During this project students work in groups of about ten on the design and implementation of a complete system to solve some practical and useful problem. Each group can choose the specific task within the broad theme of 'assistive robotics', i.e., the system should be envisioned as able to perform an autonomous task in the real world, and will develop a demonstrator (which may exist in simulation or hardware). Recent examples of projects include: a robot shopping trolley for the visually impaired; smart switches to convert any household switch to be remote controlled with an app; a robot chess opponent; robot rubbish collection and sorting; etc.
The aim is to produce a system that provides a convincing demonstration of a potential product, suitable for presentation to a client/investor. It should thus include significant development of supporting software, user interfaces, and either real or physical simulation mock-ups. These should be integrated into a complete working system, showing that core problems have been solved. There will be support for hardware construction as required, through a dedicated lab space with a wide range of equipment available, and/or through commissioning the technical support team, with a budget for equipment and support time available to each group.
Online workshops and dedicated office hours from domain experts will be available to advise and guide all aspects of the task, such as time and task management, hardware design, software libraries, interfaces, etc. Each group is assigned a mentor. The mentor's task is to advise and provide feedback on the progress of the group during the project but not to provide technical support. Groups meet with their mentors at least once a week. They also meet amongst themselves more frequently to plan and coordinate their activities. Specific demonstration points are timetabled regularly during the semester when progress will be assessed and feedback provided.
Towards the end of the semester, a day is set aside for groups to demonstrate their implemented system and to give a formal presentation of it to an audience of the students, mentors, and visitors from industry.
Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Computer Based Systems, Systems Analysis and Design
