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Background on the Project NISH
(National Institute for the Severely Handicapped) webpage |
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Select Design Reports and Presentations > Halliday's Heroes Design Report (11/07)
> MeToo Design Report (11/07) > HH
Design Decision Presentation (2/08)
>
MeToo Design Decision Presentation (2/08) > HH Final Report: PROSTHETIC ARM FORCE REDUCER (6/08) > MeToo Final Report: LIFT ASSIST DEVICE (6/08) > HH
NISH Summary: PROSTHETIC ARM FORCE REDUCER (6/08) > MeToo NISH Summary: LIFT ASSIST DEVICE (6/08) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Superior
Student Solutions Design Report (11/07)
> Team
ABP Conceptual Design Report (11/07) > SSS Final Report: PULL-PULL CABLE SAW SYSTEM > ABP Final Report: PLASTIC TAB DISTRIBUTING DEVICE (6/08) FOR CARDBOARD CUTTING (6/08) > SSS
NISH Summary: PULL-PULL CABLE SAW > ABP
NISH Summary: PLASTIC TAB DISTRIBUTING DEVICE (6/08) SYSTEM FOR CARDBOARD CUTTING (6/08) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Stocker
Center Street Gang Design Report (11/07) > Team
Redundancy Team Design Report (11/07) > SCSG
Design Decision Presentation (2/08) > TRT
Design Decision Presentation (Feb
'08) > SCSG Final Report: TORQUE-ASSIST WHEELCHAIR (6/08)
> TRT Final Report: BALLPOINT PEN ASSEMBLY JIG (6/08) > SCSG
NISH Summary: TORQUE-ASSIST W-CHAIR
(6/08) > TRT
NISH Summary: BALLPOINT PEN ASSEMBLY JIG (6/08) |
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Video
/ Slideshow of Customer Demo Day (55
MB wmv file) |
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Other Info about the SrD course: The capstone design experience
is truly an integrative learning experience for our students, where they
apply many of the skills they have developed over their academic careers and
also (we hope) make the connection between learning and life. The context in which engineers work is
extremely important, so we put a lot of emphasis on selecting an important
problem to work on and on developing appropriate solutions that can truly
benefit individuals and society. Another important aspect
of the capstone experience is the emphasis on teamwork and professional
skills. Students often work in groups
for labs and class projects, but in this class we focus on how to work
effectively in teams, and for many students this is the first time they find
themselves in a situation in which the project is so complex that they cannot
succeed without contributions from all team members. So they are forced to find ways to work
together, to listen to each other, to communicate with each other, and to
make good decisions based on consensus.
Through experience they come to realize the importance of
non-technical characteristics such as leadership, organization, integrity,
patience, initiative, dedication, resourcefulness, humility, and being a team
player. In "learning"
design, there is no substitute for actually building and testing a
"paper design" and having to deal with the manufacturing issues
caused by your design decisions. The
students learn many lessons by building and testing the prototypes that can
never be learned in a classroom. They
usually go through a period of frustration in which it looks like they won't
be able to complete their projects, to a period of great pride when they pull
together as a team and overcome all of the issues and produce a prototype
that actually does what it is supposed to do. Instructor Comments: The
role of the instructor of the class changes significantly over the course of
the year. Since the purpose of the
class is to help the students make the transition from being students to
being engineers, my role is to put myself out of a job. In other words, early in the year I try to
help the students develop a better understanding of what it means to be a
"good engineer", and to encourage them to act like professional
engineers and to justify all of their decisions. As the year progresses we continue to focus
on teamwork issues and other professional skills since we are not only
interested in "how to do engineering" but "how to be an
engineer". As the year progresses
the most satisfying thing for me is to see myself become unnecessary. When the students get to the point where
instead of looking for someone to tell them what to do they are making good
decisions on their own and confidently defending them, I know they have begun
to see themselves as engineers, and their transition from student to engineer
is complete. ·
Team Formation activities and Conceptual Design Activities
– Fall
07 ·
Design Refinement Activities – Winter 08 ·
Prototype Construction and Testing and Final Design – Spring 08
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