AME 3623: Project 9: Finite State Machines

All components of the project are due by Friday, April 24th at 11:59pm
Groups are the same as for project 1.
Discussion within groups is fine.
Discussion across groups may not be about the specifics of the solution (general programming/circuit issues are fine to discuss).

At the end of this project, you should be able to:

design a finite state machine (FSM) for mission-level control,
translate a FSM design into C code
connect FSM events to sensor events,
connect FSM actions to control actions, and
debug both FSM designs and code.

Project Outline

Your hovercraft will be placed at a location and orientation on the field. Your craft will take the following steps:

Wait for the switch to be pressed.
Record the current orientation. This will be your goal orientation.
After a 5-second delay, turn on the middle fan.
After a 5-second delay, move forward until a wall is detected to the front.
Stop
Make a 90 degree turn to the left.
Move forward until another wall is detected to the front.
Stop, including shutting down the central fan.
Return to the waiting state.

Component 1: Hardware

If you have not already, re-add the distance sensors. One should be mounted on the front of your craft; the other should be mounted to either the left or right side on the top ring (not the bottom ring).

Component 2: Finite State Machine

Design your FSM on paper. This FSM must accomplish all of the above steps, including handling the start from the switch press and a stopped state. Note that you will need some new FSM events and actions that what you have already used.

Component 3: Software

Add the distance sensor query task (called sensor_task). The calibrated distances should be stored in a global variable (an array) for use by other tasks.
Implement a new fsm_task that corresponds to your newly-designed FSM.

Notes

Implement your FSM incrementally: get one piece working well first and then grow it.
Draw your FSM before you implement it in code. If you change your implementation, make the change on the diagram first, then work on the code.
You can do a lot of testing with your craft being held by a group member and with the center fan turned off. This will help you separate the problems of debugging high- and low-level code. Note that, in the end, these pieces must all work together.
This is an involved project. Start early.
Keep your batteries charged.

What to Hand In

All components of the project are due by Friday, April 24th at 11:59pm.

Demonstration/Code Review: All group members must be present. The demonstration must be completed by Tuesday, April 28th in order to receive credit for the project.
Check in the following to your project 9 area of your subversion tree:
- FSM Diagram: in PDF format. This diagram must use the "event/action" notation for the arrows.
- Documented code: See the project 1 specification for detailed documentation requirements.
Personal report: There is no personal report due for this project.

Grading

Personal programming credit:

Each person must accumulate at least three personal programming credits over the course of the semester. This project offers one.
To receive credit, you must be the primary designer, implementer and debugger of the component. This does not mean that your other group members should not be looking over your shoulder. But: you must do the "driving."

Group grade distribution:

35%: Project implementation
30%: Demonstration of working project (to either of the TA or the instructor)
35%: Documentation

Group Grading Rubric

Grades for individuals will be based on the group grade, but weighted by the assessed contributions of the group members to the non-personal programming items.

andrewhfagg -- gmail.com

Last modified: Wed Apr 15 23:58:24 2020