Design Document Check

updated Fa 2020

Description

The Design Document Check (DDC) is intended to aid your team as it prepares its Design Document. The DDC focuses narrowly upon providing feedback on the preparation of historically problematic Design Document elements. If these elements fall short during your Design Review the following week, precious time is lost.

What are the course staff looking for? i) Evidence that the overall idea of the design is sound; ii) A check of a small subset of required components indicates that the project is on the right track.

The DDC provides feedback on your preparation of the following Design Document elements:

  1. Introduction
    1. Start with a brief summary (30 sec) or elevator pitch following this template:

      I will build ___A___ (my core product) for ___B___ (my core customer: the person who pays my company or uses the product).

      My customer has a problem ___C___ (describe the problem your customer has)

      My product solves my customer’s problem by ___D___ (how do you solve the problem?)

    2. Be expected to explain further what the problem is, what’s your idea to solve it, and why your idea is novel.
  2. High-level Requirements
    1. HL requirements are derived from the problem you are trying to solve (put yourself into the customer's shoes). HL requirements should be the essential features that your customers/users really care about. These features distinguish your product from others (e.g. ones available in the market or previous 445 designs). Be abstract (no tech details, you may come up with different design due to other constraints but still solve this problem), quantifiable (no words like continuously, accurately, etc), and unambiguous. HL&RV slides(P.5) has a good example.
    2. We will look at your HL requirements and check if they are what your customers/users really care about. Be prepared to defend your requirements, so that when you get challenged, you can give a well thought out explanation.
  3. Block Diagram
    1. Block Diagram slides
    2. We will check whether this design appears to solve your problem. 
    3. We will check if formatting is clear (lines, legends, etc). Extra caution is needed as students often make mistakes here (but you shouldn't!).
  4. Physical Design (if applicable)
  5. Requirements & Verification Tables
    1. HL&RV slides: from P. 1-17
    2. Block Module Requirements: Break down your HL requirements into block level requirements. These are the requirements in the RV table (they are not the specs of the parts you have chosen).
    3. Verification: A step-by-step approach allows another 445 student to test if the BL requirement is satisfied. This is like an instruction for your module's unit test (with some surrounding dummy modules, a.k.a, mock object(s)
    4. We will review one piece of it. Show us an important one.
  6. Plots
  7. Circuit Schematics
  8. Tolerance Analysis
    1. Identify an important part that you need to perform some quantitative analysis on. This part should have quantitative values critical to the design and require you do calculations and make trade-offs in order to achieve your best design.
    2. Common mistake: Many students do calculations for tangential parts to pad the space.
  9. Safety & Ethics
  10. Citations

During the DDC, your team will have 5-8 minutes to present an example of each of these elements. Expect to share the 30-minute DDC session with two other design teams. Come prepared to learn from their work - both the good and bad.

Your task is to prepare and upload the above elements in a single PDF document to the course website. During your DDC session, you will present directly from your submission, which will be projected for all to see.

The focus of the DDC is not on the details of your design but rather on the details of your formatting; the design of your project will be covered in-depth during the Design Review. Organize your submission in accordance with the Design Document guidance and the example Design Document.

The course staff will focus on providing feedback on the format of your sample DDC elements - the very limited available time will not afford detailed feedback on your design. Please go to office hours for further guidance.

Requirements and Grading

Upload your DDC submission to your project page on PACE (i.e. ECE 445 web board) before arriving at your DDC session.

As in your Design Document, number pages after the title page in your DDC submission.

An example DDC submission is provided here for reference. The corresponding Design Document for this DDC submission can be found on the Design Document assignment page.

Any material obtained from websites, books, journal articles, or other sources not originally generated by the project team must be appropriately attributed with properly cited sources in a standardized style such as IEEE, ACM, APA, or MLA.

The course staff at the DDC will assign individual grades to each student based on:

Submission and Deadlines

Sign-up for the Design Document Check on the ECE 445 course website - specifically at the Sign up for Team Presentation item on the PACE tab. Sign-up will open the Monday one week prior to the DDCs.

Upload your DDC submission (.pdf format) to the ECE 445 course website before your DDC session - specifically at the My Project item on the PACE tab.

While you will not complete peer reviews during the DDC, you are expected to actively contribute to the discussion.

Tech must-know and FAQ for design

Here is the link of "Tech must-know and FAQ for design" which is accessible after logging into g.illinois.edu.

Over semesters, ECE445 course staff have encountered repeated mistakes from students. The document above is designed to provide students with the essential knowledge needed in order to have a good design. Spending 5 min reading it might save you 15 hours later. Also, there might be some quiz questions in your DDC or Design Review. Please help us improve this document. We value your feedback!

Fixed wing drone with auto-navigation

Ziyang An, Zhanhao He, Yihui Li, Zhibo Teng

Featured Project

# Fixed wing drone with auto-navigation

## Group Members

**Zhibo Teng** NetID: zhibot2

**Yihui Li** NetID: yihuil2

**Ziyang An** NetID: ziyanga2

**Zhanhao He** NetID: zhanhao5

## Problem

Traditional methods of data collection, such as using manned aircraft or ground surveys, can be time-consuming, expensive, and limited in their ability to access certain areas. The multi-rotor airfoil UAV being used now has slow flight speed and short single distance, which is not suitable for some long-distance operations. Moreover, it needs manual control, so it has low convenience. Fixed wing drones with auto-navigation can overcome these limitations by providing a cost-effective and flexible solution for aerial data collection.

The motivation behind our design is to provide a reliable and efficient way to collect high-quality data from the air, which can improve decision-making processes for a variety of industries. The drone can fly pre-determined flight paths, making it easier to cover large areas and collect consistent data. The auto-navigation capabilities can also improve the accuracy of the data collected, reducing the need for manual intervention and minimizing the risk of errors.

## Solution Overview

Our design is a fixed wing drone with auto-navigation capabilities that is optimized for aerial data collection. The drone is equipped with a range of sensors and cameras, as well as software that allows it to fly pre-determined flight paths and collect data in a consistent and accurate manner. Our design solves the problem of inefficient and costly aerial data collection by providing a cost-effective and flexible solution that can cover large areas quickly and accurately. The auto-navigation capabilities of the drone enable it to fly pre-determined flight paths, which allows for consistent and repeatable data collection. This reduces the need for manual intervention, which can improve the accuracy of the data and minimize the risk of errors. Additionally, the drone’s compact size and ability to access difficult-to-reach areas can make it an ideal solution for industries that require detailed aerial data collection.

## Solution Components

### Subsystem #1: Aircraft Structure and Design

* Design the overall structure of the plane, including the wings, fuselage, and tail section

* Use 3D modeling software to create a digital model of the plane

* Choose materials for construction based on their weight, durability, and strength

* Create a physical model of the plane using 3D printing or laser cutting

### Subsystem #2: Flight Control System

* Implement a flight control system that can be operated both manually and automatically

* For manual control, design a control panel that includes a joystick and other necessary controls

* For automatic control, integrate a flight controller module that can be programmed with waypoints and flight parameters

* Choose appropriate sensors for detecting altitude, speed, and orientation of the plane

* Implement algorithms for stabilizing the plane during flight and adjusting control surfaces for directional control

### Subsystem #3: Power and Propulsion

* Choose a suitable motor and propeller to provide the necessary thrust for the plane

* Design and integrate a battery system that can power the motor and control systems for a sufficient amount of time

* Implement a power management system that can monitor the battery voltage and ensure safe operation of the plane

### Subsystem #4: Communication and Telemetry

* Implement a wireless communication system for transmitting telemetry data and controlling the plane remotely

* Choose a suitable communication protocol such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

* Develop a user interface for displaying telemetry data and controlling the plane from a mobile device or computer

## Criterion for Success

1. Design and complete the UAV model including wings, fuselage, and tail section

2. The UAV can fly normally in the air and realize the control of the UAV, including manual and automatic control

3. To realize the data monitoring of UAV in flight, including location, speed and altitude

## Distribution of Work

**Zhibo Teng:** Aircraft Structure and Design

**Yihui Li:** Aircraft Structure and Design

**Ziyang An:** Flight Control System Power and Propulsion

**Zhanhao He:** Flight Control System Communication and Telemetry