Performance Check 2
Date: 3/10/2023
Test Duration: 10:30AM-10:55AM
Number of Runs Performed: 1
Team Members Present: AK, Will, Reina
Reflection:
The goal of performance checkpoint two was to press the indicated button on the kiosk depending on the color of light shown. In order to do so, the robot had to once again begin moving only once the start light was turned on, navigate up the ramp and through the upper deck of the course to the light by the kiosk, then press the corresponding kiosk button. Our robot was able to successfully perform all of these with relative ease by using the course walls to indicate position and “if” statements within the code to determine whether the light signal on the upper deck was red or blue.
Despite securing the back wheels to the motor axles with glue and adjusting the rubber bands on the wheels each time, traction issues continued to arise going up the ramp. We ran a few tests and found the traction issues were because of the right wheel catching on the top of the ramp. By tightening the screws on the front wheels, the problem seemed to go away. More tests will have to be run in the future to ensure the issue is truly gone, but luckily the problem didn’t arise again during the performance checkpoint itself.
Since there weren’t any additions to the robot construction-wise (in order to press the button, we used a temporary solution of attaching a tape measure to the back of the chassis), most of the time spent was on writing and testing the code. Scheduling time to meet was a bit of a challenge because of frequent nightly midterms but overall, we were able to fit in more tests than last checkpoint.
The code was a strength for this checkpoint. RPS was still having issues so through the contributions of each team member, we were able to hardcode into the robot enough directions so that it correctly positioned the CdS cell over the light signals and pressed the right button. We have not assembled the microswitches yet, but once we do, that will also help the robot redirect when it has moved too far. The addition of RPS (which is planned to be integrated into the code sometime between the next two checkpoints) will also inform the robot of when it has gone too far as well as guide it through a more time efficient path towards each task.