Lab 4

Progress Report Questions

In these graphs it shows the power used by the Arduino board as a function of time and power. By looking at these graphs, the progression of the coding can be seen from it.

Analysis of Power vs Time graph

By looking at the power vs time graph from 0 to about three seconds you can see that the power of the motors is increasing. By looking at the code, it can be seen that this is the part where it is coded for the motor to accelerate to 25% power over three seconds. Furthermore, it is seen in this graph that for the next three seconds the power is very slightly sloped down. The part of the code that was being shown here was the constant power at 25% power for a second and the transition to 20% power for two seconds. The next part of the graph is the sharp spike in power and then it leveling out. This entire process took about 2 seconds. The part of the code that this is showing is the motor reversing and pushing against the momentum of the AEV which took about a half of a second to complete. Once this is done it ran the motors for 25% power for around 1.5 seconds. Finally, the power plummeted down to zero which happened almost instantaneously.

Analysis of Power vs Distance graph 

Similarly to the power vs time graph, the power vs distance graph can also show the progression of the coding. The graph start with the power starting at about 6.6 watts of power and flatlining at around that mark for about .11 meters. The part of the code this is showing is the acceleration to 25% power through the running the motors to 20% power. There is then a sharp jump in power in the graph and then leveling out. This part of the code the reversal of the motor and then the running of the motors in the opposite direction for 2 seconds. Finally the power drops suddenly to zero which was showing the braking of the motor and the ending of the code.