SPARTAN Superway Semester 2 Week 9

This week, we planned out how we would set up our notification LED. We decided to get an RGB so that we could use the different colors to indicate different states of the controls algorithm. In addition, we talked about what we should be doing over break and decided if there was anything we needed to meet for.

In the coming week, we decided not to meet since it will be spring break. This is mostly due to the fact that neither the bogie or track is ready for testing and testing is the majority of what we have left to do. Instead, we will brainstorm and collaborate with the other teams to make sure everything will go smoothly from here on out.

SPARTAN Superway Semester 2 Week 8

This week, I focused on rewriting my individual assignment #1. To do this, I looked through many peer reviewed journals to find better sources. As for the project, we decided that we needed to implement a notification LED as well as collision detection to our controls system.

Since last week, I have begun looking into the supersonic sensor that was used in the legacy design to determine if it would work for our system. It seems that it should work because the radius of our turns is much bigger than the legacy design. This would eliminate the previous team's problem of the sensor not working around turns due to the angle between the pods.

SPARTAN Superway Semester 2 Week 7

This week, we successfully added multi-pod capability to our system. We can display this feature on our prototype system, and soon we will be able to display it on a completed track section. In addition, we completed our first individual writing assignment and got our grades back.

In the upcoming week, I will be focused on rewriting my individual writing assignment and determining what features still need to be added by the end of the semester. Because we have a fully operational system but no way to test it, we have had to use other methods to test the system. These include our cardboard prototype and use of the serial monitor on the Arduino IDE.

SPARTAN Superway Semester 2 Week 6

This week, we watched the rest of the team presentations and got a better idea for how the end of the semester would be. We now have a fairly good idea of  when we will be able to begin testing. As of now, we are waiting for the track turning and switching sections to be completed. Once these are complete, we will be able to make sure our our controls system can handle all of the track features that Superway has to offer.

In the upcoming week, we will continue to work on multi-pod capability for the Arduino and Python code. We should be finished with this by next week and be able to demonstrate the new feature.