This was a relatively short pool test focused on resolving the DVL issues we encountered during the previous pool test. Specifically, we suspected that the DVL’s X and Y axes were swapped, leading to incorrect state data. Before heading to the pool, Denton and I attempted to fix this by modifying the DVL settings via …
“This was a forgettable pool test.” – Sid Kini We started this pool test with high hopes, as the robot was working normally on land and we got to the pool test on time. Our first goal was to tune the robot’s buoyancy. A few of the buoyancy shafts were filled to the top with …
Today, we tested the fiber optic gyroscope for the second time in the pool. Gyro Testing Sonar Testing We tested sonar and were able to get scans of the back pool wall. To start using the sonar in task-planning (e.g., in the octagon task), a sonar task-planning interface must be made. Additionally, it would be …
Today we tested the fiber optic gyroscope for the first time in the pool. Gyro Integration The gyro requires a 1000Hz square wave as a trigger signal, and communicates using the RS-422 standard. Denton and I wrote Python code to send the trigger signal and parse the received data. The data was publishing at 800-900 …
OOGWAY PRE-QUALIFICATION COMPLETE! Oogway Pre-Qualification We changed the pre-qualification code to make it more reliable and take less time. We also tried making the robot move in 2 meter increments instead of 1 meter when tracking the lane marker, but this led to the robot quickly going off course, so we reverted to 1 meter …
Today, our primary focus was on completing the pre-qualification with Oogway. We also tested torpedoes and the minibot. Battery Cable Before the pool test, a few electrical and mechanical members removed excess epoxy off of the battery cable and clamped the copper part down with pliers, as it was loose. The cable worked for the …
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. …
Today’s pool test marked several major milestones. This was the first time that our new minibot, named Crush, was submerged in the pool. This was also the first time that we tested the torpedo launcher in the pool. And it was also the first time that all code migrated to ROS2 was tested together, in …
Today, we tested the new offboard comms pyserial method for communicating with the thrusters, alongside using two arduinos on the robot instead of the original three. After some trial and error, we had to revert to an earlier commit of the code where the start flag for serial communication is a single byte (0xFF), instead …
Today, in our last pool test of the summer, we completed the gate and buoy tasks in one continuous run. We started with the gate task: submerge, correct yaw for the coin flip, move through the gate, and finally barrel roll. We put the gate in the water in the opposite direction from our previous …
Today we resolved the thruster issue and made more progress towards the gate task. Max and I recently improved our detection rate on the DepthAI camera with color correction to 17Hz and also reduced the latency. This was the result of two optimizations At the pool, we first tested our gate model on the DepthAI …
Today we ran into several issues with the thrusters. Over the last few days, Lilly and I swapped the thruster Arduino from a Nano Every to a Nano with the hope that it would fix the disconnect issues we’ve been having. We also swapped the bottom mono camera for a new one. We had to …
We made more progress towards the gate task. Moving Towards the Gate While the robot is able to move towards the gate in most cases, sometimes, the robot would move too far in the Y direction when it first started moving. Its goal would be to align itself with the red image, but it would …
Today we made significant progress towards completing the gate task. As DepthAI color correction is still a work in progress, we temporarily added a YOLOv7 package to onboard to run our gate model on the main computer and perform detections on the front mono camera’s feed. This had a detection rate of 2.66 Hz, which …
We completed the buoy task. We started by first narrowing the range values used for HSV filtering to avoid picking up on gray and orange-red objects and to instead limit it to just saturated red colors. This significantly reduced false positives. The final CV algorithm can detect the buoy when it is within 5 meters …
Today we finished developing a robust buoy detection algorithm, primarily using HSV filtering and contour matching. Here’s the high-level overview of the process: This has been proven to be a robust and reliable way to detect the buoy, whilst filtering out false positives and avoiding false negatives. We also began to write the task planning …
Today we completed the code to accomplish the barrel roll part of the gate task. Here’s the working sequence: The robot drifts a little in X and Y throughout this process. Roughly, a 2m x 2m area around the robot needs to be clear to avoid running into a wall. With this sequence, the robot …
Since the prequal has been completed, our focus has shifted to completing at least one competition task before we leave. This would be either the gate or the buoy. On days that we’re able to get two lanes, we’ll focus on the gate task. Otherwise, we’ll focus on the buoy task. Today, our main goals …
PREQUAL COMPLETE! Today we completed the prequal. We used the same strategy as outlined in the previous update, but with two important changes: Thus, the robot followed the lane line to the marker, dead reckoned around the marker, and followed the lane line on the way back. This proved to be a reliable, repeatable way …
This update covers three pool tests, held on the following dates: These pool tests have been entirely focused on completing the prequal. We initially picked up where we left off with regards to our prequal strategy: This strategy quickly proved to be difficult to execute because of the following issues Given these issues, we switched …
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