The System Design Project is intended to give students practical experience of (a) building a large scale system (b) working as members of a team. The project involves applying and combining material from several courses to complete a complex design and implementation task. At the end of course each group demonstrates its implemented system and gives a formal presentation to an audience of the students, supervisors, and visitors from industry.
During this project students work in groups of about ten on the design and implementation of a complete system to solve some practical and useful problem. All groups perform the same task. This primarily involves software implementation but may potentially also involve hardware design and construction where this is relevant. Recent examples of projects include: an automated on-line supermarket; building webcam-based home and commercial security systems; constructing Mars and Lunar rovers controlled from an Earth-based web browser interface, etc.
Each group is provided with the same facilities. These include one or more PCs dedicated to them and other equipment depending on the particular project, for instance a webcam, a Lego robot construction kit, hardware prototyping kit, diagnostic equipment etc. They also have a small amount of money to spend in any way they choose on any extra items they feel might enhance their particular design. Project management software is also available to them.
A staff member is assigned to each group as a supervisor. The supervisor's task is to advise and provide feedback on the progress of the group during the project but not to provide technical support. Consultants from amongst the academic and support staff are made available to advise on aspects of the task such as management, specific pieces of software and hardware etc. Groups meet with their supervisors at least once a week. They also meet amongst themselves more frequently to plan and coordinate their activities.
Towards the end of the semester, a day is set aside for groups to demonstrate their implemented system and to give a formal presentation of it to an audience of the students, supervisors, and visitors from industry.