ITERATIONS IN DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ILLUSTRATED USING RECONFIGURABLE ROBOT CASE STUDY

Iterations in design is ubiquitous to drive constant innovation in the pursuit of excellence in product development, service delivery, systems, and subsystems integration. Within a given time frame of a design process, iteration can occur at different scales, forms, types, etc. Iteration was highlighted recently in the innovation framework using the four’D’s design scheme, i.e., Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. Iteration studies generally focus on its occurrence, modeling, classification, methods, and impact, among others, in the domain of software development, service providing, aesthetics, and functionality. However, aspects of an iteration involving complex systems like a reconfigurable system become more intriguing because of its overall morphology with changing features and the coupled design of several subsystems. This paper reports on the various factors influencing iteration and are illustrated using a case study of the development of a reconfigurable robotic system named Panthera and its subsystems designed for cleaning and maintenance tasks. The case study of Panthera is reported from its initial ideation phase to the three versions development over a span of three years. Following the journey of the system design of Panthera, it details the timeline, rationale, and insight into the iterative processes and how they are applied to the individual subsystems in consecutive design iterations. With no one solution that fits all approaches to the topic, we aim to highlight and stimulate concepts to aid designers in the design iteration.