Week 7 - 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)

I will Complete till the Complete features in my final Project idea. The complete features is to display the mode on a LCD Screen(Output), and nice to have features is switching between the modes Automatic and manual using a switch (Input). Also I will simulate the manual mode using a potentiometer (Input) , to move the Servo Motor (Output)

Tool Chain

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

Circuit Simulation :

Software: Tinker CAD

Physical Circuit :

1 Breadboard
1 Servo Motor
1 220 ohm resistor
Jumpers
LDR Module
Arduino UNO
1 potentiometer
1 LCD display with I2C module
1 Slide Switch
Software: Arduino IDE

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?

Steps for Wiring (I have used Tinker Cad to make the wiring diagram as follows )

LCD (i2c) Connections: Output
- GND (LCD) → GND (Arduino)
- VCC (LCD) → 5V (Arduino)
- SDA (LCD) → A4 (Arduino)
- SCL (LCD) → A5 (Arduino)
Servo Motor Connections: Output
- Red Wire (Servo VCC) → 5V (Arduino)
- Brown Wire (Servo GND) → GND (Arduino)
- Orange Wire (Servo Signal) → Pin 9 (Arduino)
LDR Connections: Input
- Connect one leg of the LDR to 5V (Arduino).
- Connect the other leg of the LDR to one end of the 10kΩ resistor and to A0 (Arduino).
- Connect the other end of the 1kΩ resistor to GND (Arduino).
Potentiometer Connections (Manual Mode): Input
- Middle Pin (Potentiometer) → A1 (Arduino)
- One Outer Pin (Potentiometer) → 5V (Arduino)
- Other Outer Pin (Potentiometer) → GND (Arduino)
Slide Switch: Input
- Pin 13 (Arduino) → Breadboard (Button or Switch)

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?

WhatsApp Video 2024-08-30 at 18.46.25_d82a9484.mp4

WhatsApp Video 2024-09-08 at 16.06.58_282443a6.mp4

Pseudocode for the project :

I have thought about the idea of changing between the modes manual and automatic in the same way we have did it in the EOW session , using a slide switch connected to a digital input , and if it is on High then choose the Automatic, if low choose the manual.

For the manual mode , the code is simply to map the analog input of the variable resistor and print on the servo motor. And also print on the LCD that you are in the manual mode .

Set up all the necessary libraries and variables, like the Servo and LiquidCrystal_I2C.

Void Setup

Get the LCD ready.
Set up the pins:
- Pin 13 for mode selection.
- Pin A0 for the LDR sensor.
- Pin A1 for manual servo control.
Start the serial communication for debugging.
Attach the servo to pin 9.
Display "Solar tracker" on the LCD.

3. Void Loop

Check if Pin 13 is HIGH (Automatic Mode):
- If Yes:
  - Initialize the LCD and turn on the backlight.
  - Display "Automatic Mode".
  - Read the light value from the LDR sensor.
  - Show the LDR value on the LCD and send it to the serial monitor.
  - If the LDR value is less than 500:
    - Move the servo to 0° (point the panel away from the light).
  - Otherwise:
    - Move the servo to 180° (point the panel towards the light).
If No (Manual Mode):
- Initialize the LCD and turn on the backlight.
- Display "Manual Mode".
- Read the input from pin A1.
- Map the input value to a servo angle (0° to 180°) and move the servo accordingly.

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)

The Main problem in this assignment was the LCD library , I have downloaded a lot of wrong libraries and the LCD used to show garbage values .

I got back to Askar's Tutorials and I searched about the right one and i used the examples from the Arduino IDE to start test the LCD.

The shown library in the screenshot is the right library that made the code works.

Final Project

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

WOW!

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

Weekly Digest [OPTIONAL]

Tell us about any other cool things that you've made this week: in the Hands-on activity, tutorial examples, exercises, or any other cool mini-project that you tried out aside from the assignment.

Assignment Design Files

Arduino IDE file[.ino]

Page updated

Report abuse