Performance Tests

Upon the completion of the AR&D tests and the development of the final AEV design, the project focus turned instead to the Performance Tests and the completion of those as efficiently as possible. The performance tests were 3 sections given to partition the final course for the AEV. Performance test 1 comprised of driving up to the first gate sensor without impacting the gate, then waiting for 7 seconds before proceeding through. The coding for performance test 1 can be found below.

reverse(4);

celerate(4,0,40,2);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goToAbsolutePosition(232);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goFor(1.6);

brake(4);

goFor(7.68);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(4,36);

goToRelativePosition(20);

brake(4);

Performance test was simply a continuance of the processes of test 1, and involved driving down the ramp on the other side of the gate to couple with the caboose, before driving short ways back up the ramp. The coding for this test is seen below:

reverse(4);

celerate(4,0,40,2);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goToAbsolutePosition(238);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goFor(1.6);

brake(4);

goFor(7.35);

reverse(4);

celerate(4,0,40,2);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goToRelativePosition(80);

brake(4);

goFor(1.6);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(4,20);

goFor(1.2);

brake(4);

goFor(6.5);

motorSpeed(1,80);

goFor(2);

Performance test 3 was the final test and signaled the completion of the AEV project. From the ending point of performance test 2, the AEV would carry the caboose back up the ramp to trigger the gate again from the opposite side, before driving back to the starting position and stopping within the appropriate distance. The code for this is found below:

reverse(4);

celerate(4,0,40,2);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goToAbsolutePosition(238);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goFor(1.6);

brake(4);

goFor(7.35);

reverse(4);

celerate(4,0,40,2);

motorSpeed(4,40);

goToRelativePosition(80);

brake(4);

goFor(1.6);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(4,20);

goFor(1.2);

brake(4);

goFor(6.5);

motorSpeed(1,80);

goToAbsolutePosition(442);

brake(4);

goToAbsolutePosition(399);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(1,70);

goFor(1.2);

brake(4);

goFor(7.08);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(1,80);

goToAbsolutePosition(262);

brake(4);

goToAbsolutePosition(101);

reverse(4);

motorSpeed(1,70);

goFor(1.2);

brake(4);

Data was taken from the final run of the AEV for the grading process. The graph generated from this data can be seen below.

As is shown on the graph, the complete run can essentially be divided into 4 phases, representing the four sections of performance test 3 where the AEV was in motion. The final used approximately 228 Joules energy, took 51 seconds to complete, and the final cost for the AEV parts was $162,258.