NAU/JPL Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design 2001
Mars Rover Prototype Steering Subsystem Design
Status Report

The week of February 19 is the sixth week of the project, and we are making solid progress as we approach the halfway point. We have made the transition from the brainstorming phase of the project to creating detailed designs. We put a significant amount of time into assembling a well-defined list of design criteria and establishing weights for each factor to aid in our decision-making. Our fourteen design considerations are defined and weighted (on a scale of 1-10) as follows:

· Mass: always keep in mind that this will eventually be a flight project_____8
· Cost: create a design that minimizes financial cost___________________3
· Ease of fab: consider machining, welding, material selection issues_______7
· Robustness: stoutly built; able to withstand multi-year test program______10
· Durability: highly resistant to wear & fatigue (lifetime)________________10
· Simplicity: not elaborate or complicated; minimal # of parts____________7
· Flexibility: Design is conducive to modification / adaptation ____________8
· Mobility: Ability to negotiate terrain (obstacles, surfaces, angles)________10
· Control system simplicity: minimize # of actions necessary to turn________4
· Ease of design: must be able to complete design w/in our time constraints_10
· Predictability: Certainty of performance; repeatability________________10
· Environmental sensitivity: effects of weather, environment, etc.__________8.5
o Ambient temp
o Particles
o Soil interaction
o Non mobility-related surface characteristics
· Ease of maintenance: field maintainability__________________________6
· Vendor part availability: no long-lead parts required _________________ 5