Sensors correctly secured to the AEV:
Function of reflectance sensors, their importance in completing MCR:
The function of the reflectance sensors is to sense what the wheels (which go on the AEV track) are doing, i.e. when they go forward, backwards, and brake, as well as tracking the distance traveled by the AEV using ‘marks’. The sensor’s ability to record and send the amount of marks that the AEV has traveled allows us to program the AEV using the Arduino to travel a certain distance measured by marks. By using marks to measure distance and recording these marks using the reflectance sensors, it provides us with an efficient and reliable way of knowing how far the AEV will travel and eliminates the excessive testing on the motors that would have needed to be done to try and predict the distance in which our AEV would travel. Without the sensors, we would be unable to precisely measure the distance traveled by our AEV and therefore would be unable to reliably program the AEV to travel a certain distance. Since the AEV will need to travel specific distances to transport people in Columbus, the reflectance sensors are extremely important in completing the MCR.