User:Bfoley/robotcar

Write problem/project Goal
Create an autonomous toy car, then follow the Mad Scientific Method.

My First Task
Investigate previous projects that were of a similar nature. Try working with Arduino systems. Report back to team members.

Summary of actual work over first weekend
Created a page for HCC's Arduino resources, familiarized self with Arduino's programming language

Week1 Narrative
Resources for this project will be limited. The engineering department of Howard Community College does not have the funds to purchase large quantities of equipment, especially if the inventory already includes the necessary hardware. Therefore, I inventoried HCC's collection of Arduino boards and add-ons and created a page to share this information with my cohorts as well as other engineering teams. This research allowed me to get my bearings in the Arduino community while actively making progress on this project.  From there, I was able to begin programming Arduino boards. Tutorials at the company's website and other members of the Arduino community sped along the learning process. My cohorts and I will reconvene to share our findings and devise a course.

My Second Task
Figure out LinkSprite's Diamondback, see if it would be useful for this project.

Summary of actual work over second weekend
Created a power supply for the Diamondback board, connected the Diamondback to my home WiFi,

Week2 Narrative
In order to program LinkSprite's Diamondback and make use of the WiFi capabilities, I needed to download the correct libraries. These can be found through LinkSprite's webpage. I was able to use these to connect to my home's WiFi by modifying the code in regards to the gateway IP, SSID, and local IP. One of the hopes of the team is to make the project wireless and not dependent on a connection to a computer. I cobbled together a power supply from a JST connector, 9v battery clip, and a simple switch, which provides enough power to the board itself. Additional power may be needed, depending on the motor(s) used, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, this power supply can be used to test communication with the Diamondback.

My Third task
Continue working with the Diamondback capabilities. Try to get the board to remotely send data to my computer from a sensor.

Summary of actual work over third weekend
Completely fall apart.

Week3 Narrative
This month, my brainworms hit particularly hard and I was unable to make any progress on the project.

My Fourth task
Check in with the team, see what I can do to help push the project forward.

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
Angst.

Week4 Narrative
I was unable to get in touch with my teammates over the weekend due to my own inability to contact them. Though I have made it back to class, I should speak with my professor about my issues.

Complete Team Page
Team Page