Division F’s AEV promotes safety, efficient motor configurations, reliability, and speed.
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Safety
Division F’s AEV uses a servo motor as a brake to promote safety. When travelling at high speeds, an emergency situation may arise where the AEV needs to stop quickly to protect its passengers and those in close proximity to the AEV.
As seen in Table 1, when testing the AEV with the servo, the AEV was able to go from 0.742 meters per second (29.21 inches per second) to a complete stop in 0.161 meters (6.34 inches). As a result, the AEV was able to come to go from travelling very fast to a complete stop in a short distance.
Table 1: AEV Stopping Distance with Servo Brake
By being able to stop quickly, the AEV will be able to respond to emergency situations well and will be able to avoid dangerous situations which other AEV models may be susceptible. As a result, the servo brake promotes the well-being and safety of the public and prevents accident and safety violation expenses.
Strategic Motor Configurations
During the advanced research and development phase, the division found that the pull configuration was more energy efficient than the push configuration. As shown in Figure 1 below, the power input for the pull configuration was much less than that of the push configuration when the motors were travelling at the same power level. In addition, the AEV completed the specified distance faster than the push configuration.
Figure 1: Power Input for Motor Configurations
In turn, Division F’s AEV uses the pull configuration when transporting cargo because it will be more energy efficient and will be able to generate the necessary power when transporting the cargo. Therefore, the AEV’s motor configuration is energy efficient and maximizes generated power.
Reliability
One of the main objectives or goals of an AEV is to be reliable and consistent when completing its tasks. Being reliable and consistent helps to reassure passengers that the AEV will not likely experience major unexpected safety concerns and will be on time to its destination. As a result, this AEV design uses the servo to accurately stop the AEV. From Table 1 above, the standard deviation of the AEV stopping distances was 0.0123 meters (.484 inches). In other words, the AEV was able to consistently stop less than 0.5 inches away from the specified stopping position. As a result, this consistent stopping position helps to ensure the AEV will not experience major safety concerns and will be able to consistently stop when the brake is applied. Therefore, the servo makes the AEV more reliable when stopping and avoiding safety issues will help ensure the AEV will reliably and consistently reach the loading zone and dock on time.
Speed
The division prioritized time efficiency for the AEV. Time efficiency will help to ensure passengers reach their destination as quickly as possible with few safety concerns. As a result, the team used strategic motor configurations and the servo brake to help the AEV travel quickly and brake quickly at gate, loading zone, and starting dock. In turn, as seen in Table 2 below, the AEV took an average of 53.7 seconds to complete the course with the fastest time being 52 seconds.
Table 2: Final Performance Test Data