10 - Conclusion

Lesson Learnt

Embarking on a project to construct a modified Strandbeest capable of climbing stairs presented a unique blend of engineering challenges and learning opportunities. 

Lessons Learnt as a Group

• When working on such a large project within a timeframe of less than two months, every step is crucial and needs to be meticulously planned. From the ideation phase to the execution phase, a Gantt chart should be developed to allow the team to set goals and quantifiable metrics to be assessed at the end of the week to ensure that the team is keeping up with the set targets. 
• Learn your team's dynamic roles early on and dedicate roles such as kinematic analysis, CAD, and fabrication to individuals who can lead those subtasks. This allows team members to leverage their strengths and lead the team effectively in meeting the success criteria for the project.
• Meet with the teaching team often and be prepared. Bring questions and current plans to the meeting with the teaching team to allow them to help you succeed. More often than not, they will bring up a point that your team may not have thought about and you will be able to quickly adapt your goals to make sure you're on track for success.
• Set clear communication preferences and block out your time for the project and set expectations with team members. This allows the team to plan around everyone's schedule and ensure that everyone is able to contribute to the project without any worries of last-minute obstacles due to scheduling errors.

Tips for Future Groups

The most important tip for future groups would be to make sure that you are scaling your prototype to your full design in a practical and efficient manner. The turnaround time from prototyping to final design is extremely short so make sure that groups are creating prototypes that are at least 50% complete concerning the final design to allow enough time to scale to a final product.

Analysis and Kinematic Challenges

The project's initial phase revealed a significant hurdle: an inadequate kinematic analysis. This miscalculation underscored the essence of thorough preliminary simulations and calculations in mechanical designs, especially for systems with complex motions like a stair-climbing Strandbeest. It taught us the importance of not just relying on theoretical knowledge but also seeking practical insights, particularly from those more experienced in the field. One of the challenges in doing the Kinematic analysis was the coupled nature of different loops of linkages of the entire Jansen Mechanism. This increased the complexity in properly doing the kinematic analysis and also the amount of time it took to implement through code.

Material Management

A shortfall in materials brought to light the importance of detailed planning in material procurement. This experience taught us to meticulously plan for not just the exact requirements but also for contingencies, emphasizing the need for a buffer to accommodate unexpected needs or errors in the prototyping phase. Another additional point to 

Time Management

The late initiation of the project highlighted the significance of effective time management. A more strategic approach, including a realistic project timeline with allowances for unforeseen challenges and iterative testing, would have been more beneficial. Starting earlier could have provided a cushion for these unexpected delays, ensuring a smoother project flow.

Motor Specification and Power Requirements

An essential lesson learned was the importance of accurately estimating motor specifications. Our chosen motor was insufficient to move the mechanism effectively, demonstrating the need for careful selection of components based on power requirements and operational load. 

The Role of Teaching Assistants

One of the most valuable lessons learned was the importance of leveraging the expertise of teaching assistants (TAs). Regular consultations with TAs could have provided early detection of the flaws in our kinematic analysis and material estimates. Their experience and knowledge are invaluable resources, especially in troubleshooting and providing alternative perspectives. This interaction with TAs also fosters a collaborative learning environment, encouraging problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

Acknowledgments

We would like to give a huge shout out to Rohit John Varghese and Sid Desai for being wonderful mentors and instructors, teaching us the skills and knowledge needed to take on such as large project. We would also like to thank everyone in the teaching team for their support in our project, especially Victor and Ashwin for helping us out tremendously in enabling our project and for keeping a very positive attitude towards our project in every stage. We would also like to thank the staff at TIW for helping us fabricate all our parts and allowing us to fully leverage the abilities of the student maker space.