The date is: Fri Jan 29 11:56:10 MST 1999

    This week a large amount of my time was devoted to 
reading up on the wall sensor and implementing some of the 
ideas we ran across.  We first started off using the Radio 
Shack IR detector because of the small output current, and 
for one, and only one time we were able to get our proximity 
sensor working with this detector.  We were able to output 
around 2.3v to 1.8v, which is a fairly suitable range, but 
after this one time, our detector did not seem to work, and 
I say this because our voltage was increasing as we got 
farther and farther away from the detector instead of 
decreasing.  We next tried the Sharp GPU15 IR, which once 
properly installed, worked fine.  We were getting readings 
somewhere around 1v change.
    Next week I will be working on the inverting op-amps 
which will be part of the wall sensor.  This will help in 
improving our signal for better resolution.  We did have a 
couple of inverting op-amps connected to our sensor, but 
they were not functioning properly, so I will be devoting 
some of my time next week towards getting the op-amps to 
function properly.  I will also be trying out another design 
for our wall sensor this week, it has fewer components, but 
from the final report of one of last years groups, they 
seemed to be getting pretty good voltage changes, so I will 
be implementing this design next week.     


The date is: Fri Feb  5 17:00:09 MST 1999

Our wall sensor was working fairly descent, and we were in 
the process of trying to get our inverting op-amps, which 
were being placed in our circuit to improve the resolution, 
when we burnt up the last of our Sharp GPU15 IR detectors.  
We got some more in, and after changing out some parts that 
got burnt, we were able to get a high intensity output, but 
our change in voltage was very small, around .12v 
difference.  We connected a single supply op amp to the 
input of our detector, but were unable to get any readings, 
we were getting a constant 4.15v.
Next week I will hopefully have a functioning wall senor. 
I will also work on getting the right angles, so as 
to get the best resulting output voltage.  The intensity 
and frequency will also have to be adjusted accordingly. My 
next step will then be to start preparing for our 
design review presentation, and if time permitting, begin 
building the circuit for the white line and flame 
detectors....  

  


The date is: Fri Feb  5 17:00:38 MST 1999




The date is: Fri Feb 12 14:25:40 MST 1999

I got our wall sensor working pretty close to what we were 
shooting for.  We were getting readings from about 
2.5-3.5ft. in distance, but our voltage change was still 
very low, around 0.2v.  I will nedd to add on some type of 
ampification other than the basic follower we currently 
have.  Our group decided we would go with the GP2D12s 
because of the simplicity and range, and the sensors 
mentioned above, with the GP1U52X, will be used as our 
back-up.  We will be using 3 GP2D12s and 2 white line 
detectors.  I also worked on the white line sensor this 
week.  Our sensor was composed of an emitter/detector 
combination, along with a couple of pots and a schmitt 
trigger.  The sensor worked well, giving out 0v when a white 
line appears, and 5v otherwise.  
Next week I will dedicate some of my time to preparing for 
our design presentations.  I will also etch boards for our 
wall sensors and white line detectors and get them connected 
and working to satisfactory condition.  


The date is: Fri Feb 19 15:00:57 MST 1999

This week we worked quite a bit on our presentation.  We 
worked on making our slides, the presentation itself, and 
going through what our overall design would be in the end.  
I did not do too much work on our sensors this week.  I just 
went through and made sure our sensors were still working, 
and began to etch the boards to place them on.
Next week I plan to have my boards etched and completed.  I 
will start working on our flame sensors, as well as putting 
together the components to enable our robot to be insink 
with the buzzer start.  I hope to have all of our sensors 
working by next week.


The date is: Thu Mar 11 13:33:58 MST 1999

Week ending 2/26:
We came to the decision that wall following would be more 
efficient if we used 4 wall sensors instead of 3, so we will 
be placing one more at a 45 degree angle to the front 
sensor.  So this implied we would have to use 1 GP1U52 on 
top of the 3 GP2D12 we will be using.  So I made one more 
board so as to better position the single supply op amp and 
the detector.  I also started the design of the switch board 
we will be using on the batteries.
Next week I will test the power switch and make sure it is 
working accurately.  I will also come up with the best way 
to mount our GP2D12's on our robot, as well as figuring out 
where to mount our white line sensors, where as to get the 
best and most efficient results.

Week ending 3/5:
I tested out our power switch, and from the readings we were 
getting (unstable), decided that we would have to use a 
better switch.  Another switch was implaced, and worked alot 
better.  I also placed all the parts to my wall sensor board  
and tested it out.  It worked fine.  I had etched the boards 
for our white line sensor and positioned the components on 
it, but the position I had them at was not giving out the 
appropriate readings, so I will have to etch another board 
to position them and angle them closer.
Next week I plan to have my white line sensor picking up 
accurate readings on an etched board.  This will mean 
positioning the emitter/detector pair in just the right spot 
on the board.  I will also be helping with the design of the 
casters and the base.


The date is: Fri Mar 12 16:59:40 MST 1999

Week ending 3/12:
Our overall goal for our group this week was to
get all our single components, such as the motors,
H-bridges, and PWM working together, which after debugging 
a few components, worked successfully.  I had to run up to 
Albuquerque Tuesday to get some more aluminum for our base, 
since we placed more holes than needed on the old one.  My 
white line sensor is on an etched board and working great, 
even when tested at an elevated height, like that similar to 
the placement on our robot.  I also helped out with the 
design and placement of our components onto our base.    

Next week:
SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!

Week after Spring Break:
We will have all our components functioning and ready for
review.  I will have my sensor boards on our robot so
that the most effective readings will be given.  As a group,
we will be combining all our single parts so as to function
together as one on our robot, and hopefully have the 
majority of our components mounted on our robot.


The date is: Tue Apr  6 16:42:12 MDT 1999

This week I worked on getting my sensors mounted onto your 
robot so we could begin testing on them.  I fixed up our 
other battery for use, by placing a fuse and connectors onto 
it.  I helped out with some of the testing of the robot on 
Tuesday, and I also worked on the circuit that will be used 
for our tone detection.  I was not getting the 0-5v output 
needed though.  It was only switching between 5-4.6v, but 
the bandwidth was between 3.4-3.7Hz, which the required is 
within.  I will try to fix this by putting a pot in to 
change the resistance.  As a group, we are in the process of 
trying to get our robot to do wall following. 

Newt week I hope to have the tone detection circuit working 
so testing our robot can run alot smoother.  Next week all 
our components will be mounted on and hopefully ready for 
application.  The majority of next week will be dedicated to 
programming, and adding and fixing things as we go along.    


The date is: Fri Apr 23 13:41:06 MDT 1999

This week I made a functioning tone decoder since we were 
having some problems with previous designs.  This was about 
the only thing we had missing from our robot, so once I get 
this done we should be good to go.  We, as a group, will 
begin to prepare for our final presentation this week and 
make sure we are ready for the competition next week.
The majority of next week will be dedicated to preparing 
for our final presentation.  There is not much else to do 
at this point, but hope everything is still functioning 
properly for the competition.  


The date is: Tue May  4 10:08:51 MDT 1999

Week ending 4/30:
This week we spent most of the time working on programming 
Sparky, so that he would be able to go through all sections 
of the rooms in the maze, being that everything else was 
pretty much done.  I also spent some time getting ready for 
our final presentation.  I made up all our slides, and just 
began going over what I had to cover in the presentation.
Next week will we will be giving our final project reviews, 
and getting things cleaned up.  I will also be spending some 
time on writing up our final report.  



The date is: Thu May  6 16:28:23 MDT 1999

This week I began cleaning out our cabinets and getting our 
circuits drawn for our final report.  We also got final 
reviews out of the way.
Next week I will be making sure everything is done on our 
final report, and everything is cleaned up in our cabinets 
and space.