The lab this week consisted of testing our chosen vehicle design and code. During performance tests 1 and 2, the design and code were tested individually in order to see which ones best met the requirements of the MCR. Now that a solid foundation of design and code have been met, it is time to test the smaller variations of the AEV in order to make it as energy efficient as possible. To do this, things such as weight being taken off the AEV, and minor tweaks in the code to reduce power usable will be implemented. This is all in effect to make the AEV as energy efficient as possible and for it to have an even energy to mass ratio.
As stated earlier, in order to narrow down energy usage, any extra weight was removed from the AEV. An example of this would be that 4 long screws were used originally to clamp the battery to the bottom of the AEV, but now it has been modified so that the battery is still in a stable positions while using two screws. In addition, extra power consumption has also been cut down. For example, the code originally had the AEV accelerate at 30% power, but since then, it has been cut down to 25% power. After acceleration, the motor speed would also stay at 25% power, but has been cut down to 23.5% power. Even though the power has been lowered, the AEV is still able to move better than ever. Every bit of energy is important, so even small changes like this can affect the energy usable throughout the whole test run. These are just some of the many ways tested to obtain a cost effective vehicle the MCR requires.
Throughout the course of this week’s lab, a few obstacles were faced. First off, the sensors on our AEV have been very inconsistent as of late. During last Tuesday’s lab, one of the large lights on the first curve of the AEV track was out. This affected the sensor readings by having our vehicle stop about 20 marks before needed. A similar issue was faced during Wednesday lab too where another light was out, but on the back end of the track. This was also affecting sensor readings by about 20 marks. In order to solve this problem, the group has created 4 scenario codes that will be used if lighting is bad during the final test runs.