We first adjusted Oogway’s buoyancy. With the two large buoyancy blocks attached behind the torpedo launcher, along with adjustments made in the pool, we were able to make Oogway’s buoyancy level. In this process, we noticed that the spacers for the buoyancy shafts are too small and need to be reprinted with a larger diameter. Additionally, we found that it was difficult to adjust the screws on the buoyancy shaft collars using pliers; having a socket wrench of the appropriate size would make that much easier.
We then adjusted static power. We were able to make the robot stay at 1 meter depth using static power alone.
We set up the pre-qualification course. We used the red buoy instead of the large black pole, as the buoy is easier to set up and move if needed. We put down black duct tape at the positions of the robot when starting a run, gate, and buoy.
We ran the same pre-qualification code that we used last year. The code mostly worked. The robot slowly moved forward while aligning itself with the blue lane marker. The robot grazed the top of the gate when going through, and remained a little too close to the surface when approaching the buoy. The robot ran into the buoy, so we ended the run. Overall, this proved that the pre-qualification code will need only minor adjustments; the overall approach will remain the same.
At this point, the voltage had dropped to 15.0V, so we took the robot out and changed the battery. When we turned the switches on, none of the electrical components inside lit up and we didn’t hear the beeps made by the ESCs. We tried plugging in all three batteries we had on hand, and all of them resulted in the same issue.
We opened the capsule, and Patrick did some debugging. We weren’t able to pinpoint the cause of the issue, so we decided to pack up early and head back to the Foundry. We’ll debug more next week.
