cars

So I probably won't be posting as much because these things take time to build, programme and trouble shoot. But I'm really really enjoying this class. I'm also taking some additional classes on my own time in Electr0nics (which I already have a knack for), keeping up with my math and programming. I also want to get back into Machining, but that is later down the road this year.

Today, we did a demo on Friction and then were told to build a vehicle of our choice using the materials we had. We had to make choices based on Torque, gear size, weight, balance and materials. Ours ended up being (so I"m told) the most elegant and simplest in terms of design, but they also have to race next week. We were allowed to use as many motors as we needed, given that as you add motors, of course, you're dealing with more weight, and issues relating to Force and torque, which could slow you down in terms of racing. 

For the programming, essentially we all had to make our robot turn on for three seconds and go in a straight direction autonomously. We will line them up later this week and run the code, and see which one (after three seconds) goes the furthest. That is how we can determine which one is most efficient based on design. 

Here are some pics of the finished robot car, as well as the initial sketch, which was designed by a guy named Atticus, in our group. I love that the sketch is so simple, yet we all understood what he was doing. It's also interesting how when you start thinking about weight and distance travelled, you start thinking about things like whether you should use the metal screws and washes versus the plastic fasteners, and things like that which affect your design.