In this lab the team was able to work with the constructed AEV to traverse the monorail network hanging from the ceiling, then download data from the arduino and attempt to analysis it. The team played with the arduino code in order to get the AEV to go from the starting green foam to the first gate. It took many trials for the AEV to stop at all, then a couple more trials to get the AEV to stop at the gate. But once this coding had been complete, the team was able to attempt to harness the data from the arduino. The team had lot a couple of errors in doing this however and was not able to get the data from the arduino and had to use sample data to perform the calculations and understand what certain parts of the code can do to the power output. Below are graphs showing the distance and time vs power with phases outlined.
Above is the graph of power supplied power vs time with the phases blocked out by dashed boxes and below is the table of the phases with the code used in each of them. The time where each of them began are shown and the total energy used up to that point is also shown. The reverse function appeared to use the most power which is making the team believe that using this function could be very detrimental for the efficiency of this vehicle.
What the team was really able to learn from this lab was what arduino functions use the most power, and therefore what functions should be avoided if possible. The team in future labs will be able to use this ability to analyze what moves require the most energy to run. It will be very valuable when the team is near the final stages of the project and needs to lower the efficiency to compete with other team’s for the rebellion’s contracts.
The team also had a few discussions about the design of the AEV, and the team decided that prior to the next lab the team will have the minimalist design constructed. There have been many different designs discussed and the exact one hasn’t been decided yet
Takeaways:
- The team is getting closer to be able to have a simple level of control over the AEV in the direction and power
- The team can figure out what functions are energy efficient so the vehicle can be perfected energy wise
- The team will have the light weight design constructed by next lab.