Today we finally got test our snitch at the park. After all our tests on guide wires David said we could go out and test our idea. We learned from all the tests that our motors are extremely powerfull and once the snitch got over the line of gravity it would shoot up really high into the air. In the test Chris was goining to drive it. Jake held it up and he pushed the throttle on the 5 channel remote and the props started to spin It lifted up really fast. It pasted the line of gravity and shot up really high and then it fell down. Everyone was silent but I ran over and it was broken. Jibreel and I went back with Oliver to fix it while Tony stayed to watch his friends from China fly their object. We got back and we super glued our frame back together. Time was over for the day but all of us could stay later. We laser cut new mounts for the ones that broke and our snitch looked like new. At 4 Tony had to leave and at 5 Jibreel left. While I was still there we made a frame out of wood for the presentation. We made 2 mounts for the top and bottom of the tall rectangular wood box. In the mount was 4 holes for the guide wires. I ended up leaving at 9 p.m. with the snitch going up and down after 10 seconds. The snitch did not need a remote. This was the best day yet.

Today we made a new design for the frame of the snitch. It is a thinner and lighter design that will give the snitch a higher chance of the motors lifting itself. This design also enhances a new motor mount that we laser cut and it will improve the stability of the craft. We also made several versions of the laser cut motor mount. The final design had to be screwed on and snapped in which makes the motor on a stable point where it can fly best. Jibreel also made some diagrams but we decided it would look cleaner and professional if we used illustrator. We put all the motors and propellers in so that it can be tested soon. It turns out that we couldn’t test during the regular day but it happened to be that we all could stay to try to get it running. We set up a different guide wire test by making the lines higher up. There happened to be 3A controllers so we had to look for the one that was paired. After a while we found the one that was connected and it still wouldn’t make it work. Finally we found out that the speed controller was put in the wrong way and now it worked. With David’s hand for support so it didn’t fly all over it was definitely flying and the test was a success! We also want the snitch to be able to turn so Chris donated a broken mini quadcopter motor. He gave us to. On the ends of the motor mount we also put a little hole on each side so the motor could go on. Today we made another step to the final flight with all the sensors working!

Today was all about the arduino. All the sensors were attached today. We only used 4 infared sensors. The thing about this type of sensor is that it reads in volts and we did the conversion to centimeters. For a volt to a centimeter the conversion is 32.916 repeating. We put a bunch of extra code lines like the one that says Let's play quidditch, and spaces between each of the sensors reads. We also made a line of code for putting all of the sensors readings on one line. We also made a storyboard of the things that the snitch will do. Some of those things are hovering and randomly moving for its basic default action. Two more things that we could make the snitch do is react to the sensors and if it senses a obstacle near it, it will turn away and go the opposite direction. Another idea for the same concept is that it will light up and spin rapidly so the person getting it will be frightened or scared. We also point a stick like thing in the persons direction. We also have a new design in Rhino for the frame. It has a mount for the motor that is higher up than the other models. We got a lot of work with the arduino and the sensors and our planned next step is to put if statements in the arduino code. Those if statements our very important for what is does and how it will turn and give more power to one motor than the other. Also we are going to put 2 tiny motors so it can move in different directions. One of the hard parts about placing where these mini motors go is that both of them have to be on the center of gravity. We are hoping to get more tests in and find more ways to weight of our snitch.

Today we started to make a flying snitch. We zip tied are 2 frames together to make our complete sphere shaped frame. We already had all the wiring so all we had to do is connect the battery and setup the controller to the transmitter. Our first test didn't if move it was way to heavy with the wooden box. In our second test we actually got the snitch to move and roll. We took away the box and put 2 strings of fish line and put zip ties on each side attached to the fishing line and then let the throttle go. It actually went up on the wire and flew in the air. It wasn't that stable but we accomplished our goal of the day. GETTING IT AIRBORN. In that test the wires were just hanging down and weren't actually attached to anything. In a solution to that we taped the wires to each side with electrical tape. The great thing about electrical tape is that it is strong and won't rip easily. Then we tested it again with the fishing line and it worked. Tomorrow we will start to program the micro Arduino. Today was a big success. 

Today was the first day. We brainstormed lot's of ideas today. Bainstorming is a key part in your proccess to make great things. For the first part of the day all the coaches showed a slideshow on the favorite flying things. David showed us a overview of the 2 weeks. We started to brainstorm and I came up with lots of great ideas. My best ideas were a ball that would fly and you could play catch with it and it would rebalence itself in the air. My second idea is a robot that could fly, drive, and crawl. My fovorite one was the  ball. We were going to try to get in our groups. Each student would share one or two of their best ideas and then we would vote at the end. My idea was formed into an idea of the flying snitch. At the end our team was a 3 person team and it is made up of me, Tony, and Jibreel.

Today we created a design of the outside frame of the snitch and then tried to 3d print it. Unfortunatley, the 3d print did not work so we will continue it tomorrow. We made a model in rhino with 3d shapes to act as the batteries, motors, transmitter, and propellers. We decided how we would distribute the things I just listed and we decided to have one motor and propeller on the top and one on the bottom. They will be spinning in different directions because of counter rotation. Now they will cancel out. All the other equipment will be placed on the bottom to put more weight on the bottom so it is more stable. It will turn by having one motor turn stronger then the other.  The final model of the snitch will be able to go in all directions. An idea our group came up with is to make the snitch do something special like make it light up when a person come near it. Another idea is to make a stick on the side and it will turn the stick towards the person. The inside of the snitch is going very well and we hope to get the frame finished tomorrow.

Today we worked in Rhino to create the best method to fit the propellers, batteries, motors, and transmitters inside the sphere shaped frame/skeleton. We found out the best design is to have one propeller on the top and one on the bottom so the counter rotation will cancel out and will allow the snitch to fly straight. Our 3d prints failed but we will get them done tomorrow. We also got a special battery that is very light weight and small so it can fit in the snitch design. This design is a great light weight and compacted design that should be able to fly very well in the air. The snitch will be able to turn by having one propeller moving one way and the other one moving the other way soy it will twist and turn. For the final design the snitch will be able to go in all directions.

Today we made a more advanced prototypes including using laser cutters and other tools. We made a 3 ring design that will be strong and durable. We made our design in Rhino and then laser cut it. We made then another prototype that would be stronger because it is out of foam. We then started to use a program called arduino and made a ultrasound distance sensor work. We used a mini arduino so it could fit in our small snitch design and in our final design we will be using about 7 total sensors including ultrasonic distance and IR sensors. We have improved our thoughts about the inside of the snitch and what it will look like. Today we also put up a post on our presidents and they were the Harry Potter snitch, a flying orb, and a flying sphere. Our idea is running smoothly and we will be able to start our final design soon.

We started and finished our prototype of the snitch today. Our first step was to make the frame/skeleton and we made it out of strips of cardboard. Then we folded the pieces to make into a circle. Then we taped the pieces together to make the finishing touches on the frame. To make the wings for the snitch we cut them out of cardboard and taped them to one of the circled cardboard strips. We taped around to make sure it was stable and tightly packed while being strong at the same time. This idea is a simple and effective design that I think will be able to fly very well and be stable. The wings are only for design purposes and could be removed for better flight. We will be attaching sensors and 2 propellers to our final design. We have 2 propellers so it counters and cancels out. The final design of the snitch will run away from people and will be able to fly by itself and it also will have a manual override if the snitch goes to high.