This week I worked on the CAD models for the updated housing. We also did tests with the camera at the bridge to the performance of different cameras.
The new CAD model has the frame of the device being made out of laser cut 1/8 inch acrylic, and the arms made out of 3d printed material. We were able to cut 5 of the 6 new walls and bottom plate. Access to 3D printers has been difficult, so the new arms have not been printed yet. The updated housing will use brackets internally to keep rigidity, as well as a hinge on the top for ease of opening/closing.
For the camera tests, we found that the fisheye lens just wasn’t conducive to detection because it shrunk everything close to the center, making even large circle detection markers impossible to make out over video. We have switched to a larger target, and a webcam which has much better performance at distance. In addition to a straight up vertical test, we also tested the performance/detection range of the webcam horizontally, testing 3 different lateral distances from the marker, as well as 3 different resolutions.
Next, I would like to measure the latency of our system to see responsiveness to different commands. This will help us gather more data, in addition to the drops we conducted (and will conduct).
The trade studies for the camera are ongoing and for the propulsion system we hope to characterize different proportional thrust values, as well as just using constant thrust vectors.