Attached to the AEV design, there is a wheel with reflective tape on one side. As the wheel spins, light that reflects off of the tape is directed towards the reflectance sensors. The light that reflects off of the tape allows for the distance traveled by the AEV to be measured as for every revolution of the wheel there are 8 marks. These marks can then be converted to inches using the conversion ratio 1 Mark = 0.4785 inches. The reflectance sensors are necessary to the MCR as they allow the distance traveled by the AEV to be recorded. They can also be used to to determine the instant at which the AEV will stop its current state of motion, as the AEV can be programmed to travel a certain number of marks. When the reflectance sensor measures the specified amount of marks, the AEV can be stopped and go into a different state of motion.
The sketch above is a rough draft of a possible design for the AEV. The main premise is to attempt to copy the features of a plane in order to reduce drag as the AEV moves down the track.
The above sketch shows a rough draft of an AEV design. The main purpose of this design was to reduce the aerodynamic force acting on the AEV and ensure that the mass is evenly distributed throughout the edges of the AEV. By basing this design off of these two principles, the drag experienced by the AEV will be minimized as there will be very few surfaces that have a normal that is perpendicular to the velocity of the air relative to the AEV. By distributing the mass evenly throughout the edges of the AEV’s surface, the moment of inertia of the AEV is maximized. By maximizing the moment of inertia, the torque experienced by the vehicle is minimized, thus allowing the AEV to experience a purely translational motion.
The above designs feature sleek, aerodynamic frames. This will offer minimal air resistance and a low weight.
This is the final design created for the AEV. The vertical orientation of the T-shape makes the AEV more aerodynamic than other previous design. With the vertical orientation, the emission of two metal L-brackets is possible, reducing the mass. The bulky battery holder was replace with two rubber bands to increase flexibility and reduce the overall mass. The idea of manufacturing additional custom parts such as the AEV shell and a longer T-shape was terminated. The estimated power needed to move the increased mass was determined to be inefficient. This design remains aerodynamic while setting minimizing the mass as the main priority.