Week 6 (Oct. 3, 2018): Mapping out the Placement of Components

This week, I brainstormed more ideas for the circuit components we would use as well as their eventual placement in the pod car.

For the detection/collision-prevention sensor, we could use either an ultrasonic sensor, an IR-sensor, or a time-of-flight sensor. We could then mount the sensor on a servo motor, then have it continuously rotate 45 degrees to act as a makeshift Lidar and scan for any podcars in front of it and 45 degrees to the right of it. If an object is detected within a certain distance, notify the passengers (i.e. audience in our case) via piezoelectric speakers and stop the pod car.

Another thing to consider is that last year, the podcar would not stop at a station; it would go past a station because the RFID would not register fast enough because the pod car was moving too quick. One possible idea I am hoping to look into is to incorporate a GPS on the XBEE module.

Before leaving the SPDC, I took note of how the components were connected within the podcar: the Arduino MEGA with a shield on top and with the XBee module on top of the shield, along with female header pins for: the ultrasonic sensor, the RFID tag sensor, two non-momentary pushback buttons, and a RGB LED, and the Servo.

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Week 30 (May 8, 2019): Prototype Evaluation Day, Final Circuit, Incorporating 3D printed parts, Final Presentation, Posters, & Maker Faire

Today, we held Prototype Evaluation Day. Like the rest of the senior project classes, the advisor walks around the classroom, evaluating the senior project apparatuses, asking the student teams to demonstrate their devices, and explain their design, though processes, and results. Dr. Furman and Ron examined and inspected the Full-Scale model, then the Half-Scale model, and lastly, us, the Small-Scale Team. We had completed our circuit to power one pod car and one of the two induction charging stations prior to Evaluation Day, so we were able to successfully demonstrate the pod car driving around the track as well as the induction charging. While we were still troubleshooting issues with the tablet’s Raspberry Pi communicating with the Arduino, the Arduino is still capable of operating on its own, so we could at least demonstrate the motor driving the pod car around the track and through the offline stations. Depicted below is our final circuit that powers the pod car: Dep...

Week 20 (Feb. 27, 2019): Power Electronics – Battery & Amplifier

Since last week, I have been working on the current amplifier for the induction charger. We decided to abandon using the TPS53313 step down voltage regulator-current amplifier IC (rated at a maximum of 6A continuous output current) because we found that supplying +5V to a 3.7V LiPo battery was possible and safe. Additionally, charging a LiPo battery at 6A was found to be dangerous; the battery should be charged at 25% of the capacity rating (.25 x C), or .25 x mAh. In the case of the 6600mAh battery, it should be recharged at a rate of 1.65A or less. The last reason is that dealing with a surface mount device (SMT) is a bit difficult. I started out using a BJT NPN transistor (model: 2N3904), something I was most familiar with. However, its datasheet states that it has a 200 mA maximum continuous collector current rating. This is a significantly low current. Most, if not all, fast charging adapters today have a 2 A charging rate. While I don’t want to charge the LiPo batteri...

Week 0 (Aug. 23, 2018): Beginning Spartan Superway

Hello, and welcome to my Spartan Superway blog! My name is Patrick Barrera, and I am a senior mechanical engineering student with a focus in mechatronics. Once I graduate, I hope to go into at least one of my areas of interest: electronics, programming, biotechnology, and machine learning. Some of my hobbies include staying in shape by working out and biking, doing DIY electronic and coding projects, and spending time with my family. Working on the Spartan Superway project interests me because I would like to be a part of the future ... the future of transportation, the future of technology, and the future of society. I like working in interdisciplinary teams, especially with focuses in mechanical design as well as mechatronics, because I am able to learn things from outside my areas of knowledge. I would also like to expand my knowledge and skill set into areas that I do not know, such as welding and other machine tools, and to get hands-on experience with the concepts I learned fro...

Patrick Barrera's Progress for Spartan Superway

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