Author: walther.271

Meeting 15

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February 23, 2018
3:00 pm
Hitchcock Hall Room 214

Meeting Agenda: 

  1. Get shaft encoding working
  2. Fix chassis

Meeting Notes:

Everyone was present for this meeting. Tom working on a program implementing shaft encoding, instead of using timing for robot navigation. Tom and Dean took the robot apart in order to make more room for servo motors. Dean also sanded the 3D printed skid, cut the chassis, and soldered microswitches. Meghan worked on the website, testing logs, meeting notes, and budget log. She also started looking at the Futaba servo motor and how to program it for the robot. Shyon also worked on the website and filled out a testing log.

Future Actions: 

  1. Need to put team number (H6) on each side of robot
  2. Start working on code for Performance Test 2
  3. Prepare for first board meeting

2/21 Test

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Purpose of Test: Wanted the robot to complete Performance Test 1.

Observers: Tom, Dean, Shyon, Meghan

1st Run (3:30, Course A): The robot successfully completed Performance Test 1 but run was unofficial.

Changed: Changed nothing.

2nd Run (3:33, Course A): Bump switches failed to engage when the robot hit buttons.

Changed: Made a conditional statement that if the robot failed to engage the bump switches after three seconds, then the robot would just continue with the next task.

3rd Run (3:45, Course F): Official run, bump switches failed to engage when robot fit buttons.

Changed: Realized an “or” in conditional statement should have been an “and”, and we changed this.

4th Run (3:56, Course B): Unofficial run, the robot successfully completed Performance Test 1.

Changed: No changes

5th Run (4:02, Course B): Official Run, robot successfully completed Performance Test I.

https://github.com/ballas13/Robot-Team/edit/master/main.cpp

2/20 Test

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Purpose of Test: Want to observe robot doing completing performance test 1.

Observers: Tom, Dean

1st Run (2:20, Course A): Observed the robot navigating up the ramp but failing to hit the buttons.

Changed: Added two 45 degree turns to help shift the robot towards the buttons and added moves for the robot to back up, turn back left, and run into the wall.

2nd Run (2:25, Course E): Observed the robot successfully doing all tasks shown above.

Changed: Added a forward movement across the course, a back right turn, and a forward movement toward the switch.

3rd Run (2:31, Course G): Observed the robot successfully doing all tasks shown above.

Changed: Added a turn for the robot to face the wall, added a forward until it hit the wall, and then go forward to hit the switch.

4th Run (2:38, Course D): The robot was successful until it failed to make a large enough turn towards the switch.

Changed: Increased the turn before the robot goes towards the switch.

5th Run (2:45, Course A): The robot was successful in completing all tasks for Performance Test 1.

Changed: No changes

6th Run (2:48, Course A): The robot was again successful.

Changed: No changes

7th Run (2:52, Course A): the robot was again successful.

2/19 Test

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Purpose of Test: Want to observe robot go straight, make a left turn, go forward again, make another left turn, go forward up the ramp, go backward down the ramp.

Observers: Tom, Dean, Shyon

1st Run (3:54, Course A): Observed the robot was not turning a full 90 degrees on its turns.

Changed: Changed this code to increase the amount of time the robot turned.

2nd Run (4:02, Course B): Observed the robot successfully completed its mission.

Changed: Did not change anything and stopped working.

https://github.com/ballas13/Robot-Team/blob/master/main.cpp

Meeting 13

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February 20, 2018
3:45 pm
Hitchcock Hall Room 214

Meeting Agenda:

  1. Finalize robot for Performance Test 1
  2. Attach CdS cell
  3. Finish code

Meeting Notes:

Tom, Dean, and Meghan were present. Tom helped finish code for Performance Test 1, and attached bump switches to the robot as well. Dean mounted the CdS cell while Meghan helped finish coding for the performance test. The testing log can be found here.

Future Actions: 

  1. Perform Performance Test 1 early
  2. Start on pseudocode

Meeting 12

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February 19, 2018
3:00 pm
Hitchcock Hall Room 214

Meeting Agenda: 

  1. Good final design on SolidWorks
  2. Build chassis to the point where the motors just have to be put on
  3. Get encoders and motors
  4. Write code for performance test
  5. Final report outline

Meeting Notes:

Everyone was present. Tom finished the line following portion of Exploration 2, wrote preliminary code for Performance Test 1, filed down lock collars, reworked SolidWorks model, and tested first part of Performance Test 1 code. Shyon helped put in the wheels and the axles using set screws and insanely small wrenches. He also wrote the final report outline. Dean soldered bump switches, soldered CdS cell, drilled holes & mounted flange plates, ordered screws for flange plate mounting. Meghan helped put on the wheels and axles. After that she set up Github and worked on website. The testing log can be found here.

Future Actions: 

  1. Finalize robot for Performance Test 1
  2. Test robot runs

Meeting 11

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February 18, 2018
6:00 pm
Bolz Hall Room 314

Meeting Agenda:

  1. Update past meeting notes
  2. Order any other parts
  3. Figure out how to build a robot by the first performance test
  4. Set up Github repository

Meeting Notes: 

Everyone was present. The team met up outside of class and tried to install SolidWorks onto their computers in hopes of creating a working final design. Dean was the only one to successfully download the program. Tom downloaded QT Creator on his laptop, then set up the Github repository and invited Shyon, Dean, and Meghan to join. Meghan then created a new project for the robot’s code. Then, the team members all updated the website’s meeting notes and agendas to date, trying to be as thorough and as accurate as possible. Meghan revealed to the team that she had been secretly taking pictures of them working for the website. Tom ordered more bump switches, and Meghan updated the budget log. Dean then updated the design schedule.

Future Actions:

  1. Build robot
  2. Finish final design on SolidWorks
  3. Start writing code for Performance Test 1

Meeting 10

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February 16, 2018
3:00 pm
Hitchcock Hall Room 214

Meeting Agenda:

  1. Complete Exploration 2 while learning about shaft encoding and line following
  2. Pick up ordered parts

Meeting Notes: 

Everyone was present. This meeting occurred during Exploration 2, where the team became familiar with the line following kit and shaft encoding using the Crayola bot. After setting up the robot and wiring the line following kit an motors to the proper ports, the group got readings for each of the optosensors for when it was on a line or the background of two different courses. After getting these readings, Dean started coding for the shaft encoding part of the exploration while Tom and Meghan started coding for the line following part of the exploration. Using the shaft encoding program template, Dean collected data on how many ticks on each motor were counted when the motors were programmed to move forwards for 6 inches. Based on the results, he realized that at higher motor powers, the motors would go past 6 inches and that the right motor would move 11% more than the left motor for the same power. After collecting the data and making the robot turn 90°, he tried to perform the required task of making the robot drive 14 inches, turn left 90°, drive 10 inches, turn right 90°, then drive 4 inches. During his first attempt, the robot did not drive the full 14 inches but did everything else perfectly, so he corrected the number of ticks and the robot succeeded during its second attempt.

For the line following part of the exploration, Tom and Meghan wrote a program that attempted to follow a straight and curved line using a line following kit.  At first it was unsuccessful as it did not follow the line.  However, after the group changed the ranges for the digital input from the line following kit, the Crayola bot successfully traveled on a straight line.  Next, for the curved line the group again changed the values of the ranges of the input, but the group was unsuccessful in following the curved line.  At this point, class was over, and the group decided to work on following the curved line in the following week.

Dean picked up the parts from the store that the team had previously ordered and put them in a clear container that Meghan brought to store the robot parts. The team had planned on meeting after this but realized that there is no open lab on Friday.

Future Actions: 

  1. Start building robot
  2. Order parts needed
  3. Set up Github

Meeting 9

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February 14, 2018
3:00 pm
Hitchcock Hall Room 214

Meeting Agenda:

  1. Order parts for robot
  2. Show SolidWorks mockup to Dr. Christy and GTA.

Meeting Notes:

Everyone was present. The meeting began with measurements of the course again. After this, the team members participated in a debate about which parts would best suit the robot they have envisioned. They came to the conclusion of using Vex motors and discussed how to fix the motors onto the robot. Meghan updated the schedule and added other tasks that needed to be completed. She also created a spreadsheet for the budget log and worked on the website. Tom showed the SolidWorks mock-up to Dr. Christy and explained its features. Dean came up with a list of materials needed for the first performance test. At the end of the meeting, Tom placed the order for the parts required.

Future Actions:

  1. Explore shaft encoding
  2. Pick up ordered parts

Meeting 8

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February 12, 2018
3:00 pm
Hitchcock Hall Room 214

Meeting Agenda:

  1. Get a start on drive train calculations
  2. Measure the course for getting an idea of the parts we need and for drive train calculations
  3. Work on the website
  4. Meet with Dr. Christy and Andy Urschel (GTA) about the Solidworks and cardboard mock ups, as well as the in-progress website

Meeting Notes:

Everyone was present. The team started the meeting with measurements of the course. The drive train calculations were completed two thirds of the way. Dean and Tom worked on ordering parts while Shyon worked on drive train calculations. Meghan worked on the website. Near the end of the meeting, the team met with Dr. Christy and the GTA about the website, the mock ups, and future plans. They complimented the team on the website and said that the ideas for the robot seemed feasible.

Future Actions: 

  1. Start building robot
  2. Order parts