Lab 1

The lab started with the setup of all the necessary components. The propellers were installed correctly to avoid any damage. After the motors were placed on the stand, the motors and battery were both connected to the Arduino and the team changed focus to the Arduino software. Initially when the team attempted to upload the code to the Arduino the program generated an error, stating that the Arduino needed to be plugged into port COM1. No matter which USB port was used, the computer failed to register the Arduino as being plugged into port COM1. The problem was solved where the the port setting in the Arduino program was changed to port COM7. The connection was successfully made and the team moved on to the next step. Although Scenario 1’s code was written on Abhishekh’s computer, the entire team collaborated through the use of TeamViewer.

After the team had finished writing code, the start button on the Arduino was pressed and the propellers began to spin after a few seconds. Although the code appeared to run, it seemed as if it was skipping certain instructions. Upon checking the code again, the team recognized several subtle programming errors. The commands used in the lab can be tricky. Some commands do not function exactly as the name implies, such as the “brake”, which does not actually brake the AEV. It is often necessary to chain together different methods in order to perform one simple action. After correcting the errors, no further problems occurred and the motors functioned as normal. The team noticed that the performance of the motors seemed to be slightly dampened, which was only recognized because of a small noise when the motors were activated at low speeds (the sound was not as audible on high power). This could have potentially led to some differences in exact motor speed. Due to the aforementioned difficulties with coding and connecting the Arduino to the computer, the team was unable to reach Scenario 2 (in which the motors play the Imperial March from Star Wars by spinning at different speeds). The only recommendations for the lab are for the team to follow the instructions exactly in the next few lab meetings (although some of the technical issues are unfortunately likely unavoidable).

Objective: Today the main objective was to start Lab 1 by programming the Arduino and main propeller. The team website also needed to be set up. The entire team worked on programming, while Jacob set up the website.

Team Notes

January 19, 2017 – Lab 1

Teammates present: Abhishekh, Iskandar, Jacob, Vince

Objective: Today the main objective was to start Lab 1 by programming the Arduino and main propeller. The team website also needed to be set up. The entire team worked on programming, while Jacob set up the website.

Decisions:

  • Who takes care of the lab kit this week
    • Iskandar volunteered to hold onto the box

To-do/Action items:

  • Continue building the website and ask about layout/format (Jacob)
  • Work on progress report (all)

Reflections:

  • Spent a few minutes struggling to fix an error with the Arduino connecting to the computer
  • In the future we know how to solve that error!
    • We also have a better understanding of the Arduino settings panel in order to fix similar errors in the future

After Vince joined, we decided that today Jacob would take notes and Abhishekh would do programming. Once we put together the experimental Arduino build and started programming, we realized that it would make sense to use TeamViewer so we could all see the code at once. Using TeamViewer, we worked through the code, only to run into an issue with uploading the code to the Arduino board. After searching for a few minutes we realized that while the program was trying to upload to the port COM1, we were plugged into port COM7. Luckily, this was an easy fix in the Arduino software. While the rest of the team was working on and testing the Arduino software, Jacob worked on setting up the homepage for the team project.

Schedule