 | the need to make something; that is, to move beyond the textbooks and into the production of artifacts (in this case robots); |
| the need to learn how to integrate knowledge from diverse fields such as electronics, mechanics, and control systems and to bring them to bear upon a single machine -- after all, this is the essence of "systems" engineering, |
| the desire to answer questions such as: "What constitutes intelligence?", or "How does one make a machine robust enough to soundly handle the unexpected?" |
| the need to prove to ourselves that we **can** do it; that to some extent we can forge our own "experience" rather than waiting for others to "give us a break." |
| get an overview of the project's history, its decision-points and future direction, |
| find out which members have become our own in-house domain specialists. |
| establish reasonable schedules, |
| provide a common knowledge base from which meaningful discussion and informed decision-making can be undertaken, |
| accommodate personnel changes without producing a major disruption to the over all flow of the project from semester to semester, |
| introduce a modicum of accountability regarding the completion of tasks, |
| decentralize and democratize control of the project while remaining reasonably effective as a group. |
If you have any questions or comments please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.
Chris Jezovnik
(Project Coordinator)