Current AEV Findings:
From the initial testing, the group was able to gather results which led to the conclusion that the evenly weighted distribution would be by far the most efficient, in control, and safe design for the AEV. While testing the other two weight distributions, it was found that while one may be more efficient, travel further, or go faster, they overall did not have all of the qualities and specifications desired for the AEV to have. For example, with the back-heavy design, the front wheel was not in contact with the track while in motion, and was not able to reverse effectively. This led to a less than ideal design in terms of safety and maneuverability, as the AEV could not break quickly, and would occasionally rock back and forth while going forward. In the case of the front-heavy design, the AEV was not able to get any real momentum, going shorter distances, despite on average using more energy. This led to a much less efficient AEV, creating a potentially safer vehicle, but not overall as effective as would have liked to have been seen.
The evenly-distributed design led to the most success, coming in with very safe speeds, traveling ample distances and using energy very efficiently. Plus it was able to effectively travel both forward and backward relatively equal distances.
In the future the evenly-distributed design will be utilized for the AEV.
AEV Variants Tested:
AEV with Front-Loaded Distribution-
AEV with Even Distribution-
AEV with Back-Loaded Distribution-
Research to support Findings:
Results were gathered for four categories from three AEV designs, each running two tests.
For the first data collection, total speed (m/s) was gathered.
This helped conclude that the back-heavy design went much faster, but with visibly less control, while the even-distribution traveled slowly, but with visibly more control.
Gathered second was the average incremental energy (J).
Gathered third was total distance traveled (m).
This data helped conclude which designs were more efficient in comparison to their energy usage, and how effectively they used that energy.
Finally, the total energy used (J) was gathered.
This, in conjunction with the other three data categories, helped to determine an overall most efficient and realistic design to go with.
How does/will this make your AEV more marketable?
This will make the AEV much more valuable and marketable because these tests show that the group has done the proper research to find a safer, more efficient design. Going forward with an all-around approach should help create and develop the best AEV for all challenges and obstacles, rather than just focusing on efficiency, speed, or safety individually.