Mind mapping and brain storming
Mind mapping and brainstorming are techniques that engineering designers use to generate, express and organise ideas.
Brainstorming is simply thinking aloud and suggesting as many ideas as possible, no matter how mad they seem, without analysing or criticising them. Mind mapping is a way to get all of the ideas in your head down onto paper - a visual representation of your ideas.
There are no right or wrong ways to brainstorm or to mind map - it's whatever works for you and your group.
Before watching the video, try this exercise:
Use a piece of paper to brainstorm and/or mind map as many solutions as you can to the engineering problem of desiging a mechanical device which move to a metre high barrier, lift a payload over the barrier, and pass it to another device which will carry it another 2 meters along a horizontal track.
When you have finished, watch the video to see Michael's ideas. Did any of his ideas match yours?
You will also find other videos on design ideas, and brainstorming in the Your Project lecture series.
Watch a YouTube playlist of all the videos for the 'Mechanical Engineering Design' lecture series
Download the slides for this video (7.4 MB), or the slides for any of the other videos on 'Mechanical Engineering Design'