Project Management
Major Challenges
- Building an arm/clamp that could hold a photoresistor sensor itself
- Building an arm/clamp that would hold the ball in front of the sensor
- Integrating the two portions of code with eachother(finding and identifying and reacting to the ball)
- Finding time so that we could work together
Coordination
One issue we had with coordination was that we were never actually able to work together on the robot at one time. In class, usually one of us was done and helping the other with their portion of code. Other than that we weren't able to work together outside class (in the lab or at home). We did, however, overcome this with instant messaging and email, which made it easier to discuss problems and other issues that arose.
What would we do differently?
Chris:
- I would've set aside more time at the beginning for debugging.
- I would've set aside more time at the beginning for construction.
- I would've set aside more time at the beginning for debugging my construction.
Casey:
- I would have liked to have the safe mode wrk differently so it wouldnt have had to be picked up everytime it sensed something.
- I would have liked to have more time so we could work together more
Were the tasks evenly divided?
We both spent an equal amount of time on the code. We both spent a good amount of time on our portions of code for the practical exams. After that, we both spent time joining the portions together with other bits of code. There should be no adjustments to the grades as we both did an equal amount of work.
What did it accomplish?
Casey was able to complete a successful code that searched in a random search pattern for an “egg”. The search pattern begins with a turn of an angle randomly picked by the robot. Once the turn is completed, the robot drives in a pattern so that it steers left for two seconds, then right for two seconds. This pattern covers ground and imitates the use of a metal detector. Once the egg was found, the program is to stop until the play button is pressed. Once it is, the program will begin all over again. There were bump sensors and parts of code from wimp mode in place so that the robot would turn 90 degrees opposite the bump and continue on the random search pattern. Also in place was a safe mode so that the robot did not fall into the goal at one end. The egg was located by a distance sensor placed in the front of the robot facing down. This position eliminates any interference with the walls and confusion the robot might get from a wall.
Chris was able to successfully complete a program that captured the egg, and decided whether it was the right color. If it was the wrong color, the egg was rejected. If it was the right color then it used light sensors to find the end point and then drive and deposit the egg at the goal. Then it repeated until the two minute timer went off, then the program shut down.
What we were not able to do was put the two codes together. There were differences between the writing styles and functions in the code that did not allow the combination of the two. Although we were not able to put it together, the fact that we were able to complete the two difficult portions shows a lot of hard work and effort.
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