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Exercise 1

Comment on the performance of the electric motors.

While there was a slight delay in the Arduino’s execution of the code, the propeller rotated at the start with zero resistance. This was observed qualitatively by noticing the rapid movement of the propellers and the little to no movement of the AEV.

Exercise 2

How will the commands used in this lab limit the success of the AEV in completing the scenario?

Users should thoroughly understand the function calls used to program the AEV. When the brake command is initialized, this does NOT stop the AEV immediately as it only stops the motor from running. Since the propeller will continue to run for a short amount of time due to lingering kinetic energy, engineers should factor it into the decision-making progress.

Describe the function of the reflectance sensors and their importance in completing the MCR.
The reflectance sensor is directly attached to the AEV to record the position of the vehicle. This is done by the sensor recording its passage over a non-reflective surface, thus sending the number of revolutions to the controller and registering as a mark, or 0.4875 inches. To ensure the accurate measurement of data, the sensor should be applied as close to the wheels as possible – a feature that ensures the movement of the vehicle.