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Showing posts from June, 2016

WEEK SIX: June 30, 2016

1. Tested all experiments during a drone flight. ( Everyone ) GPS program had bugs. Plotted wrong places at the wrong times. Sound experiment needs to be validated and tweaked. All other experiments worked and had valid data. 2. We are presenting on July 21st. ( Everyone ) 3. Took a picture. ( Everyone )

WEEK SIX: June 29, 2016

1. Troubleshoot errors for the four programs that did not work yesterday. To be resolved tomorrow. ( Nick, Patrick, Peter ) 2. Verified GoPro footage for continuity because of the heat issue. ( Billy ) SUCCESS. 3. Helped setup block house for tomorrow's news visit. ( Billy, Sofia, Patrick, Nick ) 4. Ran gps_raw data through gps_parse. ( Patrick ) 5. Ran every program for about 2 hours using the beaglebone and the small external battery. Results to be analyzed tomorrow. ( Nick )

WEEK SIX: June 28, 2016

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1. Assemble all the parts in the payload box and run everything for >3 hrs. ( Everyone )   SEE PICTURE 1. SUCCESS. 2. Make shell script for root chmod 744 start_experiments_without.com.sh ( Peter ) SUCCESS. 3. Test one battery for both Go Pro's and a smaller cylindrical battery for the Circuit Board and run them for 3 hrs. SUCCESS. 4. Weigh the payload box ( William ). The total weight is 5 pounds and 7 oz.  5. After the test, with more than 4 hrs running the Go Pro's , the battery only lost one dot.  PICTURE 1

WEEK SIX: June 27, 2016

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1. Rewire the input connections. (William) See PICTURE 1 2. Test the rewiring and ensure the programs and sensors function as intended. (Peter) 3. Assist the EEG team with their Python code for analyzing their data. (Nick, Patrick) 4. Prepared the payload for a 3+ hour test. (everyone) See PICTURE 2 Picture 1 Picture 2

WEEK FIVE: June 23, 2016

1. Tested battery eliminators and made sure that the GoPros run for at least 3 hours using an external battery. ( Nick, Patrick) 2. Worked on trying to get the wire for the sound experiment connected to pin 33. ( Billy) 3. Adjusted gain on mic/amplifier breakout board by turning screw counter clockwise all the way and then turning it back clockwise slightly. We used a tone generated by  http://onlinetonegenerator.com/ . Maximum volume produced a voltage difference of 1.65 V. ( Peter )

WEEK FIVE: June 22, 2016

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1. Soldered the sound experimen t onto the PCB ( William ) See PICTURE 1 2. Wrote code for the sound experiment . ( Peter ) 3. Edited all python scripts to write out errors to a file ( Nick ) PICTURE 1

WEEK FIVE: June 21, 2016

1. Tested how well the thermistors measured temperature. ( Professor Griffo, Patrick ) The external thermistor has an accurate read, whereas the internal thermistor is off by around 2 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Tested the two spot GPS and the onboard GPS . ( Nick ) The two spot GPS successfully relay their positions in 2.5 minute intervals. Data from the onboard GPS will be compared to the spot GPS coordinates tomorrow due to the lag from BeagleBone 2. 3. Finished modifying the top GoPro case for proper fit. Also drilled holes through the back plates of both cases, which will allow cables to pass through and allow better access for positioning the GoPro. ( Patrick ) 4. Worked on GPS code ( Patrick ) 5. The sound experiment finally arrived! We will test it tomorrow

WEEK FIVE: June 20, 2016

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1. Cut hole through top part of payload for the GoPro . ( Sofia ) SEE PICTURE 1 & 2 2. Modify GoPro case for the top of the payload. ( Patrick ) 3. Go to home depot. ( Everyone ) 4. Sent Billy and Nick to 2 wrong stores. ( Patrick )       : ) 5. Work on a master program to initiate all other programs. ( Nick ) 6. Test adhesion of the foam and super glue with 3D printed parts. ( William ) The super glue DOES NOT work with the Styrofoam but the canned foam works exceptionally well with the Styrofoam. The super glue will work better to glue plastic pieces together. PICTURE 1 :   PICTURE 2 : 

WEEK FOUR: June 17, 2016

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1. Tested different recording angles for the GoPro . ( Sofia, Patrick ) Recording at 720p 60 FPS with a medium angle turned out to be the most optimal setting because it has a minimal fish-eye effect. See this link to see stills from videos in different modes 2. Cut out an opening in the payload for the GoPro to fit in and modified the GoPro case. ( Sofia, Patrick ) SUCCESS.  See PICTURES 1 and 2 PICTURE 1 PICTURE 2

WEEK FOUR: June 14, 2016

1. Test Spot GPS units. Button functionality and make sure that the Spot GPS units are getting a hit every 5 minutes. ( William ) SUCCESS          Process to use Spot GPS units:        1. Turn on the Spot GPS labeled STEM 1.        2. Hold down the Track button (Button with the boot prints) until it flashes green.        3. Approximately 2 and 1/2 minutes later repeat the process for the Spot GPS labeled STEM 2.   2. Fine tune the fit for the GoPro cases and the battery cases . ( Peter, Patrick, Sofia ) SUCCESS 3. Figure out how to get the "tour" function on Google Earth to work with the APRS data . ( Patrick, Nick, Peter ) 4. Cut and fit straps for the APRS well and the Spot GPS wells. ( William, Sofia ) SUCCESS 5. Updated code for all programs except GPS and Microphone so that errors will be written to separate files. Made code more appealing and easily readable. ( Nick )

WEEK FOUR: June 13, 2016

1. Test GPS on circuit board. Good readings except for the altitude. Altitude results are incorrect. ( Patrick ) 2. Test fly the 2 Spot GPS units and the APRS unit on the drone. ( Everyone ) 3. Modify GoPro inside case. ( Patrick )  4. Update firmware on Spot GPS and change tracking rate to every 5 mins. The website to download the application to update the firmware and settings is here . ( William )  5. Worked on a program to separate the data from the GPS units into 5 separate files. ( Patrick )

WEEK THREE: June 9, 2016

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1. Cut out inlays for the APRS case and spot GPS case. ( Sofia ) SEE PICTURES 1 AND 2 SUCCESS 2. Weigh the APRS with the batteries installed, the mass is 453.6g. ( Sofia ) 3. Worked on the GPS code . ( Nick, Patrick )     Important notes on the gps_raw.py script: Unlike every other program, gps_raw.py opens two files out of concern for the serial bus. If there were two programs running at the same time and making use of the same serial port, the serial might become busy, causing the programs to fail in reading the nmea sentences off the gps.  gps_raw.py will only work when two conditions are met: 1) the microSD card is mounted onto the beaglebone and 2) the microSD card is set to read and write mode . If the microSD card is locked you MUST unlock it with the  SD card adapter. To unlock the microSD card: Insert microSD card into the SD card adapter Flip the switch up   Insert the adapter into a computer (only when the card is in the adapter and mounted onto a comp

WEEK THREE: June 8, 2016

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1. Re-solder the external thermistor and design a way to reinforce it so it doesn't break again. ( William ) SEE PICTURE 1 2. Work on GPS code to trouble shoot. ( Nick, Patrick ) 3. Install clock software. ( Peter ) 4. Alter GoPro case so the GoPro fits into the case. ( William ) SEE PICTURE 2 5. Important info for spot GPS and APRS.      APRS : Call sign is KD2IVU and website is here .      Spot GPS : Website for tracking is here . Login for the Spot GPS account is here . The owner's         manual for the Spot Gen3 GPS is here .       Usernames and passwords are here . PICTURE 1 : PICTURE 2 :

WEEK THREE: June 7, 2016

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1.  3D print circuit board and upper battery pieces. ( William ) SEE PICTURES 1 AND 2 2. Finished error handling for the code except for the sound experiment. ( Nick, Patrick ) 3. GPS stuff. ( Patrick, Nick ) 4. Played the chemistry game again. ( Sofia ) 5. Alter Beagle Bone case to fit with the ribbons attached. ( William, Sofia ) SEE PICTURE 3 PICTURE 1 : Circuit Board SUCCESS PICTURE 2 : Battery Upper Pieces  SUCCESS PICTURE 3 : Altered Beagle Bone Case  SUCCESS

WEEK THREE: June 6, 2016

1. Figured out how to write coordinates on to Google Earth. ( Patrick ) The latitude and longitude need to be converted from degree decimal minutes (DDM) format to decimal degrees (DD) format. These two along with the altitude, need to be placed into a .kml file in a specific order: longitude, latitude, altitude. The first link will show you exactly what you need to do: Lesson 25: Display Your GPS Data as Track on Google Earth   KML Tutorial   2. Design the components for the payload structures in Sketch Up and tested printing the battery top rear component. ( William ) The process to print is:         ATTENTION!!!!! MEASURE AND DESIGN EVERYTHING IN METRIC!!!!           (The MakerBot software doesn't play well with standard measurements and causes issues with              conversion.) Convert the .skp file from Sketch Up to a .dae file using this website . Download the MakerBot software from this website .  Open the MakerBot software. Add the file into the MakerBot pro

WEEK TWO: June 2, 2016

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1. Worked on designing the pieces that need to be 3D printed. ( Everyone ) 2. Figured out how to stream the live footage from the GoPros to a laptop for alignment purposes during installation using this link . Follow Method 1 (Use Google Chrome). If you don't have VLC, you can use QuickTime Player instead. To do so, open QuickTime Player and go to File > Open Location... Then, paste in the link and click open . ( Patrick ) 3. Started cutting out inlay spots for circuit board and spot GPS on the cover. ( William ) SEE PICTURE 1 4. Added a time stamp to the GPS code . ( Nick, Patrick, Peter ) 5. Worked on plotting the GPS coordinates onto google maps. Tested this by taking the GPS around the campus( Everyone ) SEE Lap Around BCC SUCCESS Plotting GPS coordinates You can create a map of your coordinates using Google My Maps . You'll need to import a file that contains your coordinates. We recommend using a .csv file for import because you can see the coordinates

WEEK TWO: June 1, 2016

1. Worked on error handling. ( Nick, Patrick, Peter ) 2. Worked on checklists. ( Sofia ) 3. Design partitions for payload. Measure dimensions of sections. New payload box inside dimensions are 11.43cm Height X 28.7cm Width X 18.85cm Depth.  ( Patrick, Sofia, William ) 4. Test GPS lock of circuit GPS LS20031 from within the payload box. Data sheet for the GPS is here . ( Everyone ) FAILED 1st try due to hardware issue. Tentative SUCCESS !! Works inside the payload box with the "upside down" orientation. We established a connection first and then closed the payload box. 5. Test pressure sensor outside. ( Everyone ) SUCCESS 6. Test external thermistor outside. ( Everyone ) SUCCESS 7. Test internal thermistor outside. ( Everyone ) SUCCESS 8. Test clock outside. ( Everyone ) SUCCESS 9. Test accelerometer outside. ( Everyone ) SUCCESS