(Fall 2017)
Testing will be done incrementally, where each component ordered will be tested individually. I have broken the testing plan into 4 phases (motion, sensing, navigating, and “complete”). Phase 1 starts out with motion where the goal is to get the robot to have fully function motion including forward and backward movement, as well as slowing down and stopping. The next phase is sensing where the sensors will be used to send information to the microcontroller. This information will be used to determine how far to travel and when to stop/go. The next phase is the navigating phase where everything will be tied in together. The robot will here be able to self navigate through the inputs from the sensors and gyroscope. Using this information, the robot should be able to move, turn, and self navigate. The last phase is “complete”, where the robot should be fully functional and will be tested again when everything is up and running. The “Computing” phase will be done along the way when each part is tested individually.
(Winter 2017)
Testing was done individually by each component. First, the motors were tested. Once those were functioning, they were mounted on the chassis. After that, using a motor driver, I was able to get the robot to move autonomously through a loop function which controls which motor is used, the speed of the motor, and the direction that the motor traveled in.