Spring 2018 - Spartan Superway Small-Scale Controls Team

This week, we were able to integrate our Raspberry Pi device to run our GUI and send commands to the podcars. We did this by implementing an Xbee module onto the Pi through USB and applied the COM port of the GUI to that of the Xbee. Once the transmitter is set up correctly, we were able to send commands to the podcar and it is able to implement the directions as we needed. Below is a video showing how the system works:

This week, we have begun implementing the notification LED. The code has proven to be fairly easy to write, although quite lengthy. This is mostly due to every different state needing a different function for the LED. In addition to this, we have begun testing our controls system on the test fixture that it is mounted to. We are able to show how all the different parts of the system are working together to produce a functional controls system. In the coming week, we will be going on Spring break, so progress will be slow. However, we will be taking this time to communicate with the other sub teams and determine what the timeline will look like for the rest of the semester. In addition, we will be planning further testing with the completed bogie and track sections.

This week, we have begun to look into implementing an LED to notify the user of various states of the controls system. Currently, we plan to use green to indicate that the bogie is freely running the track and is ready for an instruction, blue to indicate that an instruction has been received, and red to indicate that the destination has been reached. In the coming week, we will be working to create Arduino code that implements this feature. In addition, we will be working on the ultrasonic sensor and collision prevention code. We need to test the sensors and make sure that they will work as the bogie and pod car move around the turns. This is because the legacy design was not able to detect an approaching pod car while traveling around a corner.

This week, we have successfully added multi-pod capability to our controls system. We can now flawlessly choose whatever pod we want and choose a destination. This is the final major milestone of our project. From this point, we just need to add the rest of the auxiliary components and get a lot of testing done. In the upcoming weeks, the small scale track will become operational. At this point, we will be able to fully test our controls system and ensure it is robust. We will be testing feature operation status, battery life, heat output, and overall reliability of the system. In tandem, we will be adding safety features such as slowing around corners, set-distance pod following, and add a kill switch.