This week we continued our work on designing the mechanical model of our robot. We decided that we want to have multiple levels of polycarbonate sheet plastic separated by threaded rod. The threaded rod will act as support for our robot as well as enable us to adjust the heights of our levels if we decide to rearrange our components. 

We also spent time experimenting with our laser scanner and flame sensor. The laser scanner was set up in a “room” constructed with poster boards and test data was gathered using the arduino microcontroller. The scanner was able to accurately map out the “room” using polar coordinates. The flame sensor was set up at varying distances from a candle. A heat map was created in MatLab from the data gathered. Both sets of test data gathered are useful in that we have a better understanding of how the laser and flame sensor work and what kind of data we can receive. We are very pleased with the capabilities of both of these components and believe they will contribute significantly to the success of our robot. (Photos of our experiments as well as accompanying data are posted under the “Photos” tab of our team page).