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, I could not find any

meaningful readings or output on the display for the light sensor, temperature, or humidity.

Despite ensuring that the system was properly connected and programmed, the display did

not show the expected values, making it difficult to verify their functionality.

Towards the end of the lab, I discovered that the Arduino board being used was a Nano type,

which operates with a VCC of 3.3V. This could potentially be an issue for the sensors, as theymight require a higher voltage to function correctly. After discussing the situation with

Hamza, we decided to use an external battery to provide the necessary power for the

components, ensuring they receive the appropriate voltage for proper operation.



Caesar's Tasks and Updates

This week, we made major progress in changing our Arduino from the nano ESP32 to a basic Arduino Uno. This was for many reasons spanning from connectivity and computability issues as the sensors operate better on an Uno compared to the ESP31 while also providing more ports for connection and producing 5V from the chip.

 

This allowed me to test both sensors and get accurate readings of the change in temperature, light intensity and humidity.



This week's outcomes

  • Had a laser cut and glued together a box with correctly sized holes.
  • Fixed the Motor LDR circuit so it was operational using the LDR to move towards the light source
  • Fixed the sensors using an Arduino Uno allowing them to display data and be paired with an LCD
  • Had a semi-developed power circuit allowing for the use of voltage from solar cells 


Home Tasks

  • Hamza: Further tests solar circuit with new designs for charger and develop the poster & blog
  • Abdulla: find out how to decrease the speed of the motors 
  • Caesar: Work on displaying the sensor data along with time & date on the LCD



Images:





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