Week 5

     The Design team agreed on what parts, sensors, and supplies that would be needed to construct the prototype this week. During the scheduled lab session the team finalized the role of each part and how they would work in conjunction with each other.

Parts/Supplies/Sensors:

Model Car:
     The 1:10 scale car we found represents the 1:1 scale car's volume and not necessarily the weight. It is still being decided if the team will try and match the weight in terms of scale since the time constraints and budget would limit these factors of producing a truly accurate 1:10 scale car. The car will act as the test subject for the prototype. Here is an image of the car the team will order.

 

Water Level Sensor:

     The water level sensor is the first tool the flotation device will utilize to trigger the inflation device. It will be wired and controlled by the Arduino board. The water level sensor detects the water by acting as a pressure sensor so once it is submerged it will send a signal to the Arduino board that the pressure has changed. It will be configured to send a signal only once it is submerged in water in order to decrease false deployments of the flotation device. It will be mounted somewhere under the model car so that it can easily detect a rising water level.

Arduino Board:

    The Arduino board acts as the main controller for the prototype and receives, interprets and sends signals so that everything can interact with each other. The Arduino board is essentially the brain of the prototype. Since the Arduino board is a very critical component to the prototype it will have to be enclosed on top of or inside of the model car in order to keep it from coming in contact with the water. The board will receive input from the water level sensor interpret the signal and in return send a signal to the CO2 cartridge valve that will release the CO2 inflating the balloons.

CO2 Cartridges

     These will provide a small and compact storage for compressed CO2 that will be mounted to the prototype's frame or directly to the model. Releasing the stored CO2 will inflate the balloons creating enough buoyancy to support the model car above water. The amount of cartridges required to supply the model car with enough buoyancy  is still being determined since we do not have the actual weight of the model car.

CO2 Cartridge Valve(s)

     The valves will be wired to the Arduino board in order to release the CO2 once the water sensor sends a signal to the Arduino board. With the actual weight of the model car being unknown and the amount of cartridges needed to supply enough buoyancy, the team currently has  not determined how many valves that will be needed. It is speculated that a minimum of 2 valves will be needed in order to balance the model car and prevent it from tipping over. 

Balloons

     The balloons will be what holds the CO2 in an even manner so the car is floating on a stable platform. The balloons will be securely attached to the valves. The elongated balloons are the most practical because they and lay parallel to the car. offering the most stability.

The Frame

     The frame will be designed and 3D printed to custom fit the model car. Although we have the dimensions of the model car. The placement of wheels is a variable that needs to be taken into consideration and the team cannot print the current frame design until the measurements of the car have been taken.