Group C – Anil Singh, Noah Mackey, Ben Kline, Andrew Dalton Progress Report #1
Richard Busick – Sheng Zhu 2/14/19
Report of Progress
Situation
In Lab 2 compiling and testing of Arduino code was done, using a built controller with two motors. This was done, to give a basic understanding of how Arduino code, is written, compiled, and tested, in a proper fashion. Also in Lab 2 the sensors were supposed to be tested, but never were. In Lab 3 an Arduino code was written that moves a prototype AEV forward, and then stops it and moves it in the opposite direction. This was written as a smaller example of what the final code will be so an understanding of how the AEV runs, as well as how efficiently it runs, is attained. In Lab 4 each group member presented a concept drawing of a possible AEV design, which included 3 orthographic views. These designs, were then reviewed, and edited, until a final design that meet all requirements was decided upon.
Results and Analysis
Lab 2:
In the lab a mock situation was provided, in which a description of the movement the vehicle should undergo was given. The code was then written to follow the given commands. Once the code was written and compiled into the sketchbook, it was uploaded unto the practice device. Once uploaded the device was run to make sure it followed the given procedure. The device properly, compiled, uploaded, and ran as outlined in the lab procedure. Although they were not tested, it is important that the reflectance sensors work so that the AEV knows how far it has travelled, based off the distance between the sensors. This allows the programmers to have the AEV travel a set distance and then stop.
Lab 3:
In this lab a small practice code was written, and then run on the practice device to show it ran properly. The code was then compiled and ran on a mock AEV. This code was written to test the efficiency of the device in running, stopping, and reversing as measured by the power verses time graph in Appendix C.1 (Page 7). This information is valuable as it comes to writing the final code as it gives an understanding of how starting, stopping, and turning around impact the efficiency of the vehicle. Once again, the sensors were not properly working so our Power vs. Distance graph did not show any change in distance. The Power vs. Time graph did provide valuable data, as it shows the power grow during the accelerate command, before plateauing during the run command. There was then a spike as the direction of the motors were changed, before the power leveled off again. This is insightful as it shows how inefficient turning around is, as well as demonstrating the efficiency gained by accelerating the device instead of just starting it at full speed.
Lab 4:
Each member submitted a potential AEV design as depicted in Appendix A (Page 5). These designs were used as a basis on which the final design was designed. Anil’s design was based off making the AEV as aerodynamic as possible, by adding a point to the front. Noah’s proposal had very good weight distribution, because it was hung sideways. Ben’s design allowed the AEV to make quick turns as effectively as possible, by placing a motor on each end. Andrew’s design was focused on minimalism and giving the motors leverage by placing them on the outside of the design. Each design brought it’s own pluses and minuses, so for the final design the group decided to take parts of each of them. Noah’s design was used as the basis, because it was agreed that hanging it sideways was the best idea. Then Anil’s front wing was then added to increase the aero dynamics of the AEV. While Andrews placement of the motors and such were used, there were just flipped sideways. All of the designs were then rated, and the combined design scored the highest, so the group decided to move forward with it.
Takeaways
- The sensors can be unreliable, so they should be tested before the device is used.
- Accelerating is more efficient than starting at full speed, but can take longer.
- The quickest way to stop the AEV is by running the motors in the opposite direction, but even then the part doesn’t stop immediately.
- Weight distribution and aero dynamics will most affect the efficiency of the AEV so they were most heavily weighted on the design grading sheet.
Future Work
Situation
For the next lab session or sessions, the team will be having a committee meeting and completing advanced research and design. The committee meeting will be conducted in order to progress through the preliminary research and design. The meeting of the committees will allow the Smart City Grant Staff to see the progress on projects and offer any advice they may have. Advanced R&D will entail our team conducting one to two research investigations to develop improvements in our understanding of the operation of the AEV. There are 9 different topics to choose from for research. Some examples are Battery Testing and Testing Prototyped Parts. Battery Testing will be done to determine the relationship between the power and the number of runs. This consists of testing the same battery multiple times and studying the data of the power versus the amount of runs to see if there is a relationship between the voltage of the battery and the number of runs. Testing the prototyped parts will allow our group to discover the performance of the AEV with and without the new parts. This will determine whether the designed parts will improve the performance of the AEV.
Upcoming Goals
As a whole, our biggest and first goal is to be able to complete the tasks required to be done in lab by the end of lab. Our next goal is to assign the committee member positions to be completed for the next lab. Our third and final upcoming goal is to decide on which AEV design will be our final design.
Upcoming Schedule
In order to complete the first goal, we will communicate to one another to make sure that someone will completely read through the required documents for the lab. The task of reading will be done the day of lab. It will be fresh in someone’s mind and they will have a full and clear idea of what needs to be completed in the lab, so we will not be lost through the procedure. We will switch who does this each week, but having other members also look at the coming procedure. The second goal will be completed by the day before the lab. Noah will bring up the topic in class on Monday, and from there we will discuss each other’s interests and begin to assign roles where he sees fit. The completion of our third goal will be taken into consideration as a whole group, but will be lead by Andrew after the advanced R&D labs have been completed.
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Appendices
Appendix A
A.1
Noah’s Design
A.2
Anil’s Design
A.3
Ben’s Design
A.4
Andrew’s Design
A.5
Combo Design
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Appendix B
B.1
3-D Printed Part for Combo Design
Page Break
Appendix C
C.1
AEV Code:
celerate(4,0,25,3);
motorSpeed(4,25);
goFor(1);
motorSpeed(4,20);
goFor(2);
reverse(4);
motorSpeed(4,25);
goFor(2);
brake(4);\
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Appendix D
D.1
Team Meeting Notes from Lab:
Lab 1: 1/10/19
- Lab groups introduced
- AEV project introduced
- Practiced code in Arduino and tested it on the motor
Lab 2: 1/17/19
- AEV kits distributed and analyzed
- Reflectance sensors tested
Lab 3: 1/31/19
- Arduino code uploaded to the controller after some troubleshooting
- Data Analysis Tool tested but AEV was not yet put onto the track.
Lab 4: 2/7/19
- Correct Arduino code uploaded to controller
- AEV tested on track and data collected
- All AEV concept sketches were presented and Noah’s sideways version was decided on
- Team meeting tentatively set for Monday, Feb 11 to talk about the grant proposal and AEV design
Team Meeting Notes for Design:
2/7/19
- Members came up with their own individual designs
- Designs were compared
2/8/19
- Members compared designs
- Aerodynamics, balance, size and cost were deemed important by the members
- Aerodynamics and balance were deemed most important
2/10/19
- A new AEV design was created using vertical positioning rather than horizontal
- Aero pieces designed to direct air away from Arduino board
- Solidworks model created of aero pieces