Week 6 - Journal

Ideation

Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)

Potentiometer scale using 7 segment

The Assignment of this week was to build a smart circuit using Arduino Uno.

My idea was to build a potentiometer scale using a 7 segment, I got the idea from here:
Potentiometer scale using a 7 segment display

Tool Chain

Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?

TinkerCad to simulate the hardware circuit and code before wiring the hardware.

7-Segment for displaying the numbers from 0 to 9

Arduino IDE for verifying the code and uploading it to the circuit.

7 220 ohm resistors

Bread Board for connecting the hardware components

Jumper wires for connections

Arduino Uno Board + its cable to upload the code onto it

Design/Preparation Process

Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?

Circuit in Tinker Cad

I used tinkercad here for the wiring and simulation of the circuit, The components are connected as shown in the figure.
As shown in the figure, the potentiometer is connected to A2; an analog Arduino pin, and the 7 segment is connected to digital pins from 2 to 8.

Code Blocks on TinkerCad

For the code, I used code blocks in TinkerCad.
The code idea was to first map the values of the potentiometer which are from 0 to 1023, to the values the 7-segment can display which are from 0 to 9.
The condition of the code is for the 7-segment to display 9 when the potentiometer reaches its max value and when it goes to zero, the 7-segment displays 0, and we repeat the process in the code as we map the potentiometer for each number of the 7-segment display from 9 to 0.

Development/Implementation Process

Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?

Putting the code in Arduino IDE to upload it.

I copied the text code from tinkercad and put it on Arduino IDE, after that I uploaded the code using the Arduino cable to the circuit

Displaying number 8 on the 7-segment using the potentiometer.

After uploading the code and connecting the potentiometer and wiring it on the Arduino Uno with the 7-segment display.

VID_20220828_214912.mp4

A video of the finished circuit

Overcoming Challenges

What kinds of challenges or problems did you face while doing the assignment, tutorials, or exercises? How did you solve them? Did you ask for help from an instructor or peer? Please provide a link to the tutorial or article that you used to solve your problem (if any)

I had a problem that the 7-segment display didn't work at all during the simulation, and I didn't know why, even though I double-checked the connections and the code, So I asked Instructor Mohanad during the support session, how to solve the problem, and he helped with adjusting the code, and he discovered that I actually didn't make the 7-segment to be a common cathode, so when he changed it, it worked like magic.

Final Project

How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?

Arduino Uno

Learning how to program the Arduino will help me a lot to be able to program my robot arm and how to make it move to certain degrees and grab things and move it.

WOW!

What is the coolest thing that you've learned this week? What is something that you will never forget from this week?

We made a cardboard hand that waves at you.
It uses the ultrasonic sensor to sense the move in front of it and the servo to make it move and wave back at you

IMG_5957.MOV

Me & my teammate with the waving hand.

Assignment Design Files

Arduino Code File

TinkerCad Circuit Design

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