Progress Report & Deliverables

This page shows how our team is progressing.

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 2
Overall Project Status: One of the main things accomplished last week was we got our BASE turned in and got accepted. We are now trying to pick a more detailed topic for the proposal. At the same time, we are developing a website so that we can use it for communication tool.

Activities for this week: Each team member has been doing literature search of our topic. We discussed on what we found over the weekend on Monday, and narrowed our topic down. Activity to do by next week is to choose our topic at the meeting on Thursday and start writing the proposal.

Problems Encountered: We have some problem during the process of narrowing down our topic due to lack of knowledge. We are quit not sure how difficult a topic is. We will continue to contact our faculty advisor and our mentor for advices.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: After turning in the BASE design brief last week, most members have done 5-10 hours individually (mostly looking for sources and reading them), and 3-4 hours of group discussion.

This Week’s Budget Items Include: None

Activities Planned for Next Week: By beginning to write the proposal over the weekend, we would like to finish up our proposal during the early time of the week. By doing this, we can hear from our faculty advisor and mentor about what they think of the proposal.

Additional Comments: In the design brief, we wrote the schedule for the web design to be turned in this week. We will be adding contents to the website as we progress on our project, but should we wait till a later time to turn the website in?

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 3
Overall Project Status: We have started our week by initiating literature search over a broad topic of robotics. At the beginning of the week, (Tuesday last week) we discussed on some of the topics we felt were interesting. During the middle of the week, we focused on those particular topics, and did more research. By end of last week, we were able to choose a topic, an free flying robot which can locate air leaks and find cracks, and also fix those defects. However, by doing more research and discussion, we have limited the topic to the former. Now that we have specifically decided on the topic, we are working on the proposal, which is about half way done. We have started using the website to link useful resources, too.

Activities for this week: Our goal is to finish up the proposal during the mid-week. In addition, we will ask for feed back from our mentor and faculty advisor about the topic, and our proposal. The website will need more materials to be put on.

Problems Encountered: We did have trouble finding the right topic for this project. However, with the research done by individuals and with the advises from the mentor and faculty advisor, we were able to determine the topic. The next problem we are having is determining whether some of the things we want to design will be within our ability.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: In addition to the work done by individual on literature searches, we started working on the proposal, so at least 15 - 20 hours of individual work, and 5 hours of group meeting for most of the members.

This Week's Budget Items Include: None

Activities Planned for Next Week: In addition to the next stage of the design, we need to decide on our field trips, site visits, K-12 activities, and meetings. This should be done early next week so that we will have time to schedule the visits.

Additional Comments: I have two questions. First one is whether we need to put our budget report with the proposal even if we did not have any expenses. The second question is, about the meeting requirement for option 2. There is AIAA student competition early in April. I believe this will count as the professional meeting. However, will a student presentation within the University of Texas at Arlington count as this requirement, too? There will be one event in late March for UTA students to present there projects, researches, etc.

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 4
Overall Project Status: Last week, our team was able to write up the proposal and turn it in on time. With the decided topic of “detection of air leak using a free flyer”, we have planned the schedule for the next few weeks, so that the midterm report will be better than the proposal. Other than initiating the detailed research, we have start talking about other things we must do, K-12 activity, on-site visit, and field investigation.

Activities for this week: For this week, we will start doing brainstorming with the group. There are two groups, detection method group and control/navigation group. Each group will do there own research and share useful information. In addition, we will be forming a web team that will add contents to the existing one, which is just a communication tool. More information will be added for people other than the group.

Problems Encountered: Proposal took more time than planned, and couple of member had busy week, so we had to rush at the end. We initially had members working on different parts of the proposal, but the problem was when we put them together. There were some overlaps and conflicts, which were the hard part to fix.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: There was more individual work on the proposal this week. At least 15 to 20 hours were spent on writing and doing additional research for it. The group one met two times as a whole, but there were a lot of discussion among the members.

This Week's Budget Items Include: None

Activities Planned for Next Week: There are many requirements other than the midterm report. These items must be discussed and planned so that we will not have to do everything at the final week. One of the main deadlines for next week will be the abstract do for the AIAA student conference, which we plan to participate in early April.

Additional Comments: Although we are still worried on how we did on our proposal, we have started the next stage. The question we have right now is about the field investigation. There is a lab called Automation & Robotics Research Institute at University of Texas at Arlington. Will this count as the field investigation as long as it is related to our topic in some way?

Progress Report - Week 5
Control Group: Proposed the problems of the safest trajectory, attitude and translational navigation system, and control system. With referring to the design of MINI AERCam of NASA, we tackled these kind of problems in parallel with the development of sensor team.
Detection Group: Divided the tasks to the individuals to save time. Each member is assigned to search one of the following topics to collect more knowledge about possible sensor types; ultra-sound, pressure transducer, infrared, and laser. Members brainstormed possible applications of utilizing these sensors to detect and locate the air leak of a spacecraft. Once information of each type of sensors is collected, the members are to compare each type to another to see which type is most suitable for the specific application. The determination of a desired sensor type also requires information about space environment and molecular behavior of air under vacuum. The members are also to collect these information to model the environment of the incident of interest.

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 5
Overall Project Status: As it was pointed out in the feedback for our proposal, we have been trying to narrow down our topic a little bit more. Primary, we will be focusing on the leakage detection and the control of the robot. The project is aiming for the Level two midterm report, and we are still brainstorming and gathering information at the same time.

Activities for this week: Other than continuing with the brainstorming and the research, we will need to start with our subtask, K-12 activities. We need to contact the Robotics Lab in Austin to make sure if it is possible to visit their facility. With the JSC visit, we have started making the contacts, so we will need to decide on the date which our mentor will have the time for us, too.

Problems Encountered: Looking for resources can take time, and for us, it is one of the problems. We are utilizing the internet, library, and professors to get more information. We will still need to do more research with the topic.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: The hours varied by the individual members a lot. Some of the members spent as much as they have been, which is about 15 to 20 hours, while some of them did under 10 hours. We split the team in two, so there are now work to do as individual, group, and team.

This Week's Budget Items Include: Earned $125.00 for the proposal!!

Activities Planned for Next Week: Since the abstract due date for the AIAA student conference was pushed back into mid March, we will have little more time to prepare. But it should be done next week. Also, we need to make contact and if possible, schedule the field investigation to Austin hopefully next week. Other than these two important things, we need to start working on the mid-term report, the presentation slides, and finish up the K-12 activities.

Additional Comments: Sorry I got late responding to the e-mail about the website. We do have one up, but there are many more things we can work on, so we would like to send in the information later. The address for the website is,
http://mech.uta.edu/mavspace/index.html
We may ask you for feedback after finishing up the pages.

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 6
Overall Project Status: The two groups we formed worked out for one of the groups. For the sensor side, the group was able to do reseach and start writing for the midterm report. For the controls side, we had many problems we needed to cover, so the sensor group are now helping them with their research. We are finalizing the trip to JSC, which is a great incentive for us.

Activities for this week: We will need to start writing up the midterm report for the control side, too. Other than finalizing the report as soon as possible, making it as detailed as we can, we will need to prepare for the presentation, too. The abstract for the AIAA meeting should be written up, and the PowerPoint slide should be started. We should be finishing up with the K-12 activities as well, so that it does not have to be rushed at the end.

Problems Encountered:

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: As last week, it depended on the individual and on the group. The people working hard with the project are spending close to 20 hours.

This Week’s Budget Items Include: Earned $125.00 for the website.

Activities Planned for Next Week: We need to do the field trip before the midterm report due date. K-12 activities are also do. The main focus is to be sure and get everything done for the Level 2. Also, we are planning to do an informal group presentation within our team with our faculty advisor so everybody will be up to date, and will be a good practice for the coming presentation.

Additional Comments: I have couple of questions concerning the midterm report. There are couple parts in the report which require the same material as the proposal. For example, team identification and background. Are we supposed to use the same thing we used in the proposal with some changes that we decided on and some suggestions from the reviewer?

The next question is about the field trip. I did write a e-mail to the robotics lab in Austin, but unfortunately, I have not got a response so far. We are right now trying to make an appointment with the Robotics lab of UTA in Fort Worth, but will that be ok? Or if you have any suggestions, it will help.

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 7
Overall Project Status: This week was all about the midterm report. As we were writing the report, more things came up and had to go back to research. We are about 75% finished with the report, and need to finish up and revise. The initial design for the team patch is made and one of our teammate is trying to generate it in computer graphics.

Activities for this week: We have spent a lot of time towards the report. As something comes up, we have to go back to literacy search or brainstorming and discussion. There were couple of meetings over the weekend and on Monday, and Tuesday. We are trying to get each of the members to work towards finishing up their work and combining them with rest of the paper.

Problems Encountered: As we get close to finishing up the report, the material covered in the report looks broad and depthless. Our report is already over 20 pages… We are planning to talk with our faculty advisor for feedback.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: Most of the members were able to meet over the weekend, and couple more times at the beginning of this week. In addition, people are working hard, and many members spent more than 20 hours. (nearly 10 hours for yesterday)

This Week’s Budget Items Include: None.

Activities Planned for Next Week: After finishing up all the requirements for Level two this week, we will be able to visit JSC in Houston. The things we need to get done before the trip is the presentation report write up (the abstract is due today). We will need to start thinking about the outreach we are planning to do. Therefore, we would need to make the K-12 activities into shape.

Additional Comments: Question I have this time is about the field trip. The requirement for level two says that we need to show the effort to conduct the field investigation. We already have talked with our mentor, and setup and date for the field trip (Mar. 19 – alternative Mar. 26). Will this be enough for the Level two requirement?

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 8
Overall Project Status: We were able to finish up the report and turn it in. We have scheduled the field trip to NASA this Friday or the following (depends on security). Also, we have written the abstract for the AIAA conference which will be the requirement for option I.

Activities for this week: The final report for the AIAA conference is due next week. We have started working on the report and are trying to make it as technical paper as possible. We are planning on doing simple experiment so that we can put it in the report.

Problems Encountered: The more we worked on the report, more problems found, and needed more time. Mainly grammar errors were found till the last moment, and even after turning it in. We did start earlier than the time we were working on the proposal, but I felt we still did not have enough time to complete the report.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: Most of the week. Especially Thursday and Friday was spent to work on the report. We all sat in the computer lab and discussed and worked on the report. Well over 20 hours were spent during this week.

This Week’s Budget Items Include: $19.49 for meal.

Activities Planned for Next Week: The deadline for the AIAA student competition is March 25. We need to incorporate feedbacks from our mentor and our faculty advisor to prepare and write up the report. Also, we need to take everybody’s schedule into account and schedule the outreach for the K-12 activities we developed for this report.

Additional Comments: None

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 9
Overall Project Status: The tour we had planned for last week was postponed one week to security reasons and the schedule of lab over there. Our mentor has been working hard to show us the AERCam lab which is one of the lab our project is based on. With this alternate date, all of our members will be able to go, which should be a great benefit. With the report, we are working on it to moodily the stuff pointed out by the reviews, and adding more things for the AIAA student conference. The added material will be used in the Level 3 final report.

Activities for this week: Due to spring break, many of the members were out of town and were not able to work on the report for the student conference. However, the rest of the people are working on it and adding new material for the report. The registration for the conference is due this Thursday, so the report and the registration must be completed on time. This will be the requirement for Option 1 for TSGC project. In addition to the report, the PowerPoint presentation slides must be change so that it can accommodate the changes made. Also, the field trip to NASA JSC is this Friday. We are all excited about the trip.

Problems Encountered: We have not had many problems this week. After finishing up the midterm report, everybody got relaxed and were taking break for awhile, but after the spring break ended, we are all back into the project.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: Most of the members spend less than 10 hours for the project. Some of them were out of town and the hour spent was almost zero.

This Week’s Budget Items Include: $125 earned for completing Level 2.

Activities Planned for Next Week: The student competition is next week. We must make the report more detailed and make ourselves more knowledgeable for the competition since it is not as easy going as turning in the report. Although the competition is the next thing up, we must not forget about proceeding with the final report which is coming up fast as well. We must start planning for the final presentation.

Additional Comments: I have not got all the information for the registration for the showcase. I will send in the information as soon as I get them.

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 10
Overall Project Status: One of the major things accomplished this week was the tour of NASA. Everybody was looking forward for this opportunity, and although all members were not able to go, we had a great time. We were able to talk with our mentor and receive his feedback in detail. Another thing done was the registration for the AIAA student conference. We will be presenting our stuff from this project.

Activities for this week: The presentation for the AIAA student conference is this Thursday through Saturday. We must rap up the material and put it in a presentation form so that we will be able to do it confidently. Practicing for the presentation is also one of the major thing planned, since it is a hard thing to speak up in front of a group of people.

Problems Encountered: None in particular.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: Everybody is still busy with their classes, but we were able to talk about the project couple of times. Also, the trip to NASA was done in one day, left 4AM and returned 11PM. The total will be over 25 hours for the people who went to NASA.

This Week’s Budget Items Include: Gas and food for .the trip. Detailed number is still to be calculated.

Activities Planned for Next Week: After finishing with the AIAA competition, we will need to put more detail with the project. Combining the stuff presented in the AIAA conference and the project will be the next step towards the final report.

Additional Comments: Sorry I miss understood the hotel situation. I accidentally reserved a hotel in the area. I have rereserved two rooms from South Shore Harbour for our team, and our faculty advisor told me he we work on his room. I did the reservation process through online, but was that ok? The confirmation number is SSH – 436657.

Tuesday Tag-Up-Week 11
Overall Project Status: Our team was able to present the work done so far at the AIAA student conference. The procedure we had to follow was exactly the same as the actual professional meetings. The material added to the paper will be added to our final report. Right now, we are preparing for the final report. There are still lots to do, but we will need to start getting our papers written up.

Activities for this week: Doing detailed design will be the main goal for this week. We need to group up the team as we did with the midterm report to divide the tasks and make good use of all resources. Following the design, or concurrently with it, we will need to start writing the report and modifying the PowerPoint we used for the AIAA meeting.

Problems Encountered: Everybody has busy semester, and this week is particularly busy for everybody (all aerospace engineering students). It is hard to have everybody work on the report when there are tests in other classes, but we need to fit everything in.

Approximate Number of Hours Spent on Design Activity This Week: Preparing for the conference took many hours. Just counting the two days before the conference, we practiced and revised our presentation material. I believe most of us spent more than 20 hours for this project.

This Week’s Budget Items Include: Gas for the paper conference and the registration fee for the conference. (Approximately $70)

Activities Planned for Next Week: Although finishing up the final report will be the main thing, we will need to prepare ourselves for the showcase. We all know that it takes time to prepare for a presentation; we would like to give ourselves more time than last time to make everything better.

Additional Comments:In spite of the time we prepared for the conference, we had trouble with the time constraint. We read the website for the conference and said we had 30 minutes for the presentation, but ended up only having 20 minutes. We were told the fact just before our presentation, and were kind of lost during the presentation. However, the overall experience was very useful and benefital for our future.

One question, did you want me to turn in the report for this conference with the Tuesday tag up, or with the final report?