The engineering design process
Without using those words, with the Content Editor, LEGO has created a digital engineering notebook. An engineering notebook is more than just a record of your work. An engineering notebook allows you to record (and communicate) your initial designs, construct the model, and iterate your building and programming. In the engineering design process, it is important to record your mistakes so that you have a record of what didn't work. You should always put dates on the work you have done.
According to the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards, we can present a simplified version of the engineering process in the following diagram:
The process of iteration and optimization is critical to building good models. Particularly when it comes to programming, you will find you need to make numerous revisions to your program so that your robot has the desired performance. The preceding image is an abbreviated version of what is often presented as the engineering design process. There is no single engineering design process. There are many variations on the preceding theme, starting with a problem and ending with a solution. The common steps include the following:
- Defining the problem.
- Researching the problem and the constraints.
- Brainstorming to develop several possible solutions.
- Selecting one solution.
- Drawing and building prototypes.
- Testing and evaluating.
- Redesigning and optimizing.
The iterative nature of the engineering design process is important. Often, if will not follow a straightforward path between these steps. With this number of steps, you need to document your work and record successes and distresses. Additionally, the evolution of thought and the solutions for one challenge might easily be translated to another. The Content Editor built into the EV3 software easily fulfills the task of a multimedia-based engineering notebook.
