Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Week 3

This past week, I was tasked to fix any bugs that our code had as well as get the encoders to work so that our team can determine the speed of the motors. There were issues with getting the LED to indicate the correct status as well as breaking from a loop when the error button was pressed or the podcar had arrived at a station. I was only able to fix the kill switch issue as well as indicating the correct status but in order to break the loop in regards to the station arrival indicator, that is still a working progress. This is due to that pathing needs to be implemented so that that particular indicator will function as desired.

As for the encoders, I had to do some background research and look back at old mechatronics notes I had from when I took the class in order to gain some knowledge about interrupts. In order to use the encoders, I must use interrupts for this application so that we can calculate the speed. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get the encoders to display a value that resembles a proper speed for the motors. In the coming week, I am aiming to get the encoders to work properly and have them ready by the time our team starts to build the systems for the podcars.

Also as requested from Chris, I was able to remake a wiring schematic of our system since we are using new components and a different microcontroller. Chris requested the schematic since he wanted to create a prototype of the final product that will be mounted on the podcar. The last task assigned to me was to do some research and testing with the Xbees since these devices will be the main source of communication between our microcontrollers and the system that the mobile app team created. I have some knowledge of how Xbees function and I have been able to successfully turn on an LED based on what values the microcontroller receives through the Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE.

In the coming week, I will be aiming to finish any encoder related work as well as applying user input so that commands or values can be sent through Xbee to control our system as will be done through the app created by the mobile app team. I will also be working closely with my teammates to integrate the system altogether so that we can begin testing in about a week or so. Presentations are also coming up so we need to prepare for that too. Deadlines are coming and I feel indifferent than what I had mentioned in past blog posts.

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