This week, I came up with a concrete testing plan from the advice received during our final presentation and performed 32 different test runs with the paint thinner scent. To come up with the test plan was important to gather the correct metrics regarding the performance of the robot. I truly observed the tradeoff between random exploration and planned path planning in testing, as when the object would be a straight path away from the robot, sometimes it would not converge under 3 minutes or get triggered for the scented object. I also tested out a new battery power supply using Lithium Ion batteries and observed a significant increase in the life of the robot motor driver and the Arduino. Alkaline 9V batteries provided a battery life of 30-45 minutes, whereas the lithium-ion batteries provided a life of 3h 13 minutes due to its higher current power (1200mAh compared to 350mAh on the alkaline batteries).
Presenting the final presentation was an important milestone for our team. I also worked on the slides and script this week, along with starting off with writing sections on the design report and poster.