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UCLA IEEE Natcar
Project Statement
The goal of IEEE Natcar is to provide a platform for students to learn and apply concepts in Systems Engineering and Electrical Engineering, combining knowledge from various fields and disciplines to create a professionally designed autonomous vehicle for the Natcar/Viacar competition.
This wiki is intended to provide a central resource to aid students in their designs by explaining the importance of various design parameters that is pertinent in the Natcar project, providing credible sources for all design choices. The wiki will also provide students with access to the designs of our previous Natcars, which would help inspire their own designs.
History
The Natcar program has been one of the first known recurring projects UCLA IEEE has participated in. The competition started at UC Davis in 1998, with UC Davis, UC Berkely, and San Jose State in attendance. UCLA joined the competitions in 2004, and has been in development since. In 2010, Dr. Mike Briggs started the EE184D class, a systems design course where students may design a Natcar as a course. In 2012, UCLA Natcar started collaborating with the company Freescale with its Freescale Cup.
Results
| Race results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Results (ft/s) | Place | Participants |
| 2010 | UCSD | 7.24 | 1/7 | William Lu, Tran Dam, Andrea Wang |
| 2009 | UCD | 5.68 | 14/27 | William Lu, Jeffery Akamine & Jonathan Chew |
| 2008 | UCD | 5.96 | 8/28 | Karen Nguyen, Andrew Chao & Tony Yang |
| 5.49 | 10/28 | Jeff Akamine & Chi-Him Chan | ||
| 4.47 | 11/28 | Alexander Honda & William Lu | ||
| 3.93 | 12/28 | Hiroshi Akiyama, Richard Yu & Jonathan Chew | ||
| 2006 | UCD | 7.58 | 7/20 | Kris Lin, David Tung & Kevin Leung |
| 2005 | UCD | 7.05 | 8/27 | Kevin Leung, David Tung, Kris Lin & Jennifer Yu |
| 2004 | UCD | 5.61 | 11/19 | Hassan Sharghi, David Tung, Cai Zeng & Krisitie Phan |
California Speed Record:
2006, UCB - Robert Gregg, John Breneman & Roderick Mann: 9.86ft/s
Project Requirements
In any engineering endeavor, a full understanding of the requirements is crucial to the design and success of the project. The same will apply for Natcar. The rules will serve as the primary starting point. Depending on your design, other requirements will also be needed, in order to conform to various engineering design standards.
Natcar Rules and Regulations (Source: UC Davis Natcar)
Summary of Rules (Look at full rules for full competition details)
- Construct an electric autonomous race car that can navigate a course in the shortest amount of time.
- The course uses a dark floor the path is marked by a 1 inch wide white(light) tape. The course is also marked by a wire under the tape, driven by a 75khz sinusoidal signal with 100mA RMS (+/- 10% margin)
Typical track in a Natcar competition
- For safety reasons, the Natcar must have an easy to access on/off switch that can be accessed while the car is running. The car must also have a flag
- The car must use only 1 battery, valued at under $30
- All components of the Natcar must be of original design from circuit components; Ex: No using off-the-shelf motor controllers...etc. Microcontrollers are allowed.
Design Resources
| Topic | Description |
| Conceptual design overview | Before beginning your design, a full understanding of the components for a Natcar is necessary. |
| Track Setup | A test track that conforms to the standards of the Natcar Competitions must be built in order for proper testing of the track. |
| Chassis | The chassis will dictate the general limits of performance for your Natcar; Careful selection of your vehicle is necessary to ensure that high performance can be achieved. |
| Sensor Systems | Sensor Systems dictate your vehicle's ability to keep track of its position relative to the wire, a system that, if done properly, can allow the vehicle's internal control system to follow the wire very precisely. |
| Propulsion Systems | Propulsion in Natcar requires a high top speed, a tight turning radius, and great acceleration capability. Feedback control systems and sensing of the motor's state is crucial to achieving this. |
| Microcontrollers | There are many choices of microcontrollers in the market today. You must find one that would suit the needs of Natcar and support the accessories and components that you intend to support. |
| Algorithms | Control algorithms in Natcar consists primarily of a feedback control system; Based on the inputs of the AFE, the motor and servo should output the right speed and angle to successfully navigate the track with as little error as possible. |
| Power | Concerns regarding power is also another significant part of the Natcar design. Robust power distribution will ensure efficiency and stability in your entire design. |
Natcar Tools/Resources
| Tool | Description |
| Natcar AFE Jig | The Natcar AFE Jig is a tool that allows for precise automated or semi-automated testing of a sensor's frequency response curve based on sensor position (X & Z). |
| Wireless Control | Wireless control and debugging would simplify many of the challenges related to debugging, and is relatively easy to do. |
| PCB Design | With many designs, a PCB would be preferable and professional. Please see this short tutorial on how this can be done. |
| Design Checklist | Check the following list as a starting point to make sure that your Natcar is designed to be reliable and robust. |
Helpful Freescale Links
The Freescale Cup Knowledge Center
Qorivva TRK-MPC5604B
| Link | Notes |
| TRK-MPC5604B Product Summary Page | The official Freescale product summary page. Includes datasheets. |
| TRK-MPC5604B Freescale Wiki | General information on the TRK-MPC5604B. Includes tutorials, sample code, and datasheets. |
| CodeWarrior Download (Qorivva) | For our board (TRK-MPC5604B), select "Special Edition: CodeWarrior for MPC55xx/MPC56xx v2.10 (Classic)". You will need to create an account. |
| Setting up a virtual serial port | This is used to communicate with the board. |
Kinetis Kwikstik K40X256VLQ100
| Link | Notes |
| Kwikstik Product Summary Page | The official Freescale product summary page. Includes datasheets. |
| CodeWarrior Download (Kinetis) | You will need to create an account to install. |
| Jlink driver by SEGGER | This is a necessary driver. |
| Jacob Sharf's tutorial | Includes a sample project. |
| Freescale's tutorial | Example projects and video tutorials from Freescale community website. |
Creating a Project
- Go to file > new > Bareboard Project
- Type in a project name and hit next
- Select the Kinetis K40D MK40DX256 (100Mhz) and hit next
- Use the Segger J-link for connection. Uncheck "P&E Usb..."
- On the following page, select these options:
- Language: C (NOT C++)
- Floating point: software
- Arm Build Tools: Freescale
- On the next page, select Rapid App Development: None, Use current perspective.
- Hit finish
- On the left panel, double click on sources and then double click on main.c
- Add #include "derivative.h" to the top of main.c if it isn't there already. #include <stdio.h> is optional if you want to use printf debugging.
Motor Driver Board
| Link | Notes |
| General Information | Includes schematics and tutorials. |
| Qorivva Motor Tutorial | Includes pictures and diagrams of the connections between the TRK-MPC5604B and the Motor Driver Board. |
| Kinetis K40 Motor Tutorial | Includes sample motor control code for the Kinetis K40. |
Previous Natcar Designs
Reports coming...