Meeting 4 Date: 4-8-06

Time: 2.00pm to 5.30pm
Venue: Computer Lab 4
Members present: Julia, Xinyi, Chun Ling, Jael
Members absent: Syazana


Theme: All ready and raring to go!

Continuing from where we ended, we seek help from our administrative officer regarding the unlocking of certain systems. Realizing that the ROBOLAB software had been replaced by version 2, known as LEGO MINDSTORMS, we had to begin programming from scratch. No qualms that it was painstaking. However, after exploring the and analyzing how to use it, we were glad that programming is now made easier due to the additional features present in the software.

Soon, we were back on track, transmitting programmes from the transmitter to the robot. All started well, with the robot moving smoothly along the routes we planned. Since the first task requires the pushing of an antenna to send a signal, we extended the front of the robot, added an extra motor as well as incorporated a touch sensor on the extended portion. The extended portion will be programmed to move downwards to push the antenna once the touch sensor detects the presence of it. Cool, isn’t it? We thought it was creative.

Next came the tricky part whereby the robot had to collect 5 buoys from different places and drop them into a common base. In order to reduce error, we had to work on the same route to each buoy at least thrice as 0.1second makes a big difference to the progress of the robot. We also standardized the starting position of the robot to minimize error.

However, to our dismay, we realized that the “improved” robot did not move as efficiently as the previous one (before we made changes), often going off course. We pondered and brainstormed on what might have caused this to happen. Here are the factors that we thought of:
o One side of the robot was heavier than the other
o Improper positioning of RCX caused the centre of gravity of the robot to be high, thus being unstable
o Moved slower as the mass has increased
o Increased friction due the a little obstruction on the wheels

Well, I guess that life has got its ups and downs. We may never have discovered anything if we did not be bold enough to explore. How then did you think scientists make their breakthroughs? In conclusion, the learning journey is more important than the results we attain!