Critical Design Review

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The purpose of the Critical Design Review is to present the “design” of your project, which is the next step after the conceptual model and plan that was shown at the Preliminary Design Review. The audience should get a clear picture of the progress being made on the implementation of your robot, not further consideration on how to design it. This presentation can be broken down into two main parts – an update on any changes or additions made to the design and the results from modeling/experiments. Keep in mind that things can still change with the design, so what is presented here does not have to be the “final” design.

Please keep the following things in mind for the CDR.

  1. Make sure to follow the CDR outline exactly. You will be graded on everything that is listed below. Anything that is missing will be deducted accordingly. If there is material that is outside the scope of the outline, it will be taken into consideration.
  2. The presentation should be around 45-60 minutes long. You will not be allowed to go beyond 60 minutes.
  3. Each person should present their own work. Review your roles to understand each person’s responsibilities for the presentation. Keep in mind that the quality of the presentation will be considered for the project manager’s grade.
    1. Make sure to address the reason why someone may be taking on the work of another role. We will give credit to the person that completed the work.
  4. Be familiar with the material. Do not read from the overhead or from a sheet of paper. You can have a note card to help reference material but your focus should be with the audience. Speak clearly, with authority, and eloquently.

Table of Contents

Outline

As mentioned above, the CDR is focused on explaining the chosen design that is going to be implemented and the work that has been done to make it a reality. It should give us a clear indicator of whether the project will be completed by the end of the semester. Please keep the following in mind as you read through the outline.

For the chosen design, make sure to include everything that is relevant such as requirements, system block diagram, software, SolidWorks model, etc. Do not omit anything that was presented before at the PDR. While it will make the presentation much longer, you will not be going over every single thing. The reason for including everything is to keep everything organized in one place as we evaluate what has been changed and the decisions made about the implementation. When presenting, please focus on what has been updated in each section.

For the results of modeling/experiments, make sure to provide details about the results and what should come next. At this point, you should be attempting to make sure the selected parts are going to work as intended in the final design. This would involve rapid prototyping, making several 3D prints, developing the control software, and so on. There should not be any trade off studies or back of the envelope calculations here. They can be referred to as justification for choosing specific parts but they are not the focus here.

Title Slide / Cover Page

This section of the presentation / document should contain the following:

  • Name of project and current school term
  • Team member names and respective division assignments
  • Project related picture or illustration. At this point, you should have a clear idea of what the final product will look like. Ideally, this should be represented by an exploded 3D view of the SolidWorks model, an annotated illustration or photo of the best prototype.

I.E.

Goliath

EE 400D Spring 2017

Person XYZ (Project Manager)

Presenter – PM

Grading – PM

Executive Summary

The executive summary should provide an overview of the most important aspects of your project. The concept behind this is that an executive will only have enough time to listen to this part of the presentation before moving on. This could be considered the abstract if we are talking about academic papers (such as the Final Project Report). It should be broken down into three parts, the project objectives and mission profile, design, and project features.

Project Objectives and Mission Profile (1 slide) – should include what was shown at PDR. If there were any changes or updates, clearly indicate that on the slides.

The Design (1 slide) – should be an annotated photo, illustration, or exploded 3D model showing the major subsystems/components of your design.

Project Features (1 slide) – should highlight the key and/or innovative design features of your robot. (IE size reduction compared to previous generations, incorporation of solar panel to power system, etc)

Presenter – PM

Grading – Entire Project

Performance Requirements

The section should present all of the performance requirements for the chosen design. Make sure to keep everything that was presented at PDR and has not been modified. Do not spend time going through each of the requirements during the presentation. Focus on the major changes and additions.

One additional slide to add to the end of this section is a table to show the mapping of these requirements to the tests that will be done in the Verification Test Plan. Ideally, this would be the Verification Test Matrix which shows the specific test case / number that each requirement is verified with. This is not the same as what was discussed at PDR with the method of verification. The test case / number is a specific procedure that may verify multiple requirements at once. This table should show the thought process behind the plan to verify every requirement.

Refer to the Requirements and Constraints lecture for more details.

Presenter – PM/MST

Grading – PM & MST

Constraints and Engineering Standards

Present Constraints and Engineering Standards on the project imposed by The Robot Company and Project Stakeholders as defined in the “Constraints and Engineering Standards” lecture. Specifically include company (i.e., University) safety standards and those safety standards associated
with the product (e.g., Children’s Toys).

Presenter – PM/MST

Grading – PM & MST

Systems / Subsystems Design

System Block Diagram

This section should be an updated and more detailed version of the system block diagram presented at PDR. It should clearly show all of the major subsystems/components and show how they are interconnected. At this point, additional information such as the types of connectors, the number of wires, types of communication protocols, and so on should be provided. When presenting, be sure to walk the audience through the diagram and provide a brief explanation.

Presenter – MST
Grading – MST

Interface Matrix / Definitions & Cable Tree

This section is focused on the pin allocations, connectors, and wiring method for the project. The interface matrix is an updated version of what was shown at the PDR. Keep in mind that you should have two to three interface matrices based on the microcontroller and number of custom PCBs. Each interface matrix should show how the pins are allocated for each device and there will be some overlap.

For the “cable tree”, this is showing how the wires, cables, and connectors will be integrated in the final product. You can consider this as the wiring harness or wiring diagram that is developed by the E&C and D&M engineers. This should show how the wires are connected to the electronics and how they are organized within the robot. Several things you should consider here are labeling and keying connectors, color coding the wires, and methods for securing the wires to the insides of the robot.  Loose wires should be routed through spaghetti tubing.  Ideally, this should be a 3D model to visualize how it will be done but an annotated illustration is the next best thing. A hand drawn sketch will not be acceptable if it is hard to follow. All of this is to ensure you are considering a clean design to avoid “wire rats nest”.

If your project has an interface control document (ICD), it should go here.

Presenter – MST

Grading – MST & Engineers involved with cable tree

Mission Command and Control

This section is an extension of the software design from the PDR. It is mainly focused on the work of the MST engineer to customize the ArxRobot App and/or Arxterra Control Panel and writing the custom commands and telemetry. You should be showing how the robot will be controlled and your progress on that implementation. This includes screenshots of the custom user interface on the app or control panel, custom avatars, and the code for the custom commands/telemetry. Make sure to tie this back to the original software flowcharts and block diagrams and where they fit in. This will help give an idea of how much work has been completed and what else is left.

You can find information about how to create custom avatars here.

Examples of previous avatars are found here.

Presenter – MST

Grading – MST

Electronic System Design

Components List

This section should provide the full list of electronic components that are being used in the chosen design. Make sure to provide the full description of each part and provide an explanation for why it was chosen. For example, if your project is using shaft encoders, what is it being used for? Why was that specific model chosen instead of the alternatives? Feel free to reference any trade off studies or back of the envelope calculations for this. However, it would be more sensible to refer back to the requirements.

Presenter – E&C

Grading – E&C

Firmware

This section is an extension of the software design from the PDR. It is mainly focused on the work of the E&C engineer to control the electronic components (motors, sensors, etc) and develop the code that will be used in the custom commands/telemetry of the ArxRobot App or Arxterra Control Panel. For example, this would cover the code to drive the motors, read information from the relevant sensors or ICs, and how the robot will turn. You should go into detail about key functions and how they will work in the overall software flowchart. All C/C++ code should have comments.

Presenter – E&C

Grading – E&C

PCB Schematic

This section is focused on the schematic for the custom PCB(s) created in EagleCAD or any other alternative software. The schematic should clearly show how the components are connected on the PCB and names for the wires / pins. Before you arrived at this point, you will need to confirm that the schematic works by breadboarding it. You must include a video or photo of the operational circuit. For example, if your robot has a custom PCB for sensors and extra motors, you should breadboard all of the components and show that it is functioning with the firmware from the previous section. Make sure to confirm that the schematic passes the ERC test.

Presenter – E&C

Grading – E&C

PCB Layout

This section is focused on the PCB layout developed from the schematic. At this point, the PCB should have been sent in for approval and feedback on modifications may be incorporated. If they have not been incorporated, discuss what you will be changing. Make sure that the layout passes the DRC test for the manufacturer you plan to use.

Presenter – E&C

Grading – E&C

Mechanical Design

This section is focused on the chosen mechanical design. This should be the exploded view of the SolidWorks model, which will help show how the parts come together for the final product. Please indicate any changes from the PDR. If you have any prototypes or the most recent prints, bring them to show to the audience.

Presenter – D&M

Grading – D&M

Rapid Prototyping / Initial Prints

This section is focused on the work done by the D&M engineer to test the mechanical design. Mechanical mock-ups, rapid prototypes, and initial prints are all included here. Please provide pictures and a discussion of the results from this. For example, if a rapid prototype was made with popsicle sticks, talk about any issues that came up and resulted in design changes.

Presenter – D&M

Grading – D&M

Other Modeling / Experiment Results

This section is focused on any other modeling or experiments that were done that have not been covered in their respective sections. This would be Mission Command and Control for MST, PCB Schematic and Firmware for E&C, and Rapid Prototyping / Initial Prints for D&M. If there is nothing to include, inform the audience.

Presenter – Person(s) who completed the work

Grading – Person(s) who completed the work

Verification Test Plan Overview

This section is focused on presenting the Verification Test plan developed by the MST engineer. It should provide a summary of the number of test cases / number, an overview of how the tests will be performed, and how to evaluate success or failure of those requirements. You do not need to go into detail about every test. It should be related to the table mentioned in the requirements & constraints section.

Presenter – MST

Grading – MST

Updated Project Status

Power Shared Resource Report / Allocation

This is the updated version of what was shown at PDR. Do not remove or modify any of the previous values without justification. The additions you will be making are the exact or measured values. By this point, you should be able to make those measurements. If you are still waiting for the parts to come in, explain that to the audience.

Presenter – MST

Grading – MST

Mass Shared Resource Report / Allocation

This is the updated version of what was shown at PDR. Do not remove or modify any of the previous values without justification. The additions you will be making are the exact or measured values. By this point, you should be able to make those measurements. If you are still waiting for the parts to come in or be fabricated, explain that to the audience.

Presenter – MST

Grading – MST

Other Shared Resource Report(s) / Allocation

Any other resources tracked by the system engineer. For example, 3DoT projects using a 3D printer must follow the (3/3/9) rule. That means that any print cannot exceed 3 hours, there cannot be more than 3 separate prints, and the total print time cannot exceed 9 hours. Make sure that the print times are tracked properly.

Presenter – Anyone

Grading – Entire Project

Cost

This is the updated version of what was shown at PDR. Do not remove or modify any of the previous values without justification. The additions made here should be the actual amounts paid so far. Make sure to mention where you are at in regards to the pre-purchase approval forms and reimbursement forms.

Presenter – PM

Grading – PM

Updated Project Schedule

This section is focused on the updated project schedule. Make sure to highlight the remaining tasks to complete. It is necessary to present the remaining critical path to project completion. What this means is to show the order of the most important tasks to complete that will delay everything else. For example, the verification test plan cannot be completed without constructing a prototype and that prototype is dependent on the mechanical, electrical, and software designs being finished. This is the point where it is apparent if the project will finish in time or needs help to get back on track.

Presenter – PM

Grading – PM

Burndown

This section is focused on the updated burndown. It will provide a visual interpretation of the amount of work left to complete the project. Discussion of plans to get the project back on track should be shown here if necessary.

Presenter – PM

Grading – PM

Demonstrations

If there is enough time after the presentations, we will go around looking for demonstrations from the projects. This includes showing the breadboarded circuit, rapid prototypes, ArxRobot App modifications. If you have any advanced demonstrations such as showing the robot controlled by the app, feel free to prepare that as well.

Appendix A: Additional Notes

As mentioned in class during discussions of action items being closed, any action items listed in the meeting minutes can only be closed out in a few specific ways (blog post, physical model, etc). An exception was made this semester where any previously closed items would need to be presented at CDR. At the end of your presentation, please include a list of all action items that have been completed and the relevant work to finish it. If it was presented in the CDR, indicate which slide(s).

Checklist and/or Demo

  • Breadboard Video
  • PCB Approved
  • Mechanical Mock-up
  • Arxterra Robot App & Library Demo
  • Custom Command & Telemetry
  • Arxterra Control Panel Custom Icons
  • Blog Post(s)

Grading

Your final CDR grade will be a weighted average of the following elements.

  • Project
    • Presentation Grade (content)
    • Project Readiness (includes items in the previous section, demo(s), etc.)
  • Individual
    • Presentation Grade (content as defined in the outline)
    • Presentation Grade (style)
    • Tasks Completed (Appendix A and/or Blog Posts)

For additional tips on your CDR review, I would recommend reviewing the PDR PowerPoint presentation.