Advanced R&D 1 – Battery Testing
* The code can be found under Advanced R&D 1 in the Arduino Code Index.
We will be testing how battery usage affects the total battery voltage and travel time. The AEV will be run at 30% power for 160 inches. After every trial, the voltage and time will be recorded.
We suspect that the battery voltage and will decrease each run and the time will increase as the battery power decreases.
| Number of Runs | Voltage (V) | Time (s) |
| 0 | Initial : 7.92 | 0 |
| 1 | 7.91 | 6.17 |
| 2 | 7.91 | 6.22 |
| 3 | 7.90 | 6.30 |
| 4 | 7.89 | 6.27 |
| 5 | 7.89 | 6.24 |
| 6 | 7.88 | 6.32 |
| 7 | 7.88 | 6.27 |
| 8 | 7.87 | 6.28 |
| 9 | 7.86 | 6.30 |
| 10 | 7.85 | 6.33 |
Battery Testing Graphs
Advanced R&D 2 – Motor Configuration
* The code can be found under Advanced R&D 2 in the Arduino Code Index.
We will be testing how two different motor configurations affect the performance and efficiency of our AEV. We will run the sample AEV twice and then run the constructed gear system AEV twice and compare results. For each run, both AEV’s will be run at 30% power for 150 marks. For data collection, the data collection tool will be used for the sample AEV and visual observation will be used for the gear system AEV due to the obstruction of its reflection sensors.
The team predicts that the gear system will perform better than the sample AEV and be more energy efficient.
Sample AEV Graphs
Video of Gear System AEV
Comparison:
The company observed that the newly built AEV operated more efficiently than the sample AEV. The gear system AEV was able to start much quicker and travel much faster than the sample AEV. In addition, the gear system AEV was able to break quickly without having a large amount of travel distance added. Lastly, the new gear system traveled further and faster on less power. The video sample above shows the AEV running at only 13 % power as when it ran at 30% power it flew down the track which could’ve resulted in damage had the company decided to continually test it.
Advanced R&D 3: R&D 1 + R&D 2 with Final Design AEV
We will be testing the change in battery voltage over time with the new AEV design, as well as the total energy vs time of the final AEV.
The team predicts the battery will be consistent with the sample AEV, but the new designed AEV should be more efficient and use less energy overall.
Final AEV Data
Comparison:
This data shows the direct drive AEV used less energy than the sample AEV. 14.5 Joules compared to 27 joules. This also showed that the battery voltage decreased at a consistent rate of about 0.01 volts every 2-3 runs.
The team observed that as the battery decreased, the AEV traveled farther along the track which is a result the team did not expect overall.