20230608 Shift to Baseline v2

Based on the current capabilities of the baseline software the team decided to move to v2. v1 includes basic movement with a time to distance conversion. It also includes custom depth hold and backstopping algorithms to give the sub a more stable platform. 

Moving to v2, we will continue to develop software and leave v1 untouched to fall back on if needed.

Initial Torpedo Tests

 04/08/23

Dry test setup Notes: Stopping plate cracked on first fire Too much friction between wedge and latch, did not fire on first go

04/09/23

	Tested with full length barrel Notes: Torpedo did not exit barrel Torpedo creates almost watertight seal with inside of barrel, prohibiting exit
	Attempted same test with shorter barrel Notes: Same issues…
	Drilled many holes in barrel to permit water flow Notes: Torpedo fires, but floats to surface very immediately Adjustment of torpedo buoyancy will be necessary for straight sailing

TBD:

• Design a dual firing mechanism

• Change backing plate material

• Refine ram plate to be flush with screws

• Refine barrel design

20230616 Torpedo Test

Time to test the capability of our prototype torpedo launcher at different distances!

The Test Plan

We will test the torpedo launcher by shooting at our test target underwater from 0.3m, 0.45m, and 0.6m, thirty-three times each.

Issues

The torpedo tends to turn to the left after traveling for about a little over 0.3m.  

Results

The launcher successfully made it through the target 20/20 times at 0.3m. The turning behavior occurs after it makes through the target. 

However, for 0.45m and 0.6m, it was not able to make it into the target reliably (1/10 at 0.45m, 0/9 at 0.6m) due to the turning behavior. 

I took a very long time to shoot, and we were not able to complete thirty-three times for each distance but garnered enough information to help us.

Lesson learned 

This helped us realize that our torpedo should probably be redesigned with four fins instead of three, as three fins are not enough to stabilize the torpedo.

20230427 Modem Discussion

 The team met with mentor, Alan Kenny, to discuss the modem software. Mr. Kenny and his partner provided feedback for how to reduce transmission time. The image shows a diagram for the current acoustic file transfer system.

20230526 Software Architecture

After discussion with our mentors, the team defined an updated software architecture. This architecture is reflective of the structure of the baseline code that has been developed. The key aspects are the pix-standalone.py and the robot-control.py that work together to control the movement of the sub. We discussed the mapper and path planning aspects and concluded that we will base them off a grid layout of the competition pool. We will take advantage of knowing the general position of the mission targets.

20230312 IMU Placement And Kill Switch Placement

20230312 IMU Placement & Kill Switch Placement 

To the left see the IMU holder and the right see the kill switch magnetic limit switch placed on the top plate of the electronics. Do we want to place the IMU in the center of the electronics plate or the center of the robot?

Kill switch holder here

24 by 24 sheet of acetal (Delrin) is about 100 dollars here

24 by 24 sheet of acrylic is about 66 dollars here