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QUIZ PREP

Have Quiz sheet ready. Title = QUIZ 9»Name (L, F, MI), »Today’s date 10/16/12, »Lab day , time» section number

Lab Day/Time Section Number

Monday, 1:00 8

Monday, 3:00 9

Wed., 1:00 10

Wed, 3:00 11

Friday, 1:00 12

Lab Day/Time Section Number

Mon. 1:00 8

Mon. 3:00 9

Tue. 2:00 36

Wed. 1:00 10

Wed. 3:00 11

Thu. 2:00 35

Fri. 1:00 12

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Announcements

Preliminary Design Report due in lab, next

week.

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Project Rules

Check Syllabus for Details! 7. No items other than Lego parts may be used to add weight to the

vehicle. 10.  The output voltage from the voltage regulator (Vo) must be less than

or equal to 10.0V. A penalty of 1 second will be added to the course completion time for every 0.5V above 10V. For example,» Vo ≤ 10.0V = no penalty

» 10.0V < Vo ≤ 10.5V = 1 second penalty

» 10.5V < Vo ≤ 11.0V = 2 second penalty

» etc. 11.  Each car must be constructed so that the output voltage can be easily

measured before the race. 12.  No modifications are allowed to the transmitter, receiver, or motor

control board.

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Batteries

Voltage drops as battery discharges Voltage drops as output current increases

(increasing load) Typical 9V alkaline data sheet: http://208.173.184.182/oem/Pdf/new/MN16

04_US_CT.pdf

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9 V Battery Data Sheet

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Preliminary Design Report Describe design tradeoffs (six minimum) –

see format slides. Justify your decisions. Use Pugh charts. Explain any disadvantages, and why you’ll

tolerate them. Include supporting drawings, figures, and

tables if needed. Detailed format and rubric are at bottom of

public class web page (not Canvas).

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Lego Car Design Tradeoffs Output voltage

» Higher output voltage increases speed» Penalties apply above 10V

Power supply (batteries)» One 9V battery (light, but less than 10V)» Two 9V batteries (≥10V, but heavy)» Watch batteries (very light, but drain quickly)

Wheel size and gears» Torque vs. speed tradeoff

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Lego Car Design Tradeoffs Drive strategy

» Front / rear wheel drive – controllability vs. stability

Course path» Passing through all gates vs. missing gates (time

penalty)» Pushing block vs. not pushing block (time penalty)

Body» Light vs. heavy – speed vs. ability to push block

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Pugh Chart

BEST

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Communication in Engineering

Importance of communication in engineering

Document design

Structure in writing

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Communication in Engineering

According to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET):» Engineering programs must demonstrate that

their graduates have:– an ability to communicate effectively– an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams

These criteria are driven by industry demand, not ivory-tower wish lists!

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Integration in Engineering Curriculum

In real life, engineering cannot be separated from writing/speaking.

You should develop the habit of engineering and communicating together.

You can learn to communicate best by communicating about your own work.

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Communication in Engineering In a survey of recent engineering graduates,

the respondents estimated that they spent 38% of their time in writing tasks.

“Here at [my company], engineers who can effectively communicate across a broad range of

topics typically move faster up the corporate ladder than those who communicate poorly.”

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What Do They Do with that 38%?!

Typical examples are:» memos» reports» email» documentation» proposals» technical articles

An engineer’s output is more typically a document rather than a device.

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Why?

Design Test Manufacture Marketing

These three tasks are typically performed by different people.

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Why Should We Care -- Really?

Clear communication is closely related to clear thinking.» Thinking through preliminary report» Presenting technical material to a class or

project group Form (grammar, style, structure) can

distract or enhance.» You want your audience to focus on your point.» Poor grammar & style reflect unprofessionally.

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Document Design

Purpose

Audience

Choice of Material

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Purpose for Writing

An effective technical writer will always be aware of the purpose of the communication.» Report progress on a project» Document results of prototype design» Provide a manufacturing specification» Instruct users about operating your software» Persuade others to buy your product or hire

your services

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Audience, Audience, Audience

Consider your audience. Consider your audience. Consider your audience. Specialists, technical (broad scope), non-

technical adults, children Friendly or skeptical. Consider your audience.

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Audience Issues

Put yourself in their shoes -- What do I want them to know? Why will they care? How much time will they invest? Can I find a way to bridge the gap between

what I want them to know and what they want to know?

Why am I writing this?

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Choice of Material -- Two Errors

Leaving out important background material (assuming too much)

“We found that adding a capacitor into the circuit didn’t improve the performance enough to justify the

penalty.”

Giving needless details“We had trouble finding the capacitor we wanted. After

searching for it at several stores, we ordered it over the Internet for $0.79 and received a free laser pointer as a bonus.”

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Leaving Out Background Info

Intimidates your audience. Loses your audience. Offends your audience.

Result: You fail to communicate.

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Giving Needless Details

Obscures the main point Bores the audience Wastes audience time Wastes writer time

Result: You fail to communicate effectively.

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Choice of Material

Define uncommon acronyms and jargon.

Provide short summary at the beginning to hedge your bets with the impatient.

Provide appendices at the end to hedge your bets with the inquisitive.

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Jargon

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Avoid “Buzz Words”

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Structure

Information is interpreted more easily and more uniformly if it is placed where most readers expect to find it.

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The Topic Position

The beginning of the sentence

Usually contains “old information”

Provides linkage and context

Prepares the reader for upcoming material by connecting it backward to the previous discussion

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The Stress Position

The end of the sentence

Usually contains “new information” that the writer wants to emphasize

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Structural Principles Follow a grammatical subject as soon as

possible with its verb. Place the person or thing whose "story" a

sentence is telling at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic position.

Place appropriate "old information" (material already stated in the discourse) in the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward.

Place in the stress position the "new information" you want the reader to emphasize.

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Industry Perspective

One survey of an EE industrial advisory board found the following deficiencies in EE grads:» inability to clearly present ideas» inability to describe reason for a communication» inability to write a logical paragraph» production of long, rambling, unorganized reports» excessive use of jargon, buzz words, and acronyms

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Are Engineers Really That Bad?

Definitely not. Engineers are some of the best communicators!

Compare English ACT scores at AU:» Engineers -- 24.92 (2nd highest college)» All other majors -- 23.23

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Whence the Stereotype? The information engineers must

communicate is hard to understand.

Engineers are required to communicate a great deal on top of their technical work.

Engineers tend to lack confidence and motivation in communication and prefer to stick to technical material.

2X

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Be Humble

Only a few people will read the entire report

Busy managers and your peers will read SELECTIVELY

Title Page, Executive Summary, and Introduction are most widely read. Write these especially carefully.

X

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QUIZ PREP

Have Quiz sheet ready. Title = QUIZ 9»Name (L, F, MI), »Today’s date 10/16/12, »Lab day , time» section number

Lab Day/Time Section Number

Monday, 1:00 8

Monday, 3:00 9

Wed., 1:00 10

Wed, 3:00 11

Friday, 1:00 12

Lab Day/Time Section Number

Mon. 1:00 8

Mon. 3:00 9

Tue. 2:00 36

Wed. 1:00 10

Wed. 3:00 11

Thu. 2:00 35

Fri. 1:00 12

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QUIZ 9

1. How many Pugh charts should your PDR have, at minimum?

2. Where should the Executive Summary of your PDR be located?

3. Where do you submit your PDR? 4. When is your PDR due? (a) start of

next lecture (b) start of my Lab 10.---END OF QUIZ---