Performance Test 1
For this subtest, the group need to code the AEV to overcome an uphill track and stop precisely before the gate to trigger the gate open. Two major methods were considered, one was to shut down motors after the AEV climbed up the hill and let it coast to the gate, the other was to accelerate the AEV to the gate and use a power braking to stop it instantly and precisely. However, both methods didn’t work fine to accomplish the goal. For coasting, the AEV can’t stop precisely before the gate due to randomness of the swing of AEV and friction forces. For power braking, it costed too much energy. As a result, the team decided to use coasting and power braking together which was done by shutting the motors down to give the AEV an initial speed to coast, then apply a power braking to stop the AEV before the gate. In this way, the team was able to both make the AEV stop precisely and save energy.
