Category Archives: Phelan_Talwar_Status

Status updates for Peter and Nakul.

Status Update 12/7

Posted on by
Reply

This week we integrated our two codebases so the project has all the needed functionality.  We also began working on the panel and photoresitor mounting to the servo motor.  Unfortunately a wiring mistake led to us burning up out PowerBoost, meaning we are no longer able to run the project off the battery.  There was not enough time to order a new unit, so we instead are running the servo off of a 5V supply and are using another variable supply as an analogue for the battery.  While not ideal, this allows us to showcase all the functionality the code has to offer.

Status Update – 11/30/2017

Posted on by
Reply

Goals for the week-

  • Get a working motor that appropriately responds to changes in light on the photo-resistor.
  • Finish the battery status indicator with LEDs.
  • Integrate code for both of our subsystems.

Tasks completed-

  • Peter: Setup motor to respond to light.
  • Nakul: Setup battery status indicator with LEDs.

Challenges-

  • Once again we faced a situation where the device was not recognized by the PC and we were unable to program and test the board after a certain point.
  • Due to this we were unable to integrate code for the different parts.

Plan for next week-

  • Both: Integrate code
  • Peter: Test the rotation and setup mechanical side to hold up the solar panel.
  • Nakul: Setup low power mode for specific times on RTCC and for low battery level.

11/16 Status Update

Posted on by
Reply

We were able to connect the battery to the PowerBoost, the Powerboost to the 3.3V regulator, and power the PIC from the regulator.  We also managed to connect the output from the battery to the PIC’s ADC so we can measure the battery level.  Currently we are showing the battery level on the LCD screen for testing purposes.  The output compare module was configured to generate the pwm signal for the servo control.  However, when connecting the motor control wire to the PIC output compare pin it causes the LCD to stop working and the PIC needs to be restarted.  After some more testing we also found we could no longer program or power our PIC over USB and it would only run on battery power.

Status Update – 11/09/2017

Posted on by
Reply

Goals for the week-

  • Finalize design ideas and develop a high level design plan for the different system components.
  • Finalize hardware parts to buy and submit Project Proposal.

Tasks completed-

  • Peter: Researched hardware components for Proposal and started conceptual design for motor control and PowerBoost usage.
  • Nakul: Researched existing solutions, developed high-level design plan and started software design for charging status display.

Challenges-

  • Choosing how to deal with low sunlight situations. We settled on one of our researched solution to use real-time tracking with regular updates to motor position.
  • Deciding between a stepper and servo motor. It was a difficult decision and we opted for a servo due to the simpler control mechanism.

Plan for next week-

  • Peter: Test solar panel rotation using the servo motor. Implement the PID control loop.
  • Nakul: Monitor battery levels in software and output status on LCD or using 4 LEDs. Look into how the sleep mode for PIC32 works.