Day 1: March 3rd
Today we started building the base of our robot for our granola bar cart. So far, we have nothing built because we tried a bunch of different ideas and none of them worked. One of the ideas we tried was attaching the motors upside down so they would fit better. But, that made them unstable. We tried many ways to make it more stable, such as attaching a bar in between the wheels, but it wasn't long enough. Then we tried attaching one at the end, but they were unstable still so we just thought we should try a different method tomorrow.
Day 2: March 7th
Today we were able to build a robot that worked right. One problem we had though, was that once we made the robot work correctly we had to attach our ball bearing, but we could not get it to be at the right height. At first it was too tall, then I adjusted it and it was way too short. We then tried running it both ways and having it too short ended up working better.
Day 3: March 8th
So today we were building again. We mainly built attachments for our robots. One attachment we built today was hooks on the back that curve down so we can hook them onto our granola bar box. Also we attached a ultrasonic sensor so it could sense when someone gives a dollar to the granola bar cart. Also, we attached a color sensor that was pointing at the floor so it could follow a line. BUt then we ended up taking that off.
Day 4: March 10th
So today I finished building the granola bar cart. The first time I made it, it wasn't tall enough so I had to add a bunch of bars to make it so the robot could hook it. Also I added a bottom with more bars so it would hold the granola bars for hangry children better. I then tried it but it wouldn't move very well so I added some wheels. Finally I added larger hooks so it could grab the basket better, because before it just slid out from under the hooks. BUT NOW IT WORKS SO.
Day 5: March 11th
Overall we didn't really do to much exciting stuff today. We mapped, and we took measurements so in the next few days we can program our robot to go and do our task. Also today I started building our money pouch for people to put the money they use to buy the granola bars in.
Day 6: March 14th
Today I finished building the pouch that we attach to our robot that will hold the money used to buy our granola bars. The money pouch is really ugly, but it is functional. Some of the things we tried were attaching it directly to the robot, but I figured out that it worked better to attach it to the thing that our robot is pulling behind him. Then, it worked.
Day 7: March 15th
Today was not a very productive day. We programmed our entire program today, but we're pretty sure that it's wrong. Actually... I know it's wrong because we forgot to enter in the ultrasonic sensor block so it knows when someone pays a dollar. Also, the turns are kind of messed up because we have been practicing without the trailer thing that holds the granola bar, so it probably won't run right. But we'll see tomorrow.
Day 8: March 16th
Today, not only did I figure out how to make our robot turn better, but we pretty much got our program to work correctly. The sad thing about it is today when my partner Anna went to get our program from yesterday. It was gone. But even though we had to start over, it probably ended up being a better program than the one we did yesterday. Because yesterday was not productive. The way I made our robot more balanced was by putting the granola bar cart on top so it could turn better.
Day 9: March 17th
Today was very successful. We got our program to run correctly, except for the ending part. It does not go quite far enough to make it back to ms buchholtz room. So, tomorrow we have to add some rotations and it should work correctly. But the good part was that the ultrasonic sensor worked correctly the first time we tried it. Well not the first time, the first time we forgot to plug it in, so obviously, it did not work.
Day 10: March 18th
TODAY WAS AWESOME!!!!! Our program finally worked. We had to adjust the amount of rotations it took to get back, by adding 5 extra rotations. But then it worked. We had to redo it though because I forgot to take a granola bar out after I payed so it wasn't real enough. But then it worked the second time so we were okay. Then we had a little extra time so Anna and I made headbands. I also had to upload our video to the computer so we would have a link for our summative that we are taking next Monday.