New projects can be very exciting but before you can jump right in, it’s important to plan and prepare the steps of your design process. Understanding your design requirements and goals helps you create a clear plan to achieve your end result effectively and efficiently, with minimal waste. There are many methods that can support this process, and choosing the right approach for your project can greatly improve both the experience and the final product.

At Eastern Edge Robotics (EER), our process always begins with research and planning. This season, the mechanical team started by reviewing last year’s performance, exploring ways to improve, and brainstorming our goals and design requirements. While this stage can feel slow or tedious, it provides the essential building blocks needed to design a feasible prototype with enhanced performance.

Early in the design process, we established several “must-haves” for this year’s ROV. Once the team became familiar with these requirements, we began designing a prototype using accessible, inexpensive materials that could be easily modified. Cardboard, Lego, or PVC pipes are great for first prototypes. This is the stage where you can truly showcase your arts and crafts skills and have fun with it! Bringing ideas to life through a physical prototype allows your team to visualize concepts, give feedback, and better understand scale. Being able to hold your design and see its proportions in real life often reveals flaws that a 2D drawing or CAD model might miss.

Feedback is key when building a prototype. As a large team with multiple subteams, having a physical model to share across departments played a major role in our iterative design process. It allowed us to gather input, understand individual likes and dislikes, and make changes accordingly. Strong communication helped us identify components we had overlooked, or hadn’t even considered. As a first-year member of EER, this step taught me many critical insights from other subteams that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. During one meeting, the electrical and mechanical subteams used the PVC model to discuss the positioning of the tether. This allowed the mechanical team to physically demonstrate the impact of placement on hydrodynamics, while the electrical team could physically demonstrate the placements that would bend the tether inappropriately. In the end, both teams collaborated on a placement that satisfied their requirements.

After refining the prototype based on feedback, we finalized our design. The next step was creating a detailed CAD model to determine the exact amount of material needed, helping us minimize waste. If we had skipped prototyping and started ordering supplies immediately, we could have faced issues such as material shortages or unnecessary excess. By taking our time, staying organized, and communicating effectively as a team, we were able to reach our goal successfully.