Light Seeker 2000 Meeting Minutes
November 21, 2013
I.
Call to order
Ken Amici called to order the regular meeting of the LightSeeker2000
at 8:30am
on November 21, 2013 at Design Lab.
II.
Roll call
Ken Amici conducted a roll call. The following persons
were present: Andre D’Entremont, Nash Khan.
III.
Approval of minutes from last meeting
Ken Amici read the minutes from the last meeting. The
minutes were approved as read.
IV.
Open issues
a)
Finding a Track
b)
Wanting to add blinkers
V.
New business
a)
Our two photo sensors are not the same therefore
the sensitivity is different. Trying to find a similar Photo Sensor
b)
Lost a DC Motor, need to get a second one.
c)
Need to find a way to mount the motor and
connect it to one of the axels to turn the track
d)
Adding pictures to show the setup of the arduino
board.
e)
Trying to play around with a code to calibrate
the photo sensors so they will read the same values when initially exposed to
the same light. This means when we first turn on the robot, he will have a
calibrate indication light on, and we will put a flash light on each sensor
(with the same brightness) and then cover both sensors to which we hope will
cause the sensors that are different to then read the same values when exposed
to the same light. Initial code is attached after the minutes.
f)
Test the track links to ensure they fit together
appropriately and had motion that will allow our tracks to move the robot
g)
Created a SolidWorks representation for the
tracks we are going to use
h)
Contemplating using the servo hack we discussed in
class instead of a DC Motor due to our limited knowledge of how to setup
external power sources and wiring into the arduino board
i)
Discussed materials needed for net group meeting
to truly test our system at the current point:
1. Electrical
tape
2. Servo
Motor (2)
3. More
Pins for tracks
4. More
links for tracks
5. Additional
photo sensors
VI.
Adjournment
Ken Amici adjourned the meeting at 10:30am.
Minutes submitted by:
Ken Amici
Minutes approved by: Andre
D’Entremont
Pictures from Today’s Meeting
Just
a few links connected
Showing
the mobility of the links
Setup
to check to see if the calibration code was working properly
One
of the first setups ideas to have two photo sensors that would be connected to
longer wires and will hang off the side of the robot to allowing light readings
from both sides of the robot
New
idea of how to connect the Photo Sensors that cut down on the number of wires
and wire lengths.
Current state of where we are on the wiring. Still need to
connect the Servo Motors that will spin the track.
Modification to Calibration Code
This is a modified code that I got from online. It was
initially set to calibrate just one Photo Sensor and LED, but I changed the
code to now calibrate two Photo Sensors and then control two LEDs to ensure
that I was able to perform the calibration correctly. Unfortunately, this does
not tell me if the readings are the same. I will have to add a print function
to read the values on the com port.
// These constants won't change:
const int LeftSensor = A0; //
Left Sensor
const int RightSensor = A1; // Right sensor
const int LeftLED = 9; //
pin that the LED is attached to
const int RightLED = 6;
// Left sensor:
int sensorValueLeft = 0; //
the sensor value
int sensorMinLeft = 1023; //
minimum sensor value
int sensorMaxLeft = 0; //
maximum sensor value
// Right sensor:
int sensorValueRight = 0;
// the sensor value
int sensorMinRight = 1023;
// minimum sensor value
int sensorMaxRight = 0;
// maximum sensor value
void setup() {
// turn on LED to signal the start of the calibration period:
pinMode(13, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(13, HIGH);
// calibrate during the first five seconds
while (millis() < 5000) {
sensorValueLeft =
analogRead(LeftSensor);
sensorValueRight =
analogRead(RightSensor);
// record the maximum sensor
value
if (sensorValueLeft >
sensorMaxLeft) {
sensorMaxLeft =
sensorValueLeft;
}
if (sensorValueRight >
sensorMaxRight) {
sensorMaxRight =
sensorValueRight;
}
// record the minimum sensor value
if (sensorValueLeft <
sensorMinLeft) {
sensorMinLeft =
sensorValueLeft;
}
// record the minimum sensor
value
if (sensorValueRight <
sensorMinRight) {
sensorMinRight =
sensorValueRight;
}
}
// signal the end of the calibration period
digitalWrite(13, LOW);
}
void loop(){
// read the sensor:
sensorValueLeft =
analogRead(LeftSensor);
sensorValueRight =
analogRead(RightSensor);
// apply the calibration to the sensor reading
sensorValueLeft =
map(sensorValueLeft, sensorMinLeft, sensorMaxLeft, 0, 255);
sensorValueRight =
map(sensorValueRight, sensorMinRight, sensorMaxRight, 0, 255);
// in case the sensor value is outside the range seen during
calibration
//(Not sure how I feel about
this. This portion came from the original code
sensorValueLeft =
constrain(sensorValueLeft, 0, 255);
sensorValueRight =
constrain(sensorValueRight, 0, 255);
// fade the LED using the calibrated value:
analogWrite(LeftLED,
sensorValueLeft);
analogWrite(RightLED,
sensorValueRight);
//Read values in COM
}
Most Current Light Seeker Code
//LED to indicate power
const int power = 13;
//Motors
const int RightMotor = 3;
const int LeftMotor = 5;
//Photo Sensors
const int RightSensor = A0;
const int LeftSensor = A1;
//Needed for Calibration of Photo Sensors
// Left sensor:
int sensorValueLeft = 0; // the sensor value
int sensorMinLeft = 1023; // minimum sensor value
int sensorMaxLeft = 0; // maximum sensor value
// Right sensor:
int sensorValueRight = 0; // the sensor value
int sensorMinRight = 1023; // minimum sensor value
int sensorMaxRight = 0; // maximum sensor value
// Variables for void loop
int SensorLeft;
int SensorRight;
int SensorDifference;
void setup()
{
//Calibration of Photo Sensors
// turn on LED to signal the
start of the calibration period:
pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(9, HIGH);
// calibrate during the
first five seconds
while (millis() < 5000) {
sensorValueLeft = analogRead(LeftSensor);
sensorValueRight =
analogRead(RightSensor);
// record the maximum sensor
value
if (sensorValueLeft >
sensorMaxLeft) {
sensorMaxLeft =
sensorValueLeft;
}
if (sensorValueRight > sensorMaxRight)
{
sensorMaxRight =
sensorValueRight;
}
// record the minimum sensor
value
if (sensorValueLeft <
sensorMinLeft) {
sensorMinLeft =
sensorValueLeft;
}
// record the minimum
sensor value
if (sensorValueRight <
sensorMinRight) {
sensorMinRight =
sensorValueRight;
}
}
// signal the end of the
calibration period
digitalWrite(9, LOW);
//Set Motors as output
pinMode(RightMotor,OUTPUT);
pinMode(LeftMotor,OUTPUT);
//Serial Connection
Serial.begin(9600);
//First Readings
Serial.println("\nReading
Light Sensors.");
//Power LED
digitalWrite(power, HIGH);
}
void loop()
{
// read the sensor:
sensorValueLeft =
analogRead(LeftSensor);
sensorValueRight =
analogRead(RightSensor);
// Difference of Sensors
SensorDifference =
abs(sensorValueLeft-sensorValueRight);
//Sensor Readings for debugging
//Left Photo Sensor
Serial.print("Left
Sensor = "); //Title
Serial.print(sensorValueLeft); //Value
Serial.print("\t"); //This is for a tab space
//Right Photo Sensor
Serial.print("Right
Sensor = "); //Title
Serial.print(sensorValueRight);
//Value
Serial.print("\t"); //This is for a tab space
//Difference
//Motion of LightSeeker2000
if (sensorValueLeft >
sensorValueRight && SensorDifference > 120)
{
digitalWrite(RightMotor,
HIGH);
digitalWrite(LeftMotor, LOW);
Serial.println("Left");
}
if (sensorValueRight >
sensorValueLeft && SensorDifference > 120)
{
digitalWrite(RightMotor,
LOW);
digitalWrite(LeftMotor,
HIGH);
Serial.println("Right");
}
else if (SensorDifference <
120)
{
digitalWrite(RightMotor,
HIGH);
digitalWrite(LeftMotor,
HIGH);
Serial.println("Forward");
}
Serial.print("\n");
}
