Week 9

This week was a very successful week for my team and I because we were finally able to get the Processing software, that was used to interface with the pod cars, working. Without the help of the mobile software team, it would've been very difficult to have got the software working in the first place because there were no instructions left behind for us and none of us had any software background to begin with. It turned out that all I had to do was put the sketches in the same folder along with a folder that contained all the java files.

This week, I will be focusing on the presentation that my team and I will be giving next week. However, in regards to the project itself, I will be focusing on trying to understand the codes that were left behind by the teams from last year and the summer. The challenge will be figuring out which parts can be kept or taken out because there is a lot of the code right now that is associated with the bar code algorithm used for pathing.

As I had hoped last week, my team and I are finally picking up some momentum with our progress on the project and it won't be long until we are well on our way for testing.

Week 8

This week, I worked with Luis on developing some pseudocode. Therefore, we tried to understand the Processing software that was used by last year's team first. We were able to download the code that they had written, but we did not have the correct XBee device that would allow us to access the graphical user interface. Therefore, Luis and I would have to wait until next week in order to fully understand last year's team's code.

 I also helped test the sensors that would be used, which included: Magnetic reed switch sensors, Ultrasonic sensors, and RFID sensors. All sensors worked perfectly fine, but it was decided to have the RFID readers placed on the podcars rather than on the track. This was decided because placing RFID readers at each station would require at least one microcontroller and one XBee device per station, which would require a lot of wiring and extra complications that are simply unneeded. Instead, the RFID tags would be placed at each station so that each station would have its very own identification code and allow us to know exactly which podcar reached which station without the extra wiring. The only downside to placing the RFID reader on the podcar is size constraint, but that is an issue that could be solved.

We are a slightly behind on our schedule, but we are starting to pick up a lot of momentum in our progress. I am confident that Luis, Chris, and I will be able to create a successful prototype by the end of this semester.

Week 7

This week, I worked a little more on the presentation since my team and I did not present last week. This was the case for the whole 1/12th scale team, so not much progress was made as a whole group this week as well. However, Luis and I were able to get the RFID reader and sonar sensor to work. The sonar sensor will perform the task we desire it to, but we found that the card or tag must be very close to the RFID reader in order to be read. In addition, the card or tag cannot pass by the sensor too quickly or it may not be read. Therefore, the best use for the RFID sensors is to be placed at each station such that we may be able to know which pod car is at which station or has passed by. Currently, we are still on track, but I'd like to finally be able to test the pod cars on the track. Hopefully, we will be able to find a way to use the magnets as a means for positioning and switching.

Fall 2016 Week 6

Not a lot of progress was made due to the fact that everyone was working on their presentations during the prior week. However, the 1/12th scale still met up just to touch base on where every sub team is at. As expected, each subteam was busy working with their presentations so very little progress was made or shared.

Therefore, this week, most of the half scale gave their presentations to simply tell us what their plans were, which I thought was actually pretty interesting. Other than that, I worked on trying to get the RFID card reader to work in hopes that it could possibly implemented into the project. However, I have been unsuccessful so far. Workload from other classes are catching up as well, so time constraint seems to be a current issue.

Fall 2016 Week 5

This week, my team and I worked on some ideas for the switching of the bogie. For example, we figured out where we would place magnets on the track in order to have the bogie switch when and where we wanted it to. In addition, we decided that the reed sensor on the left side of the bogie would be used for switching every time it passed by a magnet. Therefore, we decided to use the reed sensor on the right side of the bogie for switching during pathing. For example, the reed sensor on the right side would pass by a magnet, but would run through a code in order to decide whether or not it will switch tracks.

In addition, the positioning team notified us that the sensor they used only gave a digital output of 0 or 1 so it could not be used for positioning of the bogie. Therefore, the positioning team is currently working on finding a different sensor that could be used.

My team and I are also working on our presentations for next week so I hope that we begin to make some progress in our design and coding within the next week.

Fall 2016 Week 4

This week, a lot of lingering confusion was sorted out. My team and I were given our deliverables for the year, but we were still unsure of what the other sub teams were going to work on. Therefore, the whole 1/12th scale team had a meeting in order to figure out what each sub team was working on and exactly how much overlap there was between each team's responsibilities. In addition, a Slack group chat was created for the 1/12th scale team as a means of a communication and keeping everyone on the same page so that the project may be completed smoothly and cohesively.

After speaking to the positioning team, my team and I confirmed that the ferrous strips and magnets will be implemented for tracking of the bogie. As such, we are now trying to figure out a way where we can build off of the positioning code in order to control the bogie's switching.

This week really gave everyone, including myself, a clear picture of what we need to accomplish and which teams we must work and communicate with. Therefore, the objective of this project is no longer so vague and ambiguous as it was to me before. I am very excited to see what my team and I can achieve in the next couple weeks.

Fall 2016 Week 3

On week 2, after being fairly confused in regards to what our objective for the project was, my team (1/12th scale vehicle controls) and I were finally given our deliverables for the next year. Our main objectives for this year are to basically improve the sensing and positioning aspects of the bogie so that it is able to switch tracks reliably and consistently with multiple other bogies running simultaneously.

After meeting with Dr. Furman and Eric, it was decided that the team would replace the bar codes with another method that would be more robust and reliable. As such, we settled on the method of using ferrous strips and magnets in order to read pulse signals as a way to locate the position of the bogie on the track.

Besides our technical responsibilities, my team and I also realized that communication with the other subteams is very important because all our work must come together smoothly and cohesively. Therefore, if one team decides to make any changes to their part of the project, it is highly recommended that they consult with the other teams working on the 1/12th scale. Otherwise, it may force every other team to make drastic changes, or maybe even the whole 1/12th scale project itself to fail. Thankfully, it is still early on in the year so it is a good thing that we are realizing this now.