This week we had several tests to carry out. The first was a drop test, which we did again at the Pausch Bridge. This test would tell us whether we had eliminated spin by adjusting the parachutes, and the amount of thrust in our propellers. Last week, I made a few design changes to avoid the spinning that was happening during the drop. I shortened the straps of the parachute and attached them to the body with carabiners. In testing this proved successful by eliminating spin during the fall. A picture of the parachute attachment now:
Initially, I tested the circle detection CV using a small image of a circle. Adjusting the parameters of the script, I found a range and line thickness of a circle that would make it visible. I scaled this up linearly to estimate we need a target diameter of at least 1 meter with 10cm thickness. I then printed the 1 meter circle piecewise on several letter size papers and stuck them to a board (pictured in team status report). We tested the large circle and found it was detected at a range fit to our use case, i.e. it was detectable close up and from 43 feet away (the height of the Pausch Bridge).