It Lives!
The vehicle that we've been working on in Systems is, while not "done," at least at a stage where it does cool things. In the video below that was taken today, it writes "WELCOME" (note that Kate is not actually pulling it, just steering it, since at low speeds the vehicle doesn't reliably go straight).
Quicktime video of the event
For anyone unfamiliar with the project, there are five cans of spray chalk attached to the back of a converted Powerwheels car (chalk because we hope to use it outside, when there isn't snow). Before starting, you can type a message in a text file and save it. The program (all done in MATLAB) takes that string and converts each letter into a matrix of signals to send to the servo motors attached to the spray cans, telling them when to turn on and off. The motors that turn the wheels are also controlled by a program, although since we're running it at such low speeds, the motor controllers don't reliably cause the wheels to turn at the same rate. There are encoders on the wheels that would/will tell us how fast each wheel is turning and allow us to compensate, however, we haven't really gotten to that yet. The speed data from the encoders would also allow us to automatically adjust the rate of spraying to maintain the right distance between the dots. Right now we're timing the spraying based on the clocked constant speed of the vehicle
For a much cooler implementation of the same sort of idea, see this and be sure to view the video at the bottom of the page. Of course, this was the guy's master's thesis...
Future avenues for exploration (?): whipped cream, cheesewhiz.
Quicktime video of the event
For anyone unfamiliar with the project, there are five cans of spray chalk attached to the back of a converted Powerwheels car (chalk because we hope to use it outside, when there isn't snow). Before starting, you can type a message in a text file and save it. The program (all done in MATLAB) takes that string and converts each letter into a matrix of signals to send to the servo motors attached to the spray cans, telling them when to turn on and off. The motors that turn the wheels are also controlled by a program, although since we're running it at such low speeds, the motor controllers don't reliably cause the wheels to turn at the same rate. There are encoders on the wheels that would/will tell us how fast each wheel is turning and allow us to compensate, however, we haven't really gotten to that yet. The speed data from the encoders would also allow us to automatically adjust the rate of spraying to maintain the right distance between the dots. Right now we're timing the spraying based on the clocked constant speed of the vehicle
For a much cooler implementation of the same sort of idea, see this and be sure to view the video at the bottom of the page. Of course, this was the guy's master's thesis...
Future avenues for exploration (?): whipped cream, cheesewhiz.
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