Meeting Minutes

With Lab 2 approaching, we decided that Nick and Ben would go into the lab today (9/8) at 4:30 pm to get a head start on the acoustic part Lab 2. We also decided that Raul and possibly Ryan would meet in the lab tomorrow (9/9) at 3 pm to get a head start on the optical part of Lab 2. We then discussed scheduling another set time for a team meeting every week, and the consensus was meeting at the open lab on Tuesdays at 4:15 pm. Finally, we brought up the idea of changing our team name.

First, we decided on some updates to our team contract. We then decided that Nick and Ben would go into the lab today (9/15) at 4:30 pm to finish up the acoustic part of Lab 2. We also laid out the list of tasks we needed to complete in order to meet Milestone 1. We were also able to start our Lab 2 write-up. Lastly, we decided on our new team name.

First, we laid out the tasks that we need to complete in order to meet Milestone 2. We then discussed some design ideas for various aspects of the robot, such as judiciously using the analog pins on our arduino and laying out the wall detection sensors. Finally, we decided to meet in the lab on Saturday (9/23) to work on the Milestone 2 tasks.

First, we decided to go into the lab tomorrow (9/30) to get a head start on Lab 3 and to work on implementing a multiplexer for the analog inputs to our arduino. We then discussed making a new chassis for our robot and the overall layout of our robot, with the intention of making the robot neater and more organized. We also discussed if we want to buy any parts for the robot, such as new motors or better sensors.

First, we decided to go into the lab tomorrow (10/14) to get more work done on Lab 3. We then discussed the idea of making a PCB for our robot, since we are getting a more complete idea of all the circuitry that we'll need. Finally, we discussed the timeline of finishing lab 3 and starting lab 4.

Since we feel we now have a good understanding of many of the sub-components of the robot, we decided to discuss how to bring all the sub-components together. Specifically, we discussed the best way to handle all of the analog inputs to the Arduino (line sensors, wall sensors, treasure detectors). We started thinking about maze traversal algorithms and the amount of data needed to completely map the maze. We also briefly talked about implementing SPI for serial communication between the Arduino and FPGA. Finally, we decided to go into the lab tomorrow (10/21) to work on lab 4 and the multiplexer.

First, we discussed the work that we need to get done for Milestone 3, implementing a working algorithm to facilitate maze exploration in simulation and in real life. We decided to try implementing the simulation portion using python. Now that we have a better idea of the final design of our robot, we also discussed starting the robot design page on the website in order to formally document our design.

First, we discussed the remaining work that needs to be completed for Milestone 3, like adding a done signal to our simulation and implementing the maze traversal algorithm in the Arduino IDE. We decided to go into the lab tomorrow (11/4) to continue working on Milestone 3. We also thought about our general work schedule leading up to Thanksgiving break, with Milestones 3 and 4 in mind.

We decided to go to open lab tomorrow (11/11) to work on the tasks we need to accomplish for Milestone 4. We identified the following tasks to complete: Fix multiplexer connected to IR wall sensors, Verify implementation of maze traversal algorithm on Arduino, Fix op amp circuit for amplification of treasure signals and start signal, Ensure real-time maze data can properly be sent between two Arduino's using the wireless radios, and Ensure FPGA can update VGA display accordingly.

We discussed the work that still needs to be done for Milestone 4, including mounting the treasure sensors on the robot, fixing the maze traversal algorithm, and getting the FPGA to properly update the VGA display. We also looked into what open lab times we could make it to later in the week to continue working, after our lab time today.

We discussed the work that still needs to be finished for the project, which includes establishing radio communications between the robot and the base station, optimizing our maze traversal algorithm, and testing all components of the system. We also decided which lab times to attend today and over the weekend in order to finish everything before the final competition on Monday (12/4).