Week 9 (July 12 – July 18)
The current configuration of the platform still has some errors which we suspect have to do with the hardware mounting of the platform. The accumulation of these errors results in a substantial error in our movement overall (~15mm in the worst-case scenario). We plan to re-evaluate the design of the mounting system and reprint the parts again with added improvements to structural integrity and ease of installation. We are also starting to explore different configurations of the platform which vary based on the leg height and number of legs.
These new parts will also take into account the change of joints to the universal ball joints. We feel that the change to a rigid universal joint would allow us to have more accurate movements and higher load-bearing capabilities which are much needed.
In the realm of the software side, the application for our hexapod has progressed. The app can now directly control the hexapod through a serial connection. The app also allows seamless serial connection to the Arduino which is a step-up from the python code which needed the COM port to be hardcoded prior to launching. The application will steadily improve in its optimization and features over the next few weeks. The next few features we intend to implement include a configuration page, homing and initialization functions, and presets.
A new movement script for the hexapod has also been made to demonstrate its rotational capabilities.
The rotation movement script in action