This week, I properly secured the projector so that we could begin testing movement and calibration with the added weight of the projector to the system. Sadly, I think the 6V rechargeable battery I was using was too powerful and the motor for up and down movement at some point during testing overheated. I put in an order for a replacement motor so that should hopefully come in on Wednesday. I think this is putting us behind schedule, but on the bright side the basic system with up, down, left, and right movement was working before one of the motors broke.
In the meantime, I put together the tripod system and switched to using 4 1.5V Energizer batteries to power the working motor. I also helped with testing the horizontal movement as our initial setup was fast and jerky. This week, I would like to continue working on the left to right movement and smooth it out. When the new motor comes in, I will swap it, properly secure everything to the tripod stand, and quickly work to find a set of speeds to test in our user study. At the moment, there is an anticipated latency problem between when the user moves their head and when the projection moves, which is why the projection moves as quickly as someone moves their head, leading to quicker, jerkier movements. The tradeoff here will be using smoother and more natural movements of the projection even if it contributes to the latency problem.