University of Michigan

ENGR 100-600

Intro to Engineering, Underwater Vehicle Design

Canvas
Google Drive
Piazza
PrairieLearn
Tandem

Week 1

Announcements
Welcome! We're glad to have you in ENGR 100-600!
Please join us on Tuesday, August 27th for our first lecture! We're looking forward to seeing you there!
Labs and Discussions WILL MEET this week. Remember to wear long pants and closed-toed shoes to lab!
This is a course about Technical Communication (amongst other things!) and technical communication is all about conveying your way cool ideas to whoever you're trying to explain your cool ideas to. That means knowing your audience and creating engaging text, visuals, audio, and video! Check out the Interesting Link of the Week to see a good example of technical communication for a general audience.
We've posted the first three weeks' schedule here, and we'll try to keep "three weeks ahead" for you throughout the semester.
Interesting Link of the Week

This video from National Geographic about James Cameron's descent to the Mariana Trench is an excellent example of technical communication for a general audience. The video uses an engaging mix of clear text, simple graphics, real-life video, easy-to-grasp facts, arresting music, and an inherent time scale (via the vertical scrolling) to convey the sense of what it would be like to descend to the Mariana Trench -- the deepest part of the ocean that we know about.

 Wooden sign saying 'Welcome to Challenger Deep' with a text box that says 36,070ft. A 3D model of a submersible is shown; the submersible kind of looks like a green gatorade bottle with some windows and various gadgets sticking out of it.Image: National Geographic
Assignments Due

Pre-Lab 1

This is a short assignment to give you some context before you go to lab this week. It won't take long to do, we promise!

Lecture

First Lecture!

Slides / Files

Design-Build-Test-Communicate Demo

Lecture

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

Slides / Files

Discussion

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

Slides / Files

Lab 1: Orientation and Buoyancy

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

Lab Checklist

Lab Instructions

Pre-Lab Assignment

Post-Lab Assignment

Week 2

Announcements
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.
Interesting Link of the Week

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 buttonsImage: Unicom Communications
Assignments Due

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.

Lecture

Intro to ROV Hydrodynamics and Controls

Slides / Files

ROV Controls Activity

Lecture

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!

Assignments Due

Tandem Beginning of Term Survey

Discussion

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

Slides / Files

Lab 2: Controls

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

Lab Checklist

Lab Instructions

Pre-Lab Assignment

Post-Lab Assignment

Week 3

Announcements
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.
Interesting Link of the Week

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
Assignments Due

Post-Lab 2

Pre-Lab 3

Lecture

Hydrodynamic Stability, Where Ideas Come From, Technical Prose

Slides / Files

Assignments Due

Tandem Lesson

Lecture

ROV Prototype Calculations

Slides / Files

Discussion

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

Slides / Files

Lab 3: Hydrodynamics

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

Lab Checklist

Lab Instructions

Pre-Lab Assignment

Post-Lab Assignment

Week 4

Announcements
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.
Interesting Link of the Week

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
Assignments Due

Post-Lab 3

Pre-Lab 4

Individual Design Proposal

Lecture

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

Slides / Files

Assignments Due

Tandem Lesson

Lecture

Introduction to Design: Objectives and Constraints

Slides / Files

Assignments Due

Tandem Team Check

← SUNDAY
Individual Design Proposal Workshop

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

Discussion

Learn about combining ideas and prepare for your PDR

Slides / Files

Lab 4: 3D Modeling

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).

Lab Checklist

Lab Instructions

Pre-Lab Assignment

Post-Lab Assignment

Week 5

Announcements
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.
Interesting Link of the 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.

Container ship Sirrah, IMO 9255402, Unifeeder at container terminal Tollerot, port of Hamburg-1029240 Image: Wikimedia Commons
Assignments Due

Post-Lab 4

Pre-Lab 5

Lecture

3D Printing; More ROV Examples; Team Dynamics

Slides / Files

Assignments Due

Tandem Early Survey

Lecture

Operating agreements and coming to consensus on ROV team design

Slides / Files

Assignments Due

Tandem Team Check

Lab 5: Preliminary Design Review and Construction Techniques

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.

Lab Checklist

Lab Instructions

Pre-Lab Assignment

Post-Lab Assignment

Week 6

Announcements
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!
Interesting Link of the Week

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
Assignments Due

Post-Lab 5

Pre-Lab 6

Lecture

Technical Presentations and DDRs in this class

Slides / Files

Assignments Due

Tandem Lesson

Lecture

Readability / Easability, Gantt charts, work time for DDRs

Slides / Files

Assignments Due

Tandem Team Check

Discussion

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!

Slides / Files

Lab 6: ROV Plan & Prep

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!

Lab Checklist

Lab Instructions

Pre-Lab Assignment

Post-Lab Assignment

Professor Office Hours

Office Hours with Prof. Alford

If these times don't work for you, just send me an email with some times that work for you. I'm sure we can figure something out!


Thursday 1:30-2:00pm

After lecture


Friday 12:30-1:00pm

B521 Pierpont (go to the little room that's inside the ENGR 101 office hours room)

Office Hours with Prof. Fowler

I am available at these times and by appointment. So, if these times don't work for you, please email me!


Wednesday 2-3pm

5114 Engineering Research Building (ERB)

Office Hours with Prof. Hibbard

I am available at these times and via Zoom by appointment. So, if these times don't work for you, please email me!


Wednesday 11am-12pm

5109 Engineering Research Building (ERB)

IA Office Hours

Office Hours with Sakthi

I teach the Tuesday 2:30pm lab, but everyone is welcome!


Monday 6:00-7:00pm

108 GFL

Office Hours with Lyn

I teach the Wednesday 10:30am lab, but everyone is welcome!


Thursday 5:30-6:30pm

108 GFL

Office Hours with Molly

I teach the Wednesday 2:30pm lab, but everyone is welcome!


Tuesday 4:30-5:30pm

108 GFL

Office Hours with Ian

I'm the "swing IA", so I'm not teaching lab this semester, but you'll see me around helping out! Come by and say hi!


Wednesday 4:30-5:30pm

108 GFL

Course Essentials

Syllabus

All the details

Global Flotation Laboratories (GFL) Employee Handbook

Norms and expectations for "employees" of GFL, Inc., a fictional company that you will pretend to work for in this course.

People

Meet the course staff!

Technical Content

Reference material for the technical aspects of the course.

Communication Resources

Updated resources will be added soon!

The ROV Project

Background Content

Reference material for the technical aspects of the ROV project.

Statement of Work

Description of the ROV project and the tasks your ROV will need to complete.

Deliverables

Detailed descriptions of all of the assignments for the ROV project, including the format of the assignment, what is required for each assignment, and advice on how to do well.

SolidWorks Parts Library

A set of pre-built 3D models of common ROV parts, including the payload, camera, and thrusters. Please use these when creating your 3D model -- it will save you time and frustration!

Cost Worksheet

Template for your ROV's total parts list and cost estimation. Make a copy of this worksheet and then complete it with the final parts list for your ROV.

ROV Control Box Assembly

Step-by-step instructions for assembling a basic ROV Control Box. Your team will be able to choose where you want your buttons and switches to go!

Project Timeline

Sep 16

Individual Design Proposal Report

Sep 24

Preliminary Design Review

Oct 07

Detailed Design Review

Oct 21

Critical Design Review

Oct 29

ROV Performance Evaluation at MHL

Nov 18

Prototype Review Presentation to Client

Dec 04

Innovation Video

Dec 09

Prototype Review Report to Executive Team

Schedule of Topics

Week 1

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Pre-Lab 1 Due
First Day! Design-Build-Test-Communicate Intros, audience, emails Lab 1: Orientation & Buoyancy
The ROV Project

Week 2

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Labor Day Post-Lab 1 Due
Pre-Lab 2 Due
Intro to ROV Hydrodynamics and Controls memo format, quad charts, templates; creating a proposal Lab 2: Controls
Real World Engineering: Industry Guest Lecture
Tandem Beginning of Term Survey Due

Week 3

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 2 Due
Pre-Lab 3 Due
Hydrodynamic Stability, Technical Prose, Visuals Design decision making Lab 3: Hydrodynamics
Tandem Lesson Due
ROV Prototype Calculations

Week 4

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 3 Due
Pre-Lab 4 Due
Individual Design Proposal Due
Visuals, Presentations, Pitching Ideas; Meet Your Team; CRAP Where ideas come from, combining ideas, PDR prep Lab 4: 3D Modeling
Tandem Lesson Due
Introduction to Design: Objectives and Constraints
Tandem Team Check Due
Assignment on Group Communication Due

Week 5

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 4 Due
Pre-Lab 5 Due
3D Printing; More ROV Examples; Team Dynamics 3 HOUR LAB
Lab 5: Preliminary Design Review and Construction Techniques

Go to lab at your regular discussion time.
Your team will be pulled out for your PDR meeting. 		PDR slides ready at start of your lab
Tandem Early Survey Due
Operating agreements and coming to consensus on ROV team design
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 6

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 5 Due
Pre-Lab 6 Due
Technical Presentations and DDRs in this class Audience analysis: making a case to Justin & your IA Lab 6: ROV Plan and Prep
Tandem Lesson Due
Readability / Easability, Gantt charts, work time for DDRs

Tandem Team Check Due

Week 7

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 6 Due
Pre-Lab 7 Due
Detailed Design Review Slides Due
Detailed Design Review w/External Reviewers 3 HOUR LAB
Lab 7: ROV Build

Go to lab at your regular discussion time.
Tandem Lesson Due
Review of data needed for CDRs, work time with CDR slides
Tandem Team Check Due
Individual Change Recommendation Memo Due

Week 8

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Fall Break!
No discussion because of Fall Break No lab because of Fall Break Tandem Lesson Due
Check-in on CDR slides, work time
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 9

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 7 Due
Pre-Lab 8 Due
Critical Design Review Slides Due
MHL procedures for performance evaluation, what data to record 3 HOUR LAB
Lab 8: Critical Design Review

Go to lab at your regular discussion time.
Your team will be pulled out for its Critical Design Review presentation. The rest of the time is build/test time.
Tandem Mid-Term Performance Review Due
Presentations: Advanced Topics, setting up documents for the final ROV deliverables
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 10

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 8 Due
Pre-Lab 9 Due
Statistics and Probability in Engineering 3 HOUR LAB
Lab 9: ROV Performance Evaluation at MHL

Go to the MHL in West Hall on Central Campus at your regular discussion time.
Tandem Lesson Due
ROV Scaling and Handling Risk in Engineering
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 11

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Post-Lab 9 Due
Ethics and talking about failure, Innovation Videos, Planning what additional data and video you need Planning videos: shot lists, dialogue, etc. Lab 10: Post-Performance Evaluation Data Gathering
Tandem Lesson Due
Working meeting: final report and presentation
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 12

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Giving and receiving feedback, Working meeting: final presentation 3 HOUR LAB
Lab 11: Dress Rehearsal for Prototype Review Presentation to Client

Go to lab at your regular discussion time.
Your team will be pulled out for a dress rehearsal of your Prototype Review Presentation to Client. 		Presentation slides ready at start of your lab
Tandem Lesson Due
Working meeting: final report
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 13

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Prototype Review Presentation to Client Due
DRAFT Prototype Review Report to Executive Team Due
Prototype Review Presentations to Client -- The First 6 Teams Work time with Gantt chart check-in Lab 12: ROV Tear down and documentation
Tandem Lesson Due
Prototype Review Presentations to Client -- The Other 6 Teams
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 14

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Working meeting: final report and innovation video No discussion because of Thanksgiving Break No lab because of Thanksgiving Break Innovation Video Script and Scene Descriptions Due
Thanksgiving Break!

Week 15

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
ABR Workshop work time for final deliverables Lab 13: Work Time for Final Deliverables
Innovation Video Due
Course Wrap-up and Watch Innovation Videos
Tandem Team Check Due

Week 16

Lecture

Discussion

Lab

Assignments Due
Last Day of Class! Prototype Review Report to Executive Team Due
No lecture, classes are over No discussion, classes are over No lab, classes are over
Tandem End of Term Feedback Survey Due
No lecture, classes are over