Lab 2 Progress Report

During the External Sensors & System Analysis lab, we were tasked to become familiar with the external sensor hardware components, propulsion system efficiency, and wind tunnel testing equipments. Troubleshooting techniques while coding, and how to program the sensors were also important keys points to the lab. Before lab had even begun, the AEV had to be built beforehand and is located in Appendix, Figure 1. During the lab, the sensors were then installed to the AEV. Installing the sensors helped the group then determine absolute position of the and direction of the AEV at any given time using the reflectanceSensorTest command.   As the sensors were being installed, one of the group members was observing the wind tunnel. The purpose of the wind tunnel experiment was to give the group an idea of how motor efficiency and propeller efficiency would affect the AEV.

Initially, the results consisted of the AEV having too much speed coming around the first corner. This made the AEV fly past the gate. After a few more test trials and tweaking within the coding, the AEV managed to stop right in front of the gate. This was done by turning the power down from 40% to 35% and also by turning down the speed.

When testing the wind tunnel, the following results were from a propellor with a push configuration. In the wind turbine experiment, one member of the group observed conditions within the wind tunnel and recorded them down. Using these results, the most appropriate propellor configuration for the AEV would be the push configuration. This is because the push configuration provides a better propulsion efficiency as shown in Figure 2. The information gathered in this part of the lab will help  determine the design of our AEV down the line such as the mission concepts review. Things to consider is how aerodynamic it is, weight, and which propellor configuration.