4/17/19 8:00AM-8:55AM Hitchcock 308

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

The group presented the Final Oral Presentation to the class. Nick presented the introduction and the takeaways sections, Nathan presented the design processes and the finances sections, Luke presented the AEV performance section, and Louie presented the final design section.

4/15/19 8:00AM-8:55Am Hitchcock 308

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

The group completed the Final Oral Presentation. Nick worked on the introduction and the takeaways sections, Luke worked on the AEV performance section, Louie worked on the design processes and final design sections. Nathan completed the Final Cost Spreadsheet and completed the finances section of the poster as well.

4/12/19 8:00AM-9:20AM Hitchcock 224

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

The group initially ran some trial runs to ensure the AEV would complete the Final Performance Test. However, the battery that was being used started losing power which made the AEV struggle to get up the hill on the track. The group then switched out this battery for another, but ran into the same problem. Come to find out, the second battery was also about dead. Finally, the group got a third battery and Nick tweaked the code a final time before attempting the last two trials of the Final Performance Test. The Final Performance Tests were then conducted and the group earned a 38/40 for the first run, and a 40/40 for the second run.

4/10/19 8:00AM-8:55AM Hitchcock 308

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

The group conducted many test runs for the AEV before attempting the first trial of the Final Performance Test. Nick tweaked the code when necessary, and the whole group participated in testing the AEV. The AEV earned a score of 38/40 on the first attempt at the Final Performance Test.

4/8/19 8:00AM-8:55AM Hitchcock 308

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

The group turned in the Final Oral Presentation Draft Poster and Progress Report 3. Each member contributed evenly to the poster. For Progress Report 3, Nick did the forward looking situation and goals, Louie did the backward looking situation, Nathan did the backward looking takeaways and upcoming schedule, and Luke did the backward looking results and analysis. Each member also worked on the appendices for the Progress Report. After that, the group continued testing the AEV on the track to ensure it would pass the Final Performance Test on Wednesday and Friday.

Meeting 23

4/5/19 8:00AM-9:20AM Hitchcock 224

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

After comparing the graphs that illustrate the power efficiency of stopping with a servo or a reverse command, the group determined that utilizing the servo motor as the AEV’s braking system saves a lot of power, thus making it more efficient. Following these conclusions, Nick took all the reverse commands out of our performance test code and replaced them with servo commands. Following that, he added to the performance test code in order to make the AEV follow all the requirements for the final performance test. This involves bringing the caboose back to the gate, waiting seven seconds, and then proceeding through the gate to the beginning of the track. After the code was complete, the entire group participated in testing the AEV and tweaking the code until it completed the final performance test.

Meeting 22

4/3/19 8:00AM-8:55AM Hitchcock 308

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

This meeting was a continuation of the research and development of the servo motor. Louie brought in rubber bands to help hold the servo to the crossbar of the AEV. This ended up being better than the zip ties. The rubber band held the servo tightly to the AEV. The arm on the servo was also modified. Luke brought in a pencil grippy to place on the arm. Then Nick brought in duct tape in to help the grippy from falling off the arm. The duct tape was rolled up and placed inside the grippy so it rubbed against the arm. With the arm attachment finished, the AEV was ready to be tested with the servo, which also allows us to implement the servo into performance testing. Nick made multiple test codes in order to collect data of the AEV utilizing a reverse command to stop, and utilizing the servo to stop. After the entire group conducted trial runs, Luke utilized the data extraction tool in order to create graphs that illustrated the power efficiency of both stopping methods.

Meeting 21

4/1/19 8:00AM-8:55AM Hitchcock 308

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

This meeting was the official start of advanced research and development 3. The group decided to research the servo motor, a small motor with has an arm that rotates. The servo motor would serve as a new braking system. Before, the braking system consisted of reversing the propellers to slow the AEV down. Luke and Nick were in charge of researching how the servo worked and what commands needed to be used to work it. Then the group worked together to decide how the servo motor would be connected to the AEV. Zip ties were initially used to clamp the motor to the top of the AEV. After, two test codes were uploaded to the AEV and ran on the track. The first code only consisted of rotating the arm on the servo motor. The second code consisted of running the AEV a small distance and rotating the arm to brake the AEV.

Upcoming: Find a more efficient way to connect the servo to the AEV and implement the servo into the actual performance test code.

Meeting 18

3/27/19 8:00AM-8:55AM Hitchcock 308

Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

During this meeting the AEV ran differently than during the past meetings. Time after time, the AEV fell short of the sensor on the gate. This could be due to the added weight of the metal bar placed at the front of the AEV, which would connect to the caboose. The group decided to increase the amount of marks the AEV would initially run for. That way, the AEV would make it the gate sensor. After multiple trials, the group received steady results. It was also decided to decrease the amount of time the AEV reversed after proceeding through the gate. This would ensure that the AEV would travel far enough to make a connection with caboose. Finally, performance test 2 was completed.

Upcoming: Committee Meeting 2

Meeting 17

3/25/19 8:00AM-8:55Am Hitchcock 308

Luke, Louie, Nick, Nathan Present

The code for performance test 2 needed to be uploaded to the AEV and tested. Nick typed up the code on his computer and then the group tested the AEV on the track. After two successful tries, the AEV failed to reach the sensors on the next two trials. It was assumed that the battery was running low on power. Therefore, it would needed to be tested again during the next meeting.

Upcoming: Perform Performance Test 2