!

This is a short week because of Thanksgiving Break. But don't forget about what you and your team are working on!

This week, we'll spend time finalizing your supporting documents for your innovation video.

Make sure that you and your team have a plan for any work that needs to be done over break!

There will be no office hours over Thanksgiving Break. Office hours will resume on Monday, December 2.

Have you noticed that cargo pants are making a comeback? Perhaps it's just their time to shine again in the cycle of fashion. But maybe it's because enough people saw this analysis of the size of women's jeans pockets vs. men's jeans pockets and everyone decided they wanted to actually have pockets again. Check it out, it's a great analysis with fantastic visuals! And a history of pockets!

Jan Diehm & Amber Thomas, The Pudding

Working meeting: final report and innovation video

Innovation Video Script and Scene Descriptions

No lecture because of Thanksgiving Break

No discussion because of Thanksgiving Break

No lab because of Thanksgiving Break

Welcome to Week 15!

We're almost to the end of the semester! Just a few more things to do to wrap everything up.

This is our last week of in-person class meetings! We'll do a workshop on Tuesday that will give you some additional tools to help in future teams. Discussion and lab will be work time for your innovation video and final report.

Our last lecture is Thursday! We will watch everyone's innovation videos and celebrate your hard work this semester!

We've been talking about how to handle numbers in this class. If you don't handle your numbers correctly, you can get unexpected behavior, such as the Minecraft Boat Drop Mystery, where most of the time the boat protects your character from taking damage... but not always. Laura particularly loves the research that goes into debugging this unexpected behavior!

Image: Stand Up Maths / YouTube

ABR Workshop

Innovation Videos!

Work time for final deliverables

Finish your innovation video and work on your final report. Maybe even get it all done and submitted!!