Guidelines for Control Systems Design Project Proposal

Engineering design is the creative process of identifying needs and then devising a product or a process to fill those needs. After a need has been identified, the purpose of an engineering design project proposal is to succinctly communicate to your audience: Benefits of the product or process to the end customer Project objectives Project specifications tied to the project objectives and the compatibility between the specification and the available hardware. Strategy for achieving project objectives Detail plan of action divided into a number of tasks to be performed by individual member of the design team to achieve the project objectives Time schedule depicting weekly progress and individual/team assignments Cost analysis Design verification procedures Procedures to quantify prototype performance Your audience includes at least the instructor, TA, and others for this course, faculty and students in the department, and anyone else who may have an interest (e.g., your parents, the company you are interviewing, etc.).

Go through the RPI technical writing guide (a PowerPoint presentation) before you start! When you have a closeto-final draft, take it to the RPI Writing Center for a review. Remember, your goal is to tell a story to your target audience on the what, why, and how of your project. Sketch an outline of the story first and then fill in the details. Brainstorm with your teammates to fine tune the story line. You can think of the proposal also as a sales job, trying to convince the audience on the importance and feasibility of your project.

PROPOSAL FORMAT:

The following format is suggested for your teams proposal. Unless otherwise stated, use Times New Roman size 12 fonts. Pages should be numbered (no page number for the title page, lower case Roman numerals for Table of Content, List of Figures, List of Tables, Abstract, etc., and lower case Arabic number starting with Introduction section as page 1). Sections and subsections should also be numbered. References should be cited by number and

they should be listed in the order that they are cited in the Bibliography section. See also the final report guideline.

1.

Preliminary Pages

Title Page (center justified, right-left, top-bottom) Title All capital letters, font size 16-20 Proposal for ECSE-4962 Control Systems Design Names of team members (one per line, font size 16) Date Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute You may choose to add a team logo on top of the title. Use sufficient spacing between the items for a good visual effect. Abstract Succinctly summarize the motivation, goals, and approach of the overall project. Table of Content (and List of Figures and List of Tables, if appropriate) List all sections and subsections with the corresponding page numbers.

2.

Body of the Proposal

Introduction What is the project about and what is the motivation? Review any prior work in the subject area (include patent search, if appropriate). What is the state of the art? Who are expected end users? Describe in detail functional requirements, preliminary (but quantitative) specifications, related technology areas, competitive benchmarks, and any related patents. Comment on the scope of effort involved in general terms. Consider using tables to show specifications etc. for clarity.

Objectives Describe the project goals and intended functions and features. Carefully state how you have narrowed or broadened the scope of the project based on available time and labor resource. Comment on critical design parameters and what challenges might stand in the way of accomplishing your design objectives. Be ever alert to professional and societal context of the design objectives as it relates to engineering standards, and realistic

constraints that include one or more considerations of economics, environment, sustainability, manufacturing, ethics, health and safety, and social and political impact. Make sure your objectives are clear. Clear objectives lead to clear plan for generating the tasks to accomplish the design goals

Design Strategy

Describe your approach to this project, including mode development, model validation, simulation, control design and tuning, and performance verification. If your project calls for additional subsystem developments, such as special-purpose sensors, mechanical components, etc., you should also discuss your design approach to these subsystems.

Consider design alternatives and ways to evaluate them.

A block diagram may be helpful to convey how different components and stages in your design fit together.

Plan of Action The plan of action consists of various tasks needed to implement the design strategy. The tasks should be linked to the objectives and the design strategy components. The tasks should be divided among the team members for a well-rounded experience for all. To be specific, one person doing all the analysis, another simulation, and another implementation, and yet another testing, does not lead to well round experience. All must share these activities, not necessarily in exactly the same proportion (e.g., for each task, designate one team member as the lead).

Verification Testing Procedures: Outline the test procedures of your project and the resulting tables, graphs, and measured values that will assess the project performance. This should be correlated with the project specification described in the Introduction section. Describe the test procedures for individual project components and subsystems (e.g., model validation, sensor subsystem, etc.), and the overall system. Tolerance Analysis: As part of your project, describe the engineering components, subsystems, or parameters that most affect the performance of the project. Discuss how you will later in the project verify this analysis in simulation and experimentation.

Cost and Schedule

Cost Analysis: Include a cost of the project based on labor and material. Include a list of parts, lab equipment, shop service, which are not routinely available at no cost. Even though you are given an assembled system, give estimated cost of the components within the system and also of any addition and improvement of the system. Compute labor cost for each team member on the project as follows: Assumed dream salary ($/hour) * project # of hours = $Total Itemize total labor cost for all partners, all material cost and cost of specialized lab equipment and shop service and determine the grand total for the project. Separately add up all the costs that will actually be spent (e.g., special sensors, circuits, etc.). Schedule: Include a timetable showing when each step in the expected sequence of design and fabrication work will be completed (generally, by week), and how the tasks will be shared among the team members (e.g., Develop model, Verify model, Design controller, Test controller in simulation, Test controller on integrated system, Design sensor subsystem, Buy parts, Machine parts, Assemble subsystems, Prepare demo, etc.). NOTE: Actual Costs and Schedule will be part of your Final Report. Keep a log of cost and schedule in your notebook. Bibliography: Throughout the proposal, you should cite the sources of your information (including web site URLs) and list the references in this section.

3.

Appendix

Detailed information that is useful for reference purpose but may detract from the flow of the proposal (e.g., data sheets, program codes, etc.) should be included in the Appendix. The Appendix should be divided into sections with separate titles, and numbered. The page number should continue from the proposal body. See also the final report guideline.

1.

Statement on the contribution of each team member

Include a brief paragraph on the contribution of each team member. All team members must sign this page.

Back to course Homepage