October Blog
October Blog During October, we got introduced to the exciting project of building a functional Micromouse which is to be demonstrated at the beginning of April 2025. After having team building training and conducted research into ourselves as team members through doing the Belbin test, Team India was established with each member having unique strength creating a well rounded team. As a team, we decided that I would be team leader up until December and we thoughtfully created a team contract which states all of the roles each member has and the standards we are setting amongst ourselves. We conducted one experiment in October which was all about asynchronous interrupts which is used to describe events that occur at random times. We had to add to the programme given to us in canvas so that pressing the left button results in the counter counting upwards, and pressing the right button results in the counter counting backwards, which was achieved and a great way to understanding asynchronous interrupts.
November Blog
In November, I conducted more experiments which were explained by Dr Timothy Davis about all the Micromouses different parts and things to consider such as synchronous interrupts, closed-loop control of a dc motor and obstacle avoidance etc which was carried out on our Tuesday Lab sessions which I’ve really enjoyed learning about the electronics behind it. At times I found it hard to fully understand the theory behind the electronics but with help from senior electronic and electrical engineers, I managed to gain a good understanding behind it all and understand the waveforms shown on the oscilloscope. On the Thursday Labs, we learnt about the IR circuit required for our micro mouse and constructed it on a breadboard to test if it works by using the oscilloscope and seeing if we obtain the expected waveforms and transferred it to a PCB using the Proteus software.
December Blog
During December, the team and I completed the soldering of the PCB and successfully assembled the micromouse, integrating all essential components including the wheels, Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller development board, and the custom-designed PCB. With the hardware fully assembled, the code was uploaded to enable basic obstacle avoidance functionality.
Initial trials demonstrated that the micromouse could detect and respond to obstacles using the implemented avoidance logic. However, while adjustments were made to the code to improve its consistency and responsiveness, the micromouse was unable to complete the task reliably across all test scenarios.
The team is currently reviewing the codebase and sensor integration to identify potential causes for the inconsistency, with the aim of refining performance ahead of future trials and assessments.
February Blog
This month saw a significant step forward in the development of our micromouse. I carried out a thorough inspection and repair of the PCB component connections, which resulted in noticeably improved performance and more reliable obstacle avoidance during testing with the help of all team members.
In addition, the light-dependent resistor (LDR) sensors and corresponding LED circuits were carefully soldered and tested to enable surface colour detection. These components were then mounted underneath the micromouse by one of our team members to support functionality for line tracking.
Once the updated code was deployed, the front-facing sensors were calibrated specifically to recognise and follow a white line. While the sensors are now operational and the micromouse is capable of tracking the line, the behavior still lacks full consistency and will require further fine-tuning.
March Blog
This month, significant progress was made with the micromouse project. The white line-following functionality has been successfully implemented, marking the completion of one of the key navigation features. Following this, development shifted toward the combat mode.
To enable switching between the three different operating modes, two additional buttons were connected to the Raspberry Pi Pico board. This functionality forms part of the micromouse’s unique feature set. After verifying the performance of the new buttons through testing, the team began integrating combat mode.
All four line sensors were repurposed for this mode, and calibration was completed for the two sensors that had not previously been configured. Core functionality was developed to ensure the micromouse remains within the designated white rectangle during combat mode.
Parallel efforts were focused on enabling object detection and interaction. The front impact sensor is being programmed to allow the micromouse to detect and engage with targets. At the same time, ultrasonic sensor integration is underway, enabling object tracking from a distance.
An OLED screen has also been introduced to visually display the current operating mode. Work began on the display interface toward the end of the month, and integration is ongoing.
April Blog
As the final month of the project arrived, time was limited, and the focus shifted to refining all tasks. The team worked intensively, jumping between modes and making small but important adjustments to ensure everything was functioning smoothly and ready for assessment.
A key milestone this month was the group presentation held at Gregynog, where the project was formally presented to peers and evaluators. This served as a great opportunity to showcase the team’s work and progress throughout the development process.
The only significant change in this final stretch was made to the combat mode. A last-minute tweak to the code just before the combat final proved crucial—it greatly improved performance and ultimately helped the team advance to the quarter-finals. Aside from that, all systems were in place, and the project was considered complete.