Motor Testing and Documentation

3/25 Software We rewrote the motor calibration script so that rather than driving the motors to a minimum and then manually setting the motors’ range of motions, we drive them to the minimum and then the maximum, and the code uses those as the bounds. The motor belt broke eventually, so we are working on fixing […]

RC and Autonomous Testing

3/12 Software We tested the RC and autonomous code to see if the motors were responding as we expected: -The rudder turned the correct direction under RC control, but the opposite direction under autonomous control so there is a discrepancy between forebrain and hindbrain. -Sails seemed correct but the mechanisms aren’t assembled enough to really see […]

Outside Testing

3/11 Software The software team has been able to test outside because there is no longer a lake outside the LPB! This is a short summary of what we’ve found: Happy things: GPS and wind sensors are working and the MyRIO is getting that data in real time We have waypoint check-off working The motor […]

GPS Testing

2/22 Software We went testing outside with the Hemisphere and got good quality GPS and compass data in isolation (10Hz). Our next step is to work with the full boat code and make sure that good data is reported when not in isolation. Currently, the full-boat code is getting laggy data. The work we’re doing with […]

Sunfish Pool Testing

2/19 Testing We took the Sunfish to the Babson College pool to test its reactions to being tipped over, and also determine how waterproof it currently is. It was quite a trick to get it there.

Torxis Testing

2/16 Software We ended up testing one of the Torxis motors for how much current it drew under different loads. The testing results are in this google spreadsheet. The servo held roughly 20 N-m at 0.7A and then gave way. It’s predicted that we’ll need more than 200 N-m on the actual rudder, so the […]

Outdoor Testing

2/14 Software Just reporting some outdoor testing of Damn Yankee. As you can see in the pictures we tried strapping the boat to some chairs for testing outside. It kind of worked, but it didn’t roll too well on the snow. Outside today the GPS units on the Airmar and Hemisphere were responding, but not […]

On the Water

Over this semester, we have been trying hard to make sure that we get on-the-water testing in. Actually going out on the water is extremely important because it not only keeps everyone interested in the project by showing results, but also teaches us about how to get our robot to sail in the manner that […]

Airmar Testing

To determine what sensors we want to use next year, we decided that we needed to test the sensors we currently have – namely, the Airmar. We wanted to know two major data points: the precision (or lack thereof) of the GPS and how quickly it responded to changes in the wind. To achieve the […]

Simulation of the Boat

We had an old simulation of the boat, but it was difficult to understand and had some physics flaws. One of our freshman, Mike Bocamazo, took the leap into the old simulator and found a bunch of math that appeared to be first based on forces, but further in devolved into a series of messy […]

Olin Robotic Sailing Team

Olin College Robotics Sailing Team. Electrical, Mechanical and Computer engineering students creating a robotic sailboat with the ultimate goal of a trans-Atlantic crossing. Clean energy, the future of sustainable transportation and shipping. Technology and problem solving in action.

Testing