Programing Basics was an introduction to the AEV project, more specifically the basics of programming with the Arduino Nano microcontroller and Arduino Integrated Development Editor (IDE). Using pre-developed “function calls”, as seen in the table below, codes can be written to maneuver a constructed Advanced Energy Vehicle (AEV) on a suspended track. Group F was able to become comfortable with most of the function calls and write code for the Scenario introduce, as well as, come up with conclusion about the components of the AEV. The code written for Programming Basics is linked below.
| Code | Comment |
| celerate(1,0,15,2.5); | //Accelerate motor one from start to 15% power in 2.5 sec |
| motorSpeed(1,15); | //Run motor one at a constant speed (15% power) |
| goFor(1); | //go for 1 second |
| brake(1); | //Brake motor 1 |
| celerate(2,0,27,4); | ///Accelerate motor two from start to 27% power in 4 sec |
| motorSpeed(2,27); | //Run motor one at a constant speed (27% power) |
| goFor(2.7); | //go for 2.7 seconds |
| celerate(2,27,15,1); | //Decelerate motor two to 15% power in 1 second |
| brake(2); | //Brake motor 2 |
| reverse(2); | //Reverse motor 2 |
| celerate(4,0,31,2); | //Accelerate all motors from start to 31% power in 2 seconds |
| motorSpeed(4,35); | //Run all motors at 35% |
| goFor(1); | //For 1 second |
| brake(2); | //Brake motor 2 |
| motorSpeed(1,35); | //Motor 1 35% |
| goFor(3); | //for 3 seconds |
| brake(4); | //Brake all motors |
| goFor(1); | //For 1 second |
| reverse(1); | //Reverse motor 1 |
| celerate(1,0,19,2); | //Accelerate motor one from start to 19% power over 2 seconds |
| motorSpeed(2,35); | //Motor 2 35% |
| motorSpeed(1,19); | //Motor 1 19% |
| goFor(2); | //Go for 2 seconds |
| motorSpeed(4,19); | //All Motors 19% |
| goFor(2); | //For 2 seconds |
| celerate(4,19,0,3); | //Decelerate all motors to 0 in 3 seconds |
| brake(4); | //Brake all motors |
In completing Programming Basics successfully many observations were made about the AEV, these observations are listed below:
When running the code, the electric motors performed as almost expected. A slight delay was noticed when rotating the propellers at the beginning of the test program, this was at low power during the initial acceleration. Further test will be conducted to try to solve the issue. It was also noted that the braking and reverse commands were not as efficient as they should be and alternatives will be tested.
Note – 1 mark = 0.4875 in
| Function Call | Function | Example |
| celerate(#,I,F,t); | #-motor number(4=all)
I – Initial Percent Speed F- Final Percent Speed t- time to get to speed |
celerate(2,0,5,5);
motor 1 will go from 0 – 5% in 5 seconds |
| motorSpeed(#,S); | #-motor number(4=all)
S-percent speed |
motorSpeed(4,20);
all motors will go at 20% power |
| goFor(t); | t-time to go for | goFor(3);
the motors go for 3 seconds |
| brake(#); | #-motor number(4=all) | brake(2);
motor 2 brakes |
| reverse(#); | #-motor number(4=all) | reverse(1);
motor 1 is in reverse |
| goToRelativePosition(m); | m-number of marks | goToRelativePosition(5);
the AEV will go to 2.4375 in from the start |
| goToAbsolutePosition(m); | m-number of marks | goToAbsolutePosition(8);
the AEV will go to 3.9 in fron where the AEV is |