Lab 5

This week the team continued working with the prototype AEV and programming for the ceiling track. The lab began with Jacob and Is constructing the AEV as usual, with Abhishekh and Vince working on the code for the new scenario given in the lab manual. After completing both, the team uploaded the code to the AEV and placed it on the track in order to see the results and observe the performance of the standard prototype AEV design. After running the code once with the regular prototype AEV, the team realized that the AEV was not travelling the full distance due to a problem in converting units. It took the team several minutes to identify the source of the problem and fix it, but afterwards the AEV ran without any problems and the team was able to complete the scenario. After this, the team modified the prototype to resemble different potential designs for the final AEV (the team was unable to completely replicate each due to both time constraints and not having access to all the necessary materials). This was time-consuming but crucially important because it allowed the team to see each design in action and compare them using the concept scoresheet. After conducting the tests, filling out the concept scoresheets for each design and talking over the performance of the different vehicles, the team decided on a final design that mainly resembled Vince’s AEV but incorporated elements from Jacob’s design as well. One important takeaway from this week regarding the AEV was that by breaking it down into smaller pieces at the end of the lab without separating it completely, the team could significantly decrease the amount of time spent rebuilding the same AEV at the beginning of each lab. This small takeaway will help future labs start much faster. Another important takeaway had to do with the finalized AEV design. Although Vince’s design scored highest on the concept scoresheet, the team realized that by using several elements from other designs, Vince’s model could be improved even further. The takeaway from this was that the team was able to compromise and combine ideas in order to create something stronger and more efficient than any one of the individual AEV designs.

This week the team’s primary concern is preparing for the presentation in Lab 7. The first important step is completing the PDR Presentation Worksheet, which will be checked at the beginning of the next lab. All members of the group can work on and discuss throughout the week to make sure everybody is satisfied with the team’s responses. The team also needs to look at the rubric for the presentation and start the process of writing the presentation. Since it is just an oral presentation with PowerPoint, this should be easy to accomplish in two weeks. The first step is identifying how the PowerPoint will be laid out and what information it will contain/focus on, which is something that the entire team needs to discuss together. This information can simply be discussed and written down on Google Docs until the entire team is satisfied. Once the basic outline of the PowerPoint has been determined, the PowerPoint needs to be filled in with the necessary information. It is important that the PowerPoint is not just informative, but easy to read and understand, with necessary supporting data and figures. Each teammate can fill in the necessary information on the slides they will be covering in the presentation itself, as long as all slides are acceptable by the time of the presentation. The Project Portfolio also needs to be brought up to date, since it is also going to be checked at the beginning of the next lab. As usual, this is something that Jacob and Vince can handle. To summarize: The four main goals to be completed by the end of the week are completing the PDR Worksheet, outlining the PowerPoint, updating the Project Portfolio, and (as always) completing the Progress Report to be turned in at the next lab.

Team Notes

February 16, 2017 – Lab 5

Teammates present: Iskandar Roslen, Jacob Jeffers, Abhishekh Kumar, Vince Le

Objective:

-Run data collection tests again and screening and scoring design sheets

Decisions:

-Jacob will take the AEV. Abhishekh will work on the AEV code outside of class. He can refer to Vincent if help is needed.

To-do/Action items:

-Create AEV part for submission for 3D printing

-Decide through screening and scoring a proficient design

-Run tests on new design and compare to old

-Create presentation slideshow

Reflections:

-We were able to complete this lab (concept and screening) in an adequate amount of time. Since we had extra time, we were able to run last week’s lab code again to regather data. The data we regathered will be useful in the future to compare our new design to the stock one.

Schedule

Code:

reverse(4);

  motorSpeed(4,35);

  goToAbsolutePosition(425);

  reverse(4);

  celerate(4,50,50,2);

  brake(4);

AEV design: