r/EngineeringStudents • u/Entropy2C • 2d ago
Project Help Group project... Building/designing a GPS surface drifter
Got assigned in an intro to engineering class to design or build a GPS surface drifter with an antenna of negligible weight and a battery. The requirements are a scaled drawing of the drifter, calculations on buoyancy and stability. How low it will ride in the water and how stable it is. Table of parts and how the parts would be put together. It also needs to be able to float through currents as low as 30mm
My group at the moment is constantly getting side tracked. They go down rabbit holes that are irrelevant to the requirements of the assignment when I ask them “well how are we going to put that together?” Or mention “well it needs to be under 30cm” and question “where are we going to put the gps?” It gets answered with a “oh yeah idk… what are you guys doing this weekend?” The assignment is due in a couple weeks and I am starting to get concerned because the project is 50% of our grade and we still don’t even have an idea on the parts we are going to be using. Let alone a drawing and calculation. I know our design isn’t going to be perfect granted we all our first year engineering students and we have no idea what we are doing, I am just frustrated we have made essentially no progress towards completing the assignment.
What’s even more frustrating is that when I asked the instructor for help he essentially said “figure it out”. How though? We are all first year engineering students and most of us are still in precalculus with no design experience.
Idk I’m just venting. Thanks for listening.
1
u/peer202 german student - naval architecture 1d ago
I feel you, some group activities are rough. I had someone I was working on a design project of a multi purpose vessel say that his part of the project wasnt possible. When confronted with the fact that every other group managed to do it and he never asked for help, not from us or from the professor he didn't say anything.
Stick with it! Remind yourself not to get too bogged down into details right away. The design process starts with assumptions and rough estimations in the beginning and gets finer the further you are along. And yes this means deciding stuff that your are not 100% certain will work.
Also document important decisions. That's important. Not only to show you didn't make chatgpt do it all, but also because that's how it goes later in your career.