M & MEE 296 Final Presentation

Spring 2004

Presentation Overview Team Member Introduction Project Overview Overall Design Description Final Project Status Problems and Solutions Outstanding Problems

Alex Gomera Sophomore: electrophysics?!?! Favorite EE

Teacher: F. Koide

I hope to be like that man

David Larson Systems Track Least Favorite

Prof.: Prof.Siu                     

  

Paul Ramirez Lower Track: Computer

Systems Favorite Teacher: Prof. Dobry Quote: EE rules!

Arnold & Me

Me

Project Overview Build a fully autonomous robot Mouse Abilities:

Navigate and solve an arbitrary 16x16 maze in 10 minutes

Find the center of the maze in the shortest path or shortest amount of time

Programmed algorithms to: Record mouse movement in maze Find shortest path and avoid traps

Overall Design Description Initial Goals Hardware

Chassis / Motors Batteries Perf Board Layout Sensor Layout

Software

Initial Goals A working, cost-efficient micromouse Well designed both internally and

externally Gain knowledge from current teams

and advisor Right turn / left turn mouse Robust code for tracking Strong chassis to hold circuits together Heat sinks to prevent overheating

Hardware 7.5x11.5cm Chassis 2 sheets of Aluminum

connecting the 2 motors at the center

9. 6V unipolar stepping motors

8 AA Energizer brand rechargeable niMh batteries

Hardware 3 perf boards

2 boards for the left and right sensors

3rd board for the driver circuit and power

Hardware 16 top down IR sensors (pic)

Placed in front of mouse Picture of LEDs (label tracking,

stopping, turning) 6 in the front for tracking and

correction 6 in back for tracking and correction 2 outer middle for left / right turns

Board 1: Sensor Circuit

12 Tracking sensors

2 Left/right turn sensors

2 Braking sensors

Board 2: PowerVoltage regulators

Switch

Vcc I/O

Board 3: Driver Circuit “M” logo

8 Mosfets

Leds

Final Project Status Hardware development complete

Rabbit processor issues that prevent the micromouse from running

Software development Planned to implement driver circuit

tests and sensor tests for tracking Implementation and troubleshooting of

tracking code

Problems and Solutions Time conflicts Time spent on project Malfunction of rabbit and driver circuit

Use of DMM to check for any short circuits, correct power flow into elements

Visually check and inspect for loose connections Solder and resolder if necessary Visually check if circuits, sensors, processor are

properly connected Sensor layout

Sensors were soldered too close together Found replacement sensors and salvaged the rest

Problems and Solutions Faulty motor

Right motor demagnitized Found a replacement motor

Driver circuit not working Certain elements were not grounded

Software Sending 0 as outputs instead of 1s “Processor not detected” error message

Problems and Solutions Downtime while waiting for

shipping Hardware not locally available

Processor Mosfets

Experience Gained Reading and building from circuit

schematics Dynamic C language Critical thinking and logic skills by

algorithm development Soldering and resoldering circuits

Experience Gained Team development and

communication skills Understanding processor functions and

capabilities Understanding how hardware and

software are interconnected Use of innovation in design process Understanding behavior of circuit

elements

20 20 Hindsight Delegate specific responsibilities to

each team member Ensure all members know proper

methods for connecting processor and other circuit elements before initial test runs

Order extra components before a fault occurs

Begin design process earlier

Summary Overall 296 project experience

Challenging, time consuming, yet fun Developed skills in software and

hardware development Small step towards being future

successful electrical engineers

Many thanks for all your help!

Puanani (Advising)

PACK Rat

Hawaiian Punch

Asphalt

Lost Café (Sensors)

Rabbit Support

Prof. Tep Dobry

(Advising)

Questions?