1. BOM
2. Schematic Drawing -> Which program do I use to draw it?
3. Upload program on GitHub or the Internet
4. Reflection -> Basic overview of program, emphasize new knowledge of programming, and realization that I like mechanical engineering more 5. Final Video -> Basic overview of project
6. Third Milestone Video -> Talk about switch over to Bluetooth control
7. Second Milestone Video -> Talk about laser target
8. Picture of the “finished” project
Reflection on these Past Six Weeks
Main Project: Robot for Tank Wars “Completed” Project
[insert link to GitHub program here] [insert image of schematic drawing here] [insert link to BOM here]Main Project: Robot for Tank Wars Third Milestone
Hey everyone! Since the second milestone video, I’ve set up the website the would function as the controller for the robot. Although this is the same website the original creator used, it was actually pretty difficult to upload his website’s code because I needed to set up my own website from a webhost that I could upload the website’s code to. I also got the Wi-Fly shield that I have been waiting four weeks for finally came in. Once I got the Wi-Fly shield, I immediately began having trouble with how to implement it into my project. For the next few days, several of the San Francisco instructors, Ankita and Will, several instructors from other BlueStamp Engineering locations, and I tried to figure out how to use the Wi-Fly shield. All of us weren’t able to figure out how to use the Wi-Fly shield because of poor documentation from the manufacturers, nonexistent projects that proved that the Wi-Fly shield was a reliable component, and numerous faulty libraries. Although I was able to set up the shield as its own wireless network, there was such little time before that showcase night that I needed to switch my project over from being Wi-Fi controlled, to being controlled over Bluetooth using a PS3 controller. I mainly switched over to Bluetooth because I knew I needed more time if I wanted to get the Wi-FLy shield to work properly and that I wanted to produce something functional that I could demonstrate during the showcase night. Hopefully with the few days left before the showcase night, and before my final video, I can get a functional Bluetooth controlled robot.
Main Project: Robot for Tank Wars Second Milestone
Hello everyone! During these past few weeks, I’ve begun working on the main program for my robot and assembled the laser target.
So far, I have combined the four separate programs that I had in my previous milestone video into a single one by using a switch case function. When writing a switch case function, one can manipulate certain conditions to activate a certain case statement which then activates its corresponding process. For my program, I placed the four individual programs that I have written for each direction into four corresponding case statements. Each case statement would activate when I click its corresponding letter.
In addition, I’ve also assembled the laser target. This target consists of another Arduino Uno R3 board, a photoresistor, and a LED. All of these components are connected together through a breadboard. I’ve programmed the target in such a way that the LED will blink five times after the photoresistor is hit by the laser. But how does the LED know when to blink? The photoresistor measures the voltage difference in between the voltage needed to send the signal to the Arduino to the light up the LED and the voltage that is currently hitting the photoresistor. Once this difference is less than two volts (the value I have set), the signal will be sent to the Arduino and then light up the LED.
While assembling the laser target, I had numerous challenges I had to overcome. At first, the laser would light up on its own. This occurred for two reasons. Firstly, the circuit was organized incorrectly. Because of that, the LED would blink when in reality, nothing happened. I was able to overcome this problem by organizing the circuit so that the photoresistor acted as a voltage divider. //Because there is both a photoresistor and an axial-lead resistor, nothing will happen unless the light’s intensity passes the two combined resistances. Secondly, I had set the photoresistor’s threshold resistance too low. This means that the photoresistor activated the LED while being exposed to the room’s light, which is not what I wanted. I solved this problem by programming the Arduino to activate the LED only after the photoresistor received a certain light intensity.
Before my next video, I will work on the website that will function as the controller for the robot. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to demonstrate my robot soon because I had ordered the Wi-Fly shield that would have acted as the sender and receiver of commands from the website to the robot a bit late.
Main Project: Robot for Tank Wars First Milestone
Hello everyone! My name is William, and my main project is the Robot for Tank Wars. So far, I have been able to assemble the robot’s chasity and program the robot to move in four different directions.
The drivetrain, the platform I will use to mount the gearbox and electronics, consists of a Tamiya Universal Plate and a Tamiya Tank Wheel and Tread Set. The gearbox, the assembly that moves the robot, has a 114.7:1 gear ratio, and is powered by two 130-type DC motors. These motors are attached onto an Adafruit Motor Shield V2.0 which is then attached to an Arduino Uno R3 board. So far, the entire robot is powered by four 1.5V AA batteries, but I may need a greater power source later on.
I have written four individual programs that direct the robot to move in four directions: forward, backward, left, and right. The main challenge I had while writing these programs was writing them in such a way that the two DC motors could move simultaneously. Because a program runs one step at a time, meaning that only one motor can move at a time, I was able to solve this problem by decreasing the intervals in between each step of the program.
Before my next milestone video, I will program the website that will control the robot over Wi-Fi. I will need to mount a Wi-Fi shield, which will receive the signals I send through the website, onto the Arduino board. Moreover, I hope to install and program two ultrasonic sensors to prevent the robot from hitting obstacles.
Starter Project: Voice Changer
Hello everyone, my name is William, and I am a rising Junior at Lowell High School. My starter project was the voice changer. It takes my voice’s sound waves and converts them into one of four other voices: a vibrating, lower pitch, higher pitch, and robot-like voice. Through this project, I gained a new skill, and learned more about electronics. The skill I gained through this project was soldering, a process I have never done before and will be very useful when I perform other electrical work later on.
I gained new knowledge about electronics by researching each part of the voice changer. The voice changer contains resistors, capacitors, and speakers. Potentiometers and axial-lead resistors I used are resistors. Resistors reduce voltage traveling throughout the circuit by dissipating it as energy, mainly heat. The ceramic and electrolytic capacitors I used store energy in the form of voltage. The two types of diodes I used are LED’s (Light Emitting Diodes) and zenerdiodes. Most diodes allow current to flow in one direction. Zenerdiodes are unique because they allow current to flow in reverse once it passes the breakdown voltage.
This project was a fun project that gave me a great introduction to electrical engineering. Next, I will begin my main project: the Robot for Tank Wars.