CS/EE/ME 75, 2010-11
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- 20 May 2010: course web page created. Note: this page contains preliminary information about the course. The course plan will be significantly updated in summer 2010.
Course Syllabus
Course Description
CS/EE/ME 75 presents the fundamentals of modern multi-disciplinary systems engineering in the context of a substantial design project. Students from a variety of disciplines will conceive, design, implement, and operate a system involving electrical, information, and mechanical engineering components. Specific tools will be provided for setting project goals and objectives, managing interfaces between component subsystems, working in design teams, and tracking progress against tasks. Students will be expected to apply knowledge from other courses at Caltech in designing and implementing specific subsystems. During the first two terms of the course, students will attend project meetings and learn some basic tools for project design, while taking courses in CS, EE, and ME that are related to the course project. During the third term, the entire team will build, document, and demonstrate the course design project, which will differ from year to year.
CS/EE/ME 75 can be used to satisfy specific graduation requirements in the CS, EE, and ME options and may be taken for up to 36 units of total credit, with permission of the instructors. Freshman must receive permission from the instructor to enroll.
Course structure
Fall Courses
Winter Courses
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CS/EE/ME 75 is designed to be integrated with the curriculum in the individual engineering disciplines. This is accomplished by linking the activities in the first two terms with regular classes in CS, EE and ME. These courses are used to design subsystems for the overall project, with the system integration occuring in the third term and the final implementation and operation occuring over the summer.
Grading
In the first two terms, the course grade will be equally weighted between course homework sets (one each for the first three weeks), course participation in project and team meetings, and the final project presentation. For the third term, the course grade will be based on the following factors:
- Homework (20%): Homework sets will be handed out weekly for the first four weeks of the class. Most sets will consist of some work that is done by the student's team, as well as a (short) individual portion
- Team presentations (20%): Each team will be required to make a presentation to the class summarizing their design studies.
- Project documentation (40%): All work performed as part of the class should be documented in an appropriate format (to be decided by the teams). Each individual will turn in the documentation for the items they are responsible by the end of the term.
- Participation (20%): Students are expected to attend project and team meetings and to participate in a constructive manner toward the over goals of the team. Team coordinators and instructors will provide assessments for each student based on the level and quality of participation in project activities.
2010-11 Project
The course project for 2010-11 will be the construction of a energy efficient, solar-powered building. The course will be structured to provide curriculum credit for students participating in the Caltech/SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) team entry in Solar Decathlon 2011 -- a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house (see http://www.solardecathlon.gov) which will culminate with a display of all the entries on the Mall in Washington, D.C., in October 2011.
First term
The course activities in the first term are designed to get students up to speed on the processes that will be used in the project. Students will generally fall into one of the three following groups, which will all have slightly different approaches to the course:
- No prior SD experience, taking linked course - This is the nominal track for students in the course. In addition to CS/EE/ME 75, you should be taking one of the "linked courses" (listed above), where you will do a project tuned to the Solar Decathlon. Students pursuing this option will be expected to bring their projects to TRL 4 (prototype implementation) or higher in the first term, using the tools from CS/EE/ME 75.
- No prior SD experience, not taking linked course - If you are not taking one of the courses that is linked to CS/EE/ME 75, you can still participate in the class by taking on a smaller course project. These projects should be advanced to TRL 4 (prototyle implementation) or higher in the first term, using the tools from CS/EE/ME 75.
- Prior SD experience - If you are a member of the SCI-Arc/Caltech solar decathlong (SD) team, you can use your ongoing work as the basis for your project. In this case, you are probably already at TRL 5 and the goal is to get the project to TRL 7 (baselined design). Students pursuing this option may choose to take a project course (eg, CDS 190 or equivalent) in order to account for the time required to implement their project.
The output of the first term will be a building information model, design drawings and project manual (SD due date: 23 Nov 2010).
Second term
The second term of the course will focus on the construction documentation phase of the SD competition (SD due date: 22 Mar 2011).
Third term
The third term will be devoted to construction of the course house.
