When you have a team working on a project where vaious individuals or subgroups work on different aspects of the project, it is essential that careful planning and decision making takes place before work on the specific tasks begins. That planning must include definition of the interfaces between the portions of the project. It must also include a clear indication of who will resolve differences between the subgroups.
To use your project as an example: The project could be divided into these sections: The framework of the arm, the pneumatic actuators for the arm, the electrical interface between the actuators and the controller, and the control program. The interface between the framework and the actuators will be defined by the required, forces, speed, and available space. The interface between the actuators and the electrical interface will likely be limited by the types of actuators types of power sources available The interface between the electrical interface and the controller defines the type of DAQ or communications hardware and protocols need to connect the computer to the hardware. FInally the design of the control program itself includes the user interface, the operational requirements of the system, the nature of the interface to the controllers, and safety requirements. Some safety requirements amy need to be implemented at the electrical or pneumatic hardware levels rather than in software.
Lynn
