Real-Life Communication -- Solution
It's impossible to design a robot unless you can clearly explain
and understand what you want it to do. Also, robots are normally built by
teams of people. All of the engineers on that team must communicate with each
other. Each engineer must be able to explain their role and say what they
need the other engineers to do.
Robotics engineers must also explain
to purchasers exactly what the robot is capable of doing, much like you had
to do.
You thought the best way to do this would be to find out what
the client wanted.
"It being so largely a research field, oftentimes
the client may not know which questions to ask," says robotics engineer Kjerstin
Williams. "They'll often come with an idea of what the problem is that they're
trying to solve, but may not be thinking about it in the way that would be
most effectively addressed with a robotics solution. So you need to be sensitive
about that."
These are a few of the questions you asked:
- Where exactly will the robot be used?
- Who will be using the robot?
- What will the robot be used for?
- How far will the robot need to move away from the controller?
- How far will the robot need to extend its arms?
- Will there be objects in the room that might get in the robot's way?
- How many different tasks would you like the robot to be able to perform?
The more information you have from the client, the better you'll
know what your robot is expected to do. Once you have this information, you
can explain what your robot can do, and determine if it can meet their needs.
Communication
skills are "very, very important," says Williams, "especially because it's
so interdisciplinary. And as you move from discipline to discipline you may
be interacting with people who have expertise in the area you need but are
not necessarily roboticists. So you need to be able to sort of translate your
objectives into language that's appropriate for the specialty you're talking
to."