Jason Zheng, Joey Mintz, Suzanne Yam, Leobeliz Perdomo Blanco Systems Analysis 2 Lab
Group L-Instr. Professor Jayne Kim, GTA Anusha Mannava February 24th, 2016
Executive Summary
The objective of the Systems Analysis 2 Lab is for the students to learn how to download data from the automatic control system,to convert EEPROM Arduino data to physical parameters, and to calculate performance characteristics using physical parameters. A very important step in the design process is measuring and evaluating the performance of an AEV post-run, which is done by getting the EEPROM data. Once the AEV is ready and the code has been downloaded the EEPROM data can be recorded during the AEV run and it can be downloaded using MATLAB. Analysing how the AEV performed on the track and getting data is really helpful for the team so that they can make any necessary improvements to their AEV.
As the AEV runs through the track the AEV controller records the data using the EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ReadOnly Memory) on the Arduino Nano. A significant amount of data was recorded in this lab including: EEPROM time (??, Time in milliseconds), Current, ??, supplied to the electric motors in ADC counts — ADC stands for Analog to Digital Conversion. Voltage, ??, supplied to the electric motors in ADC counts — voltage readings dividing the voltage range of 0 to 5 volts into 1,024 different voltage levels, and Wheel Counts from the reflectance sensors.
Even though our team did not encounter any error in creating the program for the AEV test run, there are a significant errors that might happen throughout this lab. Errors that might happen are students might encounter problems in the procedure of downloading the data from the automatic control system. Besides, AEV may also travel past the first stop, just before the gate due to some coding error in their program for the AEV test run.Students can also encounter some calculation errors such as wrong conversion of units in calculating performance statistics using physical parameters.
Some recommendations can be suggested to avoid those errors which is mentioned before. Students are recommended to make sure of the procedure before starting the steps of downloading the data from the automatic control system. If they are not sure about any step written in the lab manual, they can ask professor or tutor assistants before proceeding. Double check the coding to make sure it is correct before running the programme. Students must make sure of the units in each calculation.
Appendix
Figure 1: Supplied Power vs. Time
Figure 2: Phases
Code
reverse(4);
// Run all motors at a constant speed of 25% power for 2 seconds.
motorSpeed(4,25);
goFor(2);
// Run all motors at a constant speed of 20% and using the goToAbsolutePosition function travel a total distance of 16 feet (from the starting point).
motorSpeed(4,20);
goToAbsolutePosition(332);
// Reverse motors.
reverse(4);
// Run all motors at a constant speed of 30% power for 1.5 second.
motorSpeed(4,30);
goFor(1.5);
// Brake all motors.
brake(4);