A picture from our site visit of the Monster Trucks in front of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL
This week we took a small break at the beginning of the week after spending all weekend working on the project at our site visit. Then we began planning for the next event in Jacksonville on February 25th, which included:
Reviewing test data results and potential issues and fixes
Planning further software development
Designing future hardware to mount on the truck
Researching methods to improve electrical connections
We also had some important conversations with Feld Entertainment about improving our computer hardware, as the Jacksonville event will be much more taxing on our system. They are providing us with an upgraded laptop to work with, as well as making plans for our on-site setup to be more conducive to our project’s design. This coming week we will continue to work on the various hardware and software components for the Jacksonville event with a focus on fixing things we discovered from the Tampa event and scaling up our system to full capacity.
Monster Gator started off the week with an amazing presentation for the Qualitative Review Board 1 and presented convincing evidence to ensure that the team has a strategic plan, is aware of any foreseeable risks and mitigation strategies to tackle them, and is on track to complete the project successfully on time.
Lead up to the Big Event:
Monster Gator team had their first on-site testing event scheduled for this weekend and were taking all measures to ensure that the event went as smoothly as possible by running multiple tests and troubleshooting any noticeable flaws in the prototype before a large-scale on-site test.
Started by conducting unit tests for each of the individual components of the prototype to make sure they worked as intended.
Next, performed integrated system tests to ensure that all components were interconnected and worked in unison as expected.
Finally, ran some stress tests to subject the prototype to extreme conditions and some edge cases to ensure the robustness of the hardware as well as software systems.
Monster Gator team at the Monster Jam event in Tampa
Monster Jam On-site Testing, Tampa:
The Monster Gator team traveled to Tampa on Friday, a day before the Monster Jam event, to install all parts of our prototype on the Monster Jam ride truck. The work accomplished on that day included:
Installing the newer design of the hardware mounts for testing compared to the older design.
Running cables from the mounts to the back of the truck where all the electrical and computing devices were located.
Making all the electrical connections and installing a sensor to provide accurate inputs from the ride truck for each ride.
Attaching the electrical and computing devices securely to the truck.
Monster Gator team installing and testing their prototype at the Monster Jam event in Tampa
On Saturday and Sunday, the team was provided some time before the event to make any fixes and run some internal tests before the gates would open for the public. Once the ride truck was open for public, we tested the automated software by monitoring the progress on a separate device. The event allowed the team to get some sample data by having the prototype run on the ride truck with real customers for an extended amount of time. Even though the team ran into a few unexpected issues when running the software and hardware with the ride truck, the team was quick to fix any major issues on the go to keep collecting useful data and learned a lot from the event about how the Monster Jam ride trucks operate, the dynamics of how the event attraction is run, and possible issues that need to be addressed. Overall, it was a great learning and fun experience which has allowed the team to be confident in being able to come up with a much improved full-scale prototype for the next on-site testing event.
Freeze frames from the auto-edited souvenir videos of the Monster Gator team members during a test run
After a site visit, Monster Gator was able to identify issues regarding hardware components that we need to make some changes. On Feb. 3rd, Monster Gator is traveling to Tampa, FL for the Monster Jam event to perform our initial testing. As always, our regular meetings focused on finalizing hardware and software components of our system in order to be ready for the event. Some significant changes made and new updates on hardware components are
Automation software
Truck system software
Processing laptop setup
3D printed hardwares
Wire connections to electrical components
We are looking forward to the Tampa event and minimize potential issues by thorough analyses before the event.
Monster Gator is off to a fast start this semester, as we had a site visit this past Thursday in order to do testing on the electrical, hardware, and software components of the system. All of our regular meetings were focused on ensuring that the visit went smoothly and that we were able to maximize our resources on that day. Some notable accomplishments from this visit are
Installed and tested hardware mounting units
Installed and tested part of the electrical system
Verified required measurements of Monster Truck
Tested software using Feld’s devices
The visit was also useful in helping the team realize changes that needed to be made to some hardware aspects of the design, as well the importance of planning preemptively for any unexpected obstacles. The issues that were discovered will be adjusted before the end of February.
This week we returned from winter break and immediately began working on our project again. After regrouping as a team, we:
Planned various events for this semester, including site visits and testing stages
Finalized one of our key hardware components
Continued work towards finishing another of our core components
Generated our product backlog for our software development
Refactored one our of software components, halving our processing time
Ordered parts for our site visit installation and testing
Selected our preferred operating system to use for running our software
Next week we will continue to work on the project, specifically by visiting Feld Entertainment and installing the first prototype of our system onto one of the ride trucks for testing at the Monster Jam event the weekend of February 4th. We’re looking forward to our first full test and to see how to improve our system.
This week, we presented our System Level Design Review (SLDR) report to our sponsors, Feld Entertainment for review and approval. On Tuesday, the team attended the wonderful SLDR event organized by IPPD, where we:
Networked with several liaisons that are sponsoring various IPPD projects.
Had a wonderful chat with our liaison Mr. Phil Misiura.
Received a captivating speech from the guest keynote speaker Professor Jamie Kraft.
Presented our SLDR presentation to our coach Dr. Latorre, our liaison Mr. Phil Misiura, and team members, coaches, and liaisons from four other IPPD teams.
Received wonderful questions, suggestions, and feedback that will help us improve on some parts of our project.
Watched presentations made by Wayfinder, F.A.S.T., Veriforce, and Fun Raiser.
It was wonderful seeing everyone’s efforts throughout the semester starting to take shape of impressive solutions that can solve real-world problems. Following the event, a few changes were made to our SLDR report to address the feedback received from our sponsors. On Thursday, we had our coach meeting with Dr. Latorre, where we first discussed our SLDR and then had one-on-ones to discuss or peer evaluations to learn about our strengths so that we can maintain them over the next semester and any weaknesses that we could improve on for the next semester.
Monster Gator will be back next semester with the same enthusiasm to take this project to the next level.
This week Monster Gator presented their System Level Design Review (SLDR) in class for peer review. It summarized the problem that we are trying solve, our proposed solution, steps taken to get closer to the solution and prove its feasibility during the current, and a plan for next semester to achieve the goal and provide a working solution. Our audience included ROCCstart, Investigator, F.A.S.T., and Fun Raiser, along with Dr. Latorre and a few other team coaches. We received valuable feedback and suggestions to improve our presentation during the Q&A section of our presentation.
Following the peer review, we
Planned action items to address all the suggestions and feedback.
Had the weekly coach meeting, where we recived a more detailed feedback on areas to improve.
Modified the SLDR presentation and report to improve certain sections and address the constructive feedback.
Practiced to improve our presentation skills before the SLDR event.
We had a hybrid IPPD class on Tuesday at the start of the week where we discussed our Prototype Inspection Day experience and learned about the expectations for the System Level Design Review (SLDR). The team then took a few days off to celebrate Thanksgiving and got back to work on Saturday to prepare for the SLDR. We worked on completing the SLDR report and presentation that would explain the wrok completed during the semester as well as future plans. Some of the major components of the project explained include:
This week, Monster Gator presented their prototype during the Prototype Ispection Day (PID). We had a quick meeting with our liaisons to give updates on the components that we had built for the PID. Following that, the team made the most out of the PID by:
Showcasing the prototype to 4 sets of judges and receiving valuable feedback.
Demonstrating the strategy that would be applied to solve the problem and receving suggestion on the overall solution plan.
Acknowledging all the feedback and suggestions and coming up with action items to address them in our future workflow.
The feedback primarily addressed improvements in a couple of particular components of our prototype, presentation skills, and suggestions for nest steps. After that, the team shifted their focus to the System Level Design Review (SLDR). During the weekly coach meeting, the team:
Came up with a solution plan to present at the SLDR.
Devised a roadmap to stay on track for an accelerated timeline due to early testing phase in early February at a live Monster Jam event.
Identified the components belonging to the minimum viable product for the project that should be ready for initial testing by the end of January.
We had a shorter week due to Tropical Storm Nicole, but were able to have everything prepared for the Prototype Inspection Day (PID). Final preparation before the PID presentation included:
3D printing the hardware mount based on the improved design.
Configuring LED indicators and on-screen outputs to demonstrate the functionality of the electrical system.
Finishing touches on two of the basic software systems and then configuring both systems to work together coherently.
Optimization of software to meet team expectations.
Preparing a presentation deck for the Prototype Inspection Day.
Preparing the elevator pitch for the project.
And finally a lot of practice and making sure all components work as intended.
