OKBEST 2008
Just Plane Crazy

Storyboard

BEST Robotics, Inc. (BRI) returns to the surly bonds of earth after spending a year on the Martian surface performing tasks necessary to ready a space station for habitation by astronauts. In 2008, student-designed robots will address the Lean and Efficient manufacture of airplanes.

This project is driven by the growing demand for commercial and general aviation aircraft. Record sales have contributed to sizable backlogs for aircraft manufacturers. More manufacturing capacity is needed to meet present and forecasted demands. Engineers believe that part of the solution will lie in factory automation, and by streamlining existing processes.
Automation through the use of robots has been a manufacturing hallmark of the automotive industry for more than two decades. The question is – How can these techniques be applied to the aircraft industry to accelerate the assembly process and make it more efficient?

Aircraft consist of thousands (if not millions) of parts, including the rivets and fasteners required to assemble the complex structural assemblies. Traditional assembly techniques have historically
required thousands of manual operations by skilled mechanics. This problem only becomes more difficult as the size of the aircraft increases.

The experts at BEST Robotics Incorporated (BRI) have proposed that robots could be used to solve this problem. Experts within the industry that have relied upon traditional methods believe that this idea is “Just Plane Crazy” and have declined to pursue it.

Firm in their conviction, BRI has decided to form a new company, namely, BEST Aircraft Company. The new company will focus upon the BEST way to assemble an aircraft using robots that integrate BRAIN (Best Robotics Advanced Instruction Node) control. BRI has decided to compete as many
as four Divisions (teams) of the new company against one another to leverage new ideas and technology in order to derive the most efficient processes.

To exercise streamlining enhancements to the aircraft manufacturing, a factory building has been modified to allow up to four Divisions to competitively evaluate strategic process improvements simultaneously. The door size of the Warehouses and floor strength of the building dictate the
maximum size and weight of the robots. Accordingly, the robots must comply with the BEST Generic Game Rules which specifies size, weight and other restrictions. To ensure low cost and maximize innovation, the Divisions can only use an approved list of materials to build their robots.

Because of urgency to meet demands, each Division must show how much work they can accomplish in a relatively short period of time (match). The Division robots have only three minutes to perform the following tasks:

· Exit the starting position and activate the tie-breaker switch which also activates warehouse light(s)

· Navigate around, or re-position Foreign Object Debris (FOD)

· Enter the Warehouse and collect subassemblies of the aircraft being assembled and deliver them to the Assembly Area

· Completely assemble each aircraft and transport it to the Delivery Center and assist it into Flight