Problem Statement about Space Microgrids

profileTzuyuuu
Class2.pdf

Overview for this week and next week:

• Today’s topic: Team building • At this point, we are three weeks into the semester and almost done with the project

management lectures. Your primary focus should be now on team formation and topic selections.

• A Team Charter that needs to be signed and returned to me on or before Sep, 24th. – Team members – Objectives – Mode of communication – Schedule – Member responsibilities – How to handle conflicts

Problem or Expression of Need

Design Constraints

Evaluation and Synthesis of Alternative Solutions

Analysis (perhaps including experimentation)

Decision (justification of selected solution)

Solution

Problem statement

Design Requirement/Constraints

Approach

The General Engineering Process

Section I: Problem Statement: • Minimum length of two pages • Components:

– Introduction (why should I care?) – Market and competitive product analysis – Concise problem statement – Implications of your success

I. Introduction (why should I care?) • Convincing your client that the problem is real and worth investigating: Emphasize the

consequence of ignoring the problem • Reveal the ideal and then the reality:

• Could discuss how the base technology of your product has evolved. • Could discuss how different solutions to your problem have evolved over time.

PS

• Introduction (why should I care?)

Rice is considered a key food for more than half of the world’s population. Its huge consumption levels make it one out of three of the world’s leading food crops. Confirming rice to be a global staple, it has been reported that more than 3.5 billion people rely on rice for more than 20% of their daily calories [1]. In the United States of America, rice is used in several different ways. Depending on the grain type of the rice, rice can be used for boiling, instant-cook products, soups, cereal, baby food, and in many other types of ways. While rice continues to be produced and consumed by humans from all over, rice stands out in low-income and lower middle-income countries as being the most important food crop for its citizens. For example, Asia accounts for roughly 90% of global rice consumption, along with other places like Africa and Latin America where rice is the fastest growing food staple [1]. Regardless of where rice is being produced and consumed, rice continues to be on a steady rise all over the world.

Impressions: Rice is critical; People’s lives will be jeopardized if there is widespread issue with rice

PS

• Introduction (continued) While the production and consumption of rice has continued to increase over the years, a major health concern has been discovered in rice itself and in different types of rice products. Consumer reports have indicated that rice contains high concentration levels of arsenic, which can be harmful to infants, children, and adults [2]. Arsenic exists in two major forms, inorganic and organic, and naturally exists as part of the minerals in the earth’s crust. Inorganic arsenic is more toxic than organic arsenic, which leads to more focus on inorganic arsenic reduction [2]. The harmful element arsenic can also be released into the environment through the use of pesticides and fertilizers, resulting in arsenic contamination in the soil and water where rice is grown. With arsenic being found in the soil and water, the rice plants tend to absorb arsenic more easily and in higher concentrations than many other plants. Exposure to arsenic can increase the health risks for bladder, lung, and skin cancer, as well as heart disease and type 2 diabetes [2]. Also, since arsenic is found in many different baby food products, it can lead to babies having health problems as they grow older.

Impressions: Arsenic is an issue and needs to be addressed

PS

• Introduction (continued)

Introduce the proposed solution

Personal health should always be considered an important aspect of every individual’s life. Being able to control what goes into the body can certainly contribute to better health. Consuming rice containing large quantities of arsenic over a long period of time can be detrimental to personal health. The Automated Smart Rice Cooker aims to help relieve this problem by giving people an easy-to-use device that uses a proven method that reduces arsenic and other contaminants found in rice.

II. Market and competitive product analysis

• What other methods exist to solve this problem?

• What are the shortcomings in these competing products?

• What is the market for a solution to this problem?

• Could also say how your product will improve on these shortcomings in this section, or leave this for the next section.

PS

• Market and competitive product analysis

What is being adopted. What is wrong with them specifically.

This paragraph can be improved too.

Currently, there are several rice cookers on the market that consumers can purchase from $20 to a little over $1,800 [5], depending on the quality and features of the rice cooker. Despite there already being rice cookers, there are currently no cookers that provide arsenic reduction and nutrition enrichment. If consumers had access to the Automated Smart Rice Cooker, they would be able to consume safer, healthier rice. Modern society is increasingly growing more health conscious and is trying to figure out more ways to be healthy. In a world where time is increasingly fleeting, the arsenic reducing rice cooker would be perfect for a population of people who include rice in their normal eating routines. The Automated Smart Rice Cooker would not only give consumers an easy-to-use device to quickly cook rice, but it would also help with preparing a healthier meal.

III. Concise Problem Statement

CAUTION!!! Do not get too specific! Detailed analysis of different approaches/tradeoffs is for a later document. OK: “Competitors products only provide a 45 degree field of vision coverage; our product will provide a 360 degree field of vision”. Not OK: “We will use technology X and components Y and Z to implement a 360 degree field of vision in our product.”

• Concisely state the problem that your product will solve. • Can use technical specs to describe what your product will do and how it will be better

(some of this could go in the previous section).

PS

• Concise problem statement

Goals. Features.

With the Automated Smart Rice Cooker, consumers will be able to reduce the amount of IAS in the rice automatically as it cooks. To reduce the arsenic in rice, the Automated Smart Rice Cooker is designed to incorporate a proven arsenic reducing wash method into the cooking process. Not only will the cooker reduce IAS, but also consumers will have the option to add any blend of micronutrients into their rice by means of the cooker’s water reservoir. This feature should be proven helpful in areas where malnutrition is prevalent. The cooker will also have the option for the consumer to choose between steaming or boiling their rice. For a firmer, more traditional rice texture, consumers can choose the steam option. Likewise, for a mushier, porridge like texture, the consumer can choose the boil option. After the cooking process is completed, the wastewater can safely be disposed in the consumer’s sink.

IV: Implications of your success

If your product is successful, how will things change?

“The introduction of our iPod product along with an online music store for single song purchases will revolutionize how people listen to music and purchase it. This will shift purchasing of traditional CD albums from walk-in stores to online transactions for single- song content to be used on our portable music player. This in turn will affect how music artists and record publishers negotiate distribution agreements for content.”

Of course, only few products have this dramatic effect, but you get the idea.

PS

• Implications of your success

Real-life impacts of your design product

Along with reducing arsenic, the Automated Smart Rice Cooker will provide an easy means to increase nutrients in consumers’ diets by way of nutrition enrichment, which is when the consumer is able to add micronutrients into the cooker that will allow the rice to gain back nutrients that were lost in the cooking and rinsing stages. This should help alleviate malnutrition in developing countries. If the cooker is a success, a commercially sized arsenic reducing rice cooker would also be useful in rice cereal manufacturing facilities. Infant rice cereal on average contains 103 parts per billion of inorganic arsenic [4]. According to the FDA, “rice intake, primarily through infant rice cereal, is about three times greater for infants than adults in relation to body weight [4].” Since doctors suggest feeding babies up to 3 servings of rice cereal a day, mothers could be assured the cereal is safer for their babies if an Automated Smart Rice Cooker was used in the cooking process.

Section II: Design Requirement/Constraints • So you have figured out what you are going to do (Problem Statement), what next?

Create the technical formulation of the problem!

A technical formulation takes an idea and translates it to an engineering context, complete with relevant objective technical and practical design constraints and appropriate theory and design methodologies needed to address the design.

It translates a design idea into a set of related, feasible, engineering-specific problems.

Constraints are a “Good Thing” • Define the boundaries within which the search for solutions must be conducted • Enhance the effectiveness of the design • Avoid designs that are illegal or hazardous • Make designs economically viable

Types of Constraints or Specifications

• Can be broken down several ways Example: Bus specification • Physical (dimensions, connectors, pins) • Functional (arbitration protocol, read cycle) • Electrical (impedance, max/min signal levels)

• We will use Technical Design Constraints and Practical Design Constraints

Technical Constraints Requirements on which technical aspects of the design hinges, e.g. • Signal tolerances (> 30% duty cycle clock at 1 MHz +/-1%) •Supply current range (.5 mA min to 100 mA max) •Power efficiency (83% supply efficiency at rated load) •Speed (interrupt service latency < 1 uS)

Practical Design Constraints Broader issues affecting design’s success, e.g. •Economic: Production cost, operation cost, service cost… •Environmental: Temperature ranges, Moisture limits, Dust level •Sustainability: warranty, customer complaints, and etc… •Manufacturability: is automation available? •Ethical and Legal •Health and Safety •Social and Political

Common Practical Constraints • Time • Energy • Experience

  • Slide Number 1
  • Slide Number 2
  • Slide Number 3
  • Slide Number 4
  • Slide Number 5
  • Slide Number 6
  • Slide Number 7
  • Slide Number 8
  • Slide Number 9
  • Slide Number 10
  • Slide Number 11
  • Slide Number 12
  • Slide Number 13
  • Slide Number 14
  • Slide Number 15
  • Slide Number 16
  • Slide Number 17