Brainstorming

We began the design stage by translating our research findings into specific needs within robotic reconnaissance planning. Three key insights into the planning process were revealed during the spring semester:

1. Scientists were not able to communicate plans in a language engineers could use
2. Specialized tools created fragmented workflow
3. Ongoing local problem solving required immediate communication

We presented these ideas to our client and conducted a group brainstorming session with representatives from the HCI Group and Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames. Together, we derived three design themes related directly to the robotic reconnaissance field test:

1. Need to speed up science planning
2. Need for immediate communication
3. Need for situational awareness

Previous field tests at NASA have shown the greatest need in robotic reconnaissance is to speed up science planning. In order to align with our clients’ goals, our team focused on this area in particular as we moved forward with idea generation. We began sketching possible solutions to better visualize our ideas. A complete list of these concepts, along with the corresponding need addressed, can be found in Appendix G.