Part 1 – IEEE
This portion of the project was centered around my participation in WCU’s chapter of IEEE. During my time with the group this semester I contributed in the following ways: chassis design, chassis attachment, wheel attachment, plow design, and plow attachment.
During the chassis design and attachment portions I designed a prototype chassis that was ultimately left unused but still provided good experience. A different chassis was compiled using a metal frame and I was one of a few who helped bring that together.
The type of wheels we used were integral to our success at Southeastcon. Though the decision to use omniwheels on the robot was not mine, I helped attach them. These wheels had to be attached in a specific way to ensure the correct movement from the robot.
The design and attachment of the plow was something I was heavily involved in. Though there were many iterations of, and ideas surrounding the plow, the design we went with was ultimately quite simple. The attachment I used on the side plow was built on the connection of two T frames held together with screws and washers. To the face of this, the side plow was attached.
Part 2 – Elegoo Smart Car
This portion of the project was centered around me coding an Elegoo Smart Car to move around in intricate ways depending on whatever I had told it to do. If I had more time, I would have liked to do much more, but that is not to say nothing was achieved or gained.
The most important part of this project was understanding the fundamental behavior of DC motors and how activation works. The left and the right side need to be activated by calling ENA and ENB. This allows code to be run afterwards that can more intricately manipulate them. Following this, I was able to make the robot do a variety of things such as driving forward a certain distance and having it make a 180 degree turn and return to me. This code was intended to be the precursor to much more complex code that I would write as I learned more. Later on, I gained an understanding of calibration functions and how it allows for a very precise understanding of how the robot moves.The farthest I got was the manipulation of the speed at which the DC motors carried the robot forward and how calibration functions interact with variable speed. I enjoyed this second part thoroughly.
I found this Honor’s project to be quite fulfilling and it was a great addition to my in class work; many things were closely related. My work in IEEE gave me insight into how large projects are tackled in groups and how to work well with others on complex topics. The Elegoo Smart Car gave me a much better understanding of coding hardware and may inspire me to take up similar projects for fun this summer. I learned a great deal in this Honor’s project and look forward to applying that knowledge in the future.
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