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Week 0 - Planning and Development

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Aims of the Week This week represents the previous. weeks before the start of semester two, explaining our process of creating the project, from deciding on a project to ordering components. Decide on a project Research project idea Submit Project forms Assign Tasks Print out components Hamza's Tasks and Updates Assigned as 'Project Manager' in the project by filling out forms like components, ethics, team assignment, etc, while being base communication with academic advisor and team. Started to make basic teams for file sharing and arranged meetings. Also in charge of the Gantt chart, creating a blog, and academic poster with printing out 3D components. Abdulla's Tasks and Updates Assigned to be 'Lead Electrical Engineer' in the project by creating circuit diagrams and researching the different components such as sensors, motors and solar panels for each of the prototypes and creating tests for the circuits.  Also tasked with learning A...

Week 2 - Prototype 2

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Aims of the Week Further tests on the individual components Test the motors with three-dimensional movements Development on the solar circuit by tests to find voltages Tests sensors and practice displaying data on LCD Hamza's Tasks and Updates This week, I did a further test on the solar circuit to find the different voltages from each solar panel depending on the light intensity (using my phone torch), which showed the min, max, and mean voltage. I then calculated the output voltage when each solar panel was connected in series or parallel.    For the rest of this session, I aided my teammates in testing the sensors and LCD to try to get them operational using different methods and circuit combinations. This saw the operation of the Sensors and using the main 16 ports of the LCD, which we recognised was too complex. This led us to order an i2C to allow better connection and Arduino UNO.   This week I also measured the components and started designing the box which would ...

Week 1 - Prototype 1

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  Aims of the Week Collect all components and check Set out everyone’s tasks Create a working motor circuit Create a working sensor circuit Create a working solar circuit Create a working battery circuit Create a working Arduino program for sensors and motors Hamza's Tasks and Updates My tasks for the first lab included gathering and checking all the components were correct. Most of the components arrived. However, I realise that I ended up sending the wrong link for the servo motors, meaning we got 180º motors instead of the 360º ones we needed. This added to forgetting to order the USB-C to USB-C cables, which meant I needed to submit the form for the other components. Alongside those issues, I didn’t manage to move on to connecting the solar circuit to the battery circuit.   Aside from that, the lab went well for me, as I got on with my experiments to test the Light-dependent resistors, the different battery sources, the Solar panel circuit, and finally, aiding Abdulla in t...

Week 3 - Prototype 3

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Aims of the Week Laser cut the box Switch out arduinos from Nano to Uno Retest the motor LDR circuit Retest both sensors and LCD Expand on the power circuit Hamza's Tasks and Updates: During this lab, I took the opportunity to help in further sensor tests with the use of both Arduino Nano and Uno. As in the Thursday lab session, we realised that the Nano was incompatible with the sensor and decided to switch it out for a Uno. During this session, I also laser-cut out the Box and ensured all the components fit properly while glueing them together. I also did some further tests and designs on the power circuit to connect the solar panels to the switch so they can help power the entire device so it's self-sufficient Abdulla's Tasks and Updates My task in the lab was to test the light sensor, motor, and temperature and humidity sensor. By the end of the session, I was only able to successfully test the motor component. Although the code for the other components was well-written...

Week 4 - Final Design and Model

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Aims of the Week Construct the final box Perform the final tests on the design Print out the poster Practice the group presentation and get ready for bench inspection Hamza's Tasks and Updates This week saw the construction of the final design, which included putting the box together and adding each circuit one by one into the box using the laser cut holes. Once we started constructing the box, we realised that the holes were too small for the box, which meant I had to measure out and file the holes down more to allow the right room for the connections. This week also saw the power circuit's final connection, which aimed to connect the solar panels in series to the switch and output through the USB.    I then tested the power circuit and found it was a success in generating a minimum of 3V and a maximum of 8V through solar panels with different brightness lights. The test included seeing if a power bank would power the circuits, which worked.    This week, I also fin...

Poster

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There are three main sections of the poster: Info (top), Aims and Time (Middle), and Outcomes (bottom). This is to allow ease of reading as you go from the top to the bottom of the poster.   The boxes of the poster include: Module Info Team Info QR Code Uni logo Title Aims and Objectives Project Timeline Problems and solutions Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Circuit Diagram Conclusion   Hamza was mainly in charge of poster design and preparation with support from Caesar and Abdulla. The 3 of us then split the presentation each talking on different parts of the poster and practising our presentation skills.