Monday, April 28, 2008

R/C Car Project

BrieAnne and I got our car, for our project class, to go forward last week! We were excited that things were finally starting to come together. We just had to get it to turn and store data... and a few other things. The other teams group had a member fall out so we combined forces! Yeah recruits! This weekend some group members worked on project while I worked on the report. Today was are big demo day and we had to have it all working. Well, now nothing works. It doesn't even go forward. Well, sometimes it does but most the time it doesn't!!! We have beening working on this all semester and spending any spare time we had on trying to get it to work and NOTHING! We kept trying to fix it and still NOTHING!!! Thankfully the teachers gave us a grace period but the moral is so shot that I don't know if we even want to try to continue, especially because we have to finish othe stuff.

The most interesting thing about it though was for the first time I experience brianne snap. She was not a happy camper! Sweet, quiet BrieAnne. And Jeff wanted to take a slug hammer to the project.

Anyways, I am a failure. Yah. (Said with the most lack of enthusiasm possible).

For those who car about the technical aspect: We are trying to create an inertial naviagation system in an RC car. We are using an accelerometer and integrating it's output to get position. The data from the accelerometer is compared to an predetermined "flight plane". If the car is off course the program corrects it by sending a signal from a microprocessor to a relay (with a transitor inbetween) to the motor or cervo (which turns it right or left). Data is stored in the EEProm to create a "black box" system that is intended to servive a crash. We are having lots of trouble with our code.

2 comments:

  1. Why don't you call your brother and ask him if he has any ideas. He's a little goofy, but yesterday he built a steam engine out of my old spray paint can. He can probably help.

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