Mid Term Review
How are we getting on so far and what do we have left to do... let's figure this out!
Assignment
List the tasks to be completed, make a schedule for doing them, meet with your local and global instructors to review these and your weekly assignments.
This week was about taking stock, seeing what I had done and what I had left to do.
To date, I have managed to complete a development board, the 'F' board, which I have been using to programme the servos and get readings from the Adafruit_BNO085 9DOF board - I have been using Arduino IDE to programme the XIAO RP2040 on the 'F' board.
CAD work was progressing well at this stage and I had a good grasp of the general geometry and components that would need to be implemented into the final design.
I was also at the stage where I had a Bill of Materials list that we were in the process of ordering to be able to start building the Stewart Platform.
With the spiral development process in mind, I had to make the decision on what to pursue next - I was having issues working with the small servos and the mix of models that I had to hand - so I decided to park the small version that I had been working on and concentrate on using the larger servos for a small-scale model to prove the concept with - All CAD would now be created to incorporate the larger servos.
image based on the spiral model on wikepedia see link - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_model
I would also meet with my local and global instructors. See image below - getting some advice on my Arduino code.
I started by creating a Gantt Chart of tasks to be completed for the final project to allow me to present. This shows my intended finish date in green.
Tasks to be completed down the first column and the dates across the top.
Red - Not started
Amber - Started
Green - Complete
I did entertain the possibility of driving the South West College Technology van over to FAB 25 in Czechia - but this was just a dream at this stage. Had I been further along with the project and better organised, perhaps it may have been reality - however for now it will remain a Google Maps route!
Issues I've encountered
AGHHHHH!
What went wrong? There is a lot to get done before the final project gets completed. I did consider using Microsoft Project to manage the final project but ultimately decided to keep it very simple as I had so much other work to be getting on with without learning another piece of software.
Learning Outcomes
During this Mid Term Review week, I have achieved the following learning outcomes:
- Developed project management skills through the creation and maintenance of a Gantt chart for the final project
- Enhanced time management abilities by assessing completed work and planning remaining tasks
- Gained experience in project evaluation and progress tracking
- Demonstrated the ability to identify and document project challenges and potential solutions
These outcomes have helped me better understand the scope of my final project and the steps needed to complete it successfully.