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CS115 Robotic Studio Design

Final Project Initial Ideas:

We explored numerous ideas, including:

The Docile Husband - Though it seemed to be the most popular idea during our class
discussions, further exploration proved the concept impractical primarily due to the fact that the outcome relied too heavily upon the robot’s ability to replay pre-recorded phrases. (ex. Yes dear, I agree, You are always right)

A Carnival - Decided against due to the fact that such a project had already been undertaken in a previous year.

THE FINALVISION- Based upon the initial idea of building a Wellesley Crew boat and the fact that our team consisted of four members, the decision was made to simulate a Crew Regatta race between two differently designed boats (Wellesley crew vs. ‘Other’). It was decided that the Wellesley College boat would be propelled by a motor while simulating the rowing action whereas the ‘red-team’ would actually be propelled via the boat’s oars. These designs were developed to ensure that Wellesley Crew is always the victor. Our intention was to appeal to the pre-adolescent audience by allowing them to engage in ‘one-on-one’ boat races. Contenders would shine a beam of light into sensors fastened to the front of each boat, thus triggering the robot’s motor/s, propelling the boat forward and concomitantly starting the race. During construction, the idea of having fan bleachers was implemented and further expanded by incorporating the idea of a ‘finish line’ (beam of light). If a boat (always Wellesley College) were to break the beam, only the Wellesley fans would begin ‘cheering’.

History behind the CS115 Group Robot Project:

The second half of the course is devoted to the robot project, in which you will work in a team of two or three people to design, build, exhibit, and document a robot. The project is open-ended; you should brainstorm with your teammates about projects that are fun, exciting, and challenging, but at the same time realistic. To give you a sense of what's possible, you should browse the web pages describing projects from previous incarnations of the course (1996 - 2005). These are accessible from: http://cs.wellesley.edu/~rds/museum.html.

When forming teams for your project, it is wise to choose teammates with complementary strengths. For example, it's good to have members with programming experience, mechanical know-how, artistic sense, and good writing and presentation skills. As part of your robot project, you will be expected to do the following:

As a group:

As an individual:

- Information modified from the CS115 Course Information 2007 (PDF).

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