Goal: Travel to the end of the track, pick up the caboose, and bring it back to the starting point while stopping at the gate going down and back.
Outcome: In the first trial, the vehicle successfully traveled to the end of the track but failed to connect to the caboose. The vehicle then reached the gate but failed to stop at the appropriate location and did not trigger the sensor. Finally, the vehicle failed to stop at the proper location at the starting point. The score for this run was a 32/40. The second trial ran much smoother as the vehicle performed all of the tasks at hand and the team received a 40/40.
The design utilized during the final performance test changed a bit from the last performance test. The vehicle was originally unable to travel back up the incline due to the added weight of the caboose. In order to resolve this issue, the team extended the wings of the vehicle to place the motors further outward and away from the AEV-caboose system in order to allow for more air flow as the caboose was blocking the majority of air flow. The metal magnet was also extended to allow increased air flow. Both of these revisions proved to be beneficial as the AEV was able to travel up the incline.