To be able to complete this project, we identified several things we'd need to know how to do.  These things can be broken down into six categories: programming, control theory, communication theory, mechanical construction, mechanical parts, and electrical parts.  We had about half of these areas covered already, and had to work on learning about the rest.

Due to the nature of our studies, we felt we had these first three categories covered.  First, since the robot was to be autonomous, all of it's actions and decision making would have to be programmed in.  As a result, this was to be a major part of the project.  Fortunately, both David and Zach had extensive programming experience, so this category was well covered.  Next, in order to make sure the robot was truly behaving the way it was supposed to, some sort of feedback control would have to be implemented.  Without this, the robot could easily get lost.  Still, both Zach and Dan had taken a linear feedback controls class, so we felt we could handle any problem that may arise from this.  Finally, since the robot needed a communications link with the computer to be able to operate correctly, we figured it would be important to know how this worked.  Since Zach and Dan Had taken a digital communications class, we believed we had this area covered.

While the first three categories dealt with things we'd been studying already, the next three dealt with things outside of our collective experiences.  First, we really didn't understand the kinds of trade offs that would have to be made in order to pick the best construction materials.  Also, none of us knew how to go about choosing the best parts for our robot like wheels, motors, or batteries.  Then, while we did understand basic electrical operations, none of us had ever worked with a Handy Board, this specific communications system, or tried to get location information from a digital camera.  In order to complete this project, we'd need to do all these things.

Since Dr. Beard and Dr. Archibald recognized the potential to struggle with some of these issues, they held meetings that would discuss these areas.  We found them to be useful, but beyond that our main resources were Mobile Robots: Inspiration to Implementation by Joseph L. Jones and Anita M. Flynn as well as manuals for the various electrical components.  With access to these things, we felt we knew enough to start designing, and what we still didn't know, we felt confident we could figure out.

Requirements and Specifications
Design Criteria
Body-Of-Knowledge
Evaluating Alternatives
Selected Design
Schedule
Building and Programming
The Competition
Conclusion
Meet the Team
Images
Links