Concepts Chosen
| Project Trajectory | Project Pages | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Problem Definition | Sliding Doors | |
| Planning and Milestones | Background Research | Chimney | |
| Meetings | Requirements | Chimney to Cubby | |
| Design Method(s) | Brainstorm | Cubby to Person | |
| Personal Logs | Concepts Chosen | Software | |
All concept ideas can be found via the Brainstorm page, here we only list the selected ideas which we plan to develop further.
General
Our Brainstorm led to the division of 3 main groups for design: Package Receiving, Package Delivery and Personal Mailboxes. Within these groups we brainstormed various ideas. When we reconvened, we realized we ended up having 4 component groups for a larger package delivery system and then concepts for the personal mailboxes.
The component groups were the following:
- The Openings – Location where the drone will deliver the package.
- The Transport – Methods with which to get the package from the opening to the delivery stage.
- The Package to Pick-Up – Methods as to how we get the package from transport into a designated cubby for pick-up
- The Pick-Up – Methods how people can pick-up their packages from the system
We decided to focus on these component groups for the continuation of concept selection, because it already split the delivery system into smaller parts we could work with. Elaboration on selections from these group would be more detailed than if we were to design the system as a whole. Also it allows for expansion and variation of the whole delivery system since the individual components could then be shaped and sized to fit other delivery specifications.
Openings
Within the Openings group we had several ideas: The sliding lid, bristles, and “the Flap”.
(See Package Receiving Concepts for drawings & elaboration)
Of the three concepts, the sliding lid seemed the most appropriate to continue on. Although the Bristles and The Flap were mechanically simpler to make, they also allowed the possibility for unwanted items to come into the system. The sliding lid provided security for the system and also provided a means for the drone delivery to communicate somehow with the package delivery system (via the opening and closing of the doors).
To follow progress on the designing of the Sliding Doors click HERE.
Transport
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| Chimney | Rotating Disks |
Within the Transport group we also had several ideas:
(See Package Receiving Concepts for drawings & elaborations)
Of these ideas, we eliminated some almost immediately because of the mechanical complexity and space which these systems would take up. This would make it difficult for maintenance. Also, unfortunately, for our project we do not have the time (and possibly not all the knowledge) to well develop these ideas (The Mill, the Rollers or the Conveyor Belt).
The choices left over where the Rotating Disks & the Chimney. These two are both mechanically relatively simple to make, although we do not have knowledge about whether either rollers with varying grades of friction or bristles varying with distance in between will be the better selection for design. Therefore, we chose to focus on both of these option for the Transport design and to test which one of the two would make a better solution.
To follow progress on the designing of the Chimney click HERE.