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JensPlanOfActionRoboticsLab1

Jen and Erin's Search and Rescue Mission:

Erin and I are attempting to get our robot through the maze while stopping to pick up all the survivors of the terrible earthquake. The robot has to follow along the right side of the wall. It also has to be programmed to stop at each black line to pick up the survivors.

First Plan: Erin and I plan to use a stop switch, so that the robot will stay along the wall. Each time the robot hits the wall, it will turn for a predetermined amount of time and then follow the right side of the wall again. As the robot hits the wall, either motor a or b will be turned on for a certain amount of time to make the robot take a 90 degree turn. We will also be using a light sensor so that the robot will stop to pick up the survivors. We will program the robot to stop for 3 seconds according to the number it reads from the light sensor. After the stop, we will then program it to drive forward.

Possible Problems: One difficulty that we will encounter is one turn in the maze where the robot will have to make a tighter turn than most of the other turns. We will have to make the robot turn for a longer amount of time in order to make this turn. Another difficulty we will face is determining how long the the robot should be programmed in order to take an accurate 90 degree turn, and keeping the robot near the wall on the righthand-side. (we might put a touch sensor on the right-side of the robot and have the robot turn right slightly if the sensor is not activated.)

Results: We were quite unsuccessful with our first plan. The light sensor that was put onto the right side of the robot did not sense to black strips of tape in the walls of the course. We tried to lower the speed and power of the a and b motors, however the light sensor could not pick up the change bewteen the white wall and the black tape. So, we replaced the light sensor with the infrared sensor. Like the light sensor, the infrared sensor did not pick up the black tape. We also had a problem with the amount of weight on the robot. We programmed the robot to move forward, however the body would repeatedly bounce up and down while in motion. Finally, we added an egg to the bottom front of the robot to stop the system from dipping up and down.

Second Plan: We will first base our robot solely on the touch sensors. The robot will be programmed to move forward until the touch sensor on the front of the body hits the wall. After the wall is sensed, both a and b motor will move 1 second in reverse then only one will be turned on forward for two seconds to make a 90 degree angle. When approaching the wall where the robot takes a 180 degrees angle, Erin and I will have the robot approach the turn like a 90 degree turn but take two 90 degree turns. We hope to use the loop block to make the programing simplier instead of creating a large list of demands for the robot. (which leaves us with less room for error) After having the robot follow the course and having enough time left over, we will try to work again with the light sensor to sense the black tape and stop for the survivors.

Possible Problem: One possible problem is being able to time the reverse after the robot senses a wall because we believe the logo-block program won't allow us to program the robot for that command. Another difficulty we could encounter is if the robot goes off track, then the robot would be unable to correct itself because it will only be programmed to turn left when sensing a wall in front of them.