AscendRobotics/AscendData · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Again, be specific and thorough when analyzing strategy
Design Process
At some point in every team's season, they will realize that their current robot simply will not do. Then, they are forced to redesign and start from scratch.
The Engineering Notebook Rubric is well aware of this fact; one of the requirements is
Show that the design process is repeated multiple times to improve performance on a design goal, or robot/game performance.
Thus, a redesign has to be properly justified in the notebook. Perhaps the robot needs a faster drivetrain or a smaller chassis, so it can navigate the field faster. Or maybe the other mechanisms on the robot can be replaced with something better. Whatever it is, make sure the notebook explains why the new design will be better than the old one.
Here's an example of a redesign justification from Spin Up:


Show that the new design is better--because it is!
Project Management
This part of the notebook is intuitive, but often overlooked or implemented inconsistently. For each meeting, there should be set goals, and the notebook should evaluate whether or not the team met those goals at the end of the meeting. Additionally, the notebook should keep track of time and resource constraints that are relevant to the team.
The Engineering Notebook Rubric puts it this way:
Provides a complete record of team and project assignments; team meeting notes including goals, decisions, and building/programming accomplishments; Design cycles are easily identified. Resource constraints including time and materials are noted throughout.
There are a couple of ways to do this; we recommend setting 2-4 goals per meeting and evaluating the meeting at the end. For example, here's the very first part of a meeting entry:


And here's the corresponding summary at the end of the meeting:


Note how this notebook also sets a tentative goal for the following meeting--that's time management!
Other Notebook Requirements
We've covered 90% of the notebook, but there are a couple more requirements to keep in mind (based on the Engineering Notebook Rubric). Here's the first one:
Team shows evidence of independent inquiry from the beginning stages of their design process
This simply means that teams should take initiative and test their own designs, instead of simply copying from another team online.
The next requirement refers to the completeness of the notebook:
Records the entire design and development process in such clarity and detail that the reader could recreate the project’s history.
That is, every aspect of the designing, building, coding, and testing of the robot should be included in the notebook so well that anybody could build the exact robot using only the notebook as a guide.
The last requirement is why all of the example notebook pages have dates and signatures (yes, they were redacted) in the footer of each page:
Five (5) points if the notebook has evidence that documentation was done in sequence with the design process. This can take the form of dated entries with the names of contributing students included and an overall system of organization. For example, numbered pages and a table of contents with entries organized for future reference
See the "Formatting" article for a good example of how to incorporate digital signatures in the notebook.
Conclusion
That's it! Follow all of the above steps, and your notebook will shine!
Decision Matrices
Every choice is a decision matrix
Decision Matrices are the best way to make decisions. Which house to buy? Which classes to take? Which college to attend? All of these choices can be analyzed using decision matrices. In Robotics, decision matrices are primarily used to select the best design from multiple candidates.
A decision matrix has two lists:
* A list of possible designs along the top row
* A list of criteria to evaluate the designs along the left column
Each design is given a score from 1-5 for each criteria. Then, the weighted total is calculated; it's the sum of each criteria score multiplied by its weight.
Criteria:
360 RPM Tank Drive
X-Drive
Tank Tread Drive
Maneuverability
Weight: 3
4
5
2
Robustness
Weight: 2
4
3
2
Simplicity
Weight: 1
5
1
3
Weighted totals:
25
22
13
For example, here's how we calculated the weighted total for the 360 RPM Tank Drive in the above matrix:
* Maneuverability: 3 * 4 = 12
* Robustness: 2 * 4 = 8
* Simplicity: 1 * 5 = 5
Weighted total: 12 + 8 + 5 = 25
The other weighted totals are calculated using the same method; the design with the highest weighted total is the best one.

Decision Point
The point of decision
Decision points are critical junctures where choices impact your robot's design and performance. Decision matrices are your trusty tools here. These are key moments where you must choose between different paths, like prioritizing speed or utility.
Steps:
1. 1.
2. Identify Decision Points: Recognize moments demanding a choice, e.g., choosing intake mechanism.
3. 2.
4. Create a Decision Matrix: List designs and criteria. For an intake mechanism, criteria could include intake speed, capacity, and distance launched.
5. 3.
6. Evaluate Designs: Rate each design against criteria, considering factors from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best.
7. 4.
8. Calculate Totals: Apply weighting factors to criteria. The design with the highest total score is your choice.
It is important to note that when your team comes to a decision point you need to make a decision, otherwise you lose on valuable time. You should allot a certain time frame in the decision making process to set limits on how long you are willing to spend on coming up with a decision to avoid time wastage.
If your team is still unable to come up with a decision within the allotted time, it is the captain's job to make the decision. This may sound like it cuts out feedback from other members, but this is the wise choice since there was previously an allotted time where all members could give their input on the choice to make but that didn't result in a consensus. This makes an executive decision the ideal choice to make sure the team's workflow remains on track.





Additional Resources
Here's some more great resources to help your team get started on the notebook

Segments of the Notebook
BLRS Wiki

Format of an Engineering Notebook
VEX Forum

Again, be specific and thorough when analyzing strategy

Design Process

At some point in every team's season, they will realize that their current robot simply will not do. Then, they are forced to redesign and start from scratch.

The Engineering Notebook Rubric is well aware of this fact; one of the requirements is

Show that the design process is repeated multiple times to improve performance on a design goal, or robot/game performance.

Thus, a redesign has to be properly justified in the notebook. Perhaps the robot needs a faster drivetrain or a smaller chassis, so it can navigate the field faster. Or maybe the other mechanisms on the robot can be replaced with something better. Whatever it is, make sure the notebook explains why the new design will be better than the old one.

Here's an example of a redesign justification from Spin Up:

Show that the new design is better--because it is!

Project Management

This part of the notebook is intuitive, but often overlooked or implemented inconsistently. For each meeting, there should be set goals, and the notebook should evaluate whether or not the team met those goals at the end of the meeting. Additionally, the notebook should keep track of time and resource constraints that are relevant to the team.

The Engineering Notebook Rubric puts it this way:

Provides a complete record of team and project assignments; team meeting notes including goals, decisions, and building/programming accomplishments; Design cycles are easily identified. Resource constraints including time and materials are noted throughout.

There are a couple of ways to do this; we recommend setting 2-4 goals per meeting and evaluating the meeting at the end. For example, here's the very first part of a meeting entry:

And here's the corresponding summary at the end of the meeting:

Note how this notebook also sets a tentative goal for the following meeting--that's time management!

Other Notebook Requirements

We've covered 90% of the notebook, but there are a couple more requirements to keep in mind (based on the Engineering Notebook Rubric). Here's the first one:

Team shows evidence of independent inquiry from the beginning stages of their design process

This simply means that teams should take initiative and test their own designs, instead of simply copying from another team online.

The next requirement refers to the completeness of the notebook:

Records the entire design and development process in such clarity and detail that the reader could recreate the project’s history.

That is, every aspect of the designing, building, coding, and testing of the robot should be included in the notebook so well that anybody could build the exact robot using only the notebook as a guide.

The last requirement is why all of the example notebook pages have dates and signatures (yes, they were redacted) in the footer of each page:

Five (5) points if the notebook has evidence that documentation was done in sequence with the design process. This can take the form of dated entries with the names of contributing students included and an overall system of organization. For example, numbered pages and a table of contents with entries organized for future reference

See the "Formatting" article for a good example of how to incorporate digital signatures in the notebook.

Conclusion

That's it! Follow all of the above steps, and your notebook will shine!

Decision Matrices

Every choice is a decision matrix

Decision Matrices are the best way to make decisions. Which house to buy? Which classes to take? Which college to attend? All of these choices can be analyzed using decision matrices. In Robotics, decision matrices are primarily used to select the best design from multiple candidates.

A decision matrix has two lists:

* A list of possible designs along the top row

* A list of criteria to evaluate the designs along the left column

Each design is given a score from 1-5 for each criteria. Then, the weighted total is calculated; it's the sum of each criteria score multiplied by its weight.

Criteria:

360 RPM Tank Drive

X-Drive

Tank Tread Drive

Maneuverability

Weight: 3

4

5

2

Robustness

Weight: 2

4

3

2

Simplicity

Weight: 1

5

1

3

Weighted totals:

25

22

13

For example, here's how we calculated the weighted total for the 360 RPM Tank Drive in the above matrix:

* Maneuverability: 3 * 4 = 12

* Robustness: 2 * 4 = 8

* Simplicity: 1 * 5 = 5

Weighted total: 12 + 8 + 5 = 25

The other weighted totals are calculated using the same method; the design with the highest weighted total is the best one.

Decision Point

The point of decision

Decision points are critical junctures where choices impact your robot's design and performance. Decision matrices are your trusty tools here. These are key moments where you must choose between different paths, like prioritizing speed or utility.

Steps:

1. 1.

2. Identify Decision Points: Recognize moments demanding a choice, e.g., choosing intake mechanism.

3. 2.

4. Create a Decision Matrix: List designs and criteria. For an intake mechanism, criteria could include intake speed, capacity, and distance launched.

5. 3.

6. Evaluate Designs: Rate each design against criteria, considering factors from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best.

7. 4.

8. Calculate Totals: Apply weighting factors to criteria. The design with the highest total score is your choice.

It is important to note that when your team comes to a decision point you need to make a decision, otherwise you lose on valuable time. You should allot a certain time frame in the decision making process to set limits on how long you are willing to spend on coming up with a decision to avoid time wastage.

If your team is still unable to come up with a decision within the allotted time, it is the captain's job to make the decision. This may sound like it cuts out feedback from other members, but this is the wise choice since there was previously an allotted time where all members could give their input on the choice to make but that didn't result in a consensus. This makes an executive decision the ideal choice to make sure the team's workflow remains on track.

Additional Resources

Here's some more great resources to help your team get started on the notebook

Segments of the Notebook

BLRS Wiki

Format of an Engineering Notebook

VEX Forum