User:Davidmichael47/enes100/fall2013/p1Mazie

Problem Statement (Finish description)
The objective of this project is to build a maze solving robot. The maze that the robot solves has to be hand made out of card board. And the robot called Mazie the cat could be built using an Arduino and Parallax kit.

Although maize sounds like an easy project to work on, it can get very tricky and interesting at the same time. Mazie is composed of two minor projects that sum up to make the whole project.

One minor project is the robot that can solve a maze and the other part is the maze that it needs to solve. The robot cant be demonstrated is there is no maze, so the project was focused more on making a navigable and complex maze. The robot is programed and driven using Arduino and Parallax. The Parallax tutorials can be found at http://learn.parallax.com/node/236 which was very helpful. There are many ways to program Mazie to solve a maze but we decided to start with use whiskers and then add on some IR sensors to help it navigate. Mazie uses the whiskers like a cat in the dark to find its way, thats why the robot is called Mazie the cat. The second most important part that should be put in consideration is knowing how complicated turns can mazie take in the maze. That way, the mazie would have no problem running around the maze freely.

Conceive
Market/Customer Needs The market is engineers and professors and help inspire then to work on the project. Customer is the one and only Mr. Plotnick. Needs is to be able to interest people in engineering. Not just that but to also create something thats "wows" the engineering community ........

Initial target goals To be able to build an operational Mazie that can solve a maze built by the same group. For this beginning part, the goal is to set up Mazie and test it using a mini maze to make sure it can run an entire maze without any problems. ........
 * 1) Document everything thats being done while working. This will help avoid making the same mistakes twice or more.
 * 2) Document and experiment if the mazie runs better with whiskers or with IR sensors.
 * 3) Getting as many card boards as possible. The more boxes, the bigger the maze.
 * 4)  Program the mazie and make sure timing and angle set on the program suites the maize while its operating.
 * 5) Build a maze for the maize and make sure its not complicated for mazie. The angle it takes has to be proportional to the angle turns mazie takes. Nothing more nothing less

System performance metrics ........
 * 1) Mazie is able to run through the maze smoothly by only stoping when it hits a wall and has to make a turn.
 * 2) Keep an average speed and slow down when its getting close to the wall, too slow would make it boring for the client and too fast makes it venerable to problems

Project cost and schedule Likely, 100% of this project was funded by Mr. Plotnick and the engineering department. Whiskers, resistors, tires, IR sensors as well as the arduino can be very expensive, but the Parallax kit and Arduino were provided to us. WIth that being said, Mazie without the maze would cost around $19.99 ........

Alternatives If the whiskers are not as affective or you what Mazie to navigate with better procession, them the IR sensors can be installed to improve Maize. ........

Design

 * Reverse Engineering:
 * Operations Manuals found
 * http://learn.parallax.com/ShieldRobot**Training video and tutorials found
 * Service Manuals found
 * http://learn.parallax.com/node/192**Theory of Operation
 * The break down into assemblies and modules
 * Alternatives
 * IR sensors can sometimes be more effective than the whiskers.
 * Final Design
 * http://learn.parallax.com/node/192*Utilization of Knowledge in Design
 * Technical and scientific knowledge
 * http://learn.parallax.com/node/192**Creativity, problem solving and group decision-making
 * Multi-Objective Design (DFX Design_for_X or Design For Excellence)

Implementation

 * Test and analysis procedures
 * The verification of performance to system requirements
 * The validation of performance to customer needs
 * Sourcing, partnering, and supply chains
 * Possible implementation process improvements

Operation

 * Maintenance and logistics
 * Lifecycle performance and reliability
 * Lifecycle value and costs
 * Pre-planned product improvement
 * Improvements based on needs observed in operation
 * Definition of the end of useful life
 * Disposal options

Next Steps
Find out if Mazie would run better with IR sensors or both the whiskers and the IR sensors. also finish building the maze. Test it and see if Mazie can smoothly run through the completed maze with out any problems. After testing and experimenting, it has been concluded that Mazie needs to sense the walls of the maze 100% accurately. To do this such changes need to be make like the turning time, turning degree, as well as making sure that the batteries are fully charged.