Week 5 - Spartan Superway

For our fifth week, we decided to take a closer look into the coding of the previous bogie and try to understand all of it. Right now we believe that the code is a bit too long and shortening it would be best for the Futran system. Since we are removing the Hall Effect sensors, this should help cut down on the code's length, but we will still need to figure out how to make the switching work with RFID sensors now.

We were able to get the RFID chips working using the MFRC522.h library, as well as test several different scenarios using read/write functions to change the LEDs of the Arduino. This step will definitely help us later on when it comes to programming the servo to switch to different positions. Before we continue any further, we want to look at how the XBee modules communicate with the app before we start making changes to the RFID data.

Lastly, I began creating a new wiring diagram for the components that will be used in the new Futran bogies. I was able to remove the Hall Effect sensors and switch the encoder to a separate component, however I still need to figure out how the new speed controller will be wired to the Arduino. I may need to look into a different speed controller, as the original one I chose did not have power leads for the battery, leading me to believe that it is pulling its power through the Arduino. Since this will not work in our case, I will have to find another ESC that can both power our motor, is small enough, and is externally powered.

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