Hi I'm needing help with a project for school. The project is to build a miniature motor boat that will carry a Navel Orange through a fountain-pond. I'm having trouble specifically with the electronic and circuit elements in my design as I have very very very little knowledge of circuits, but if someone could explain it to me from the ground up I could learn it (i.e. I'm not an idiot).
The pond is semicircular in shape with a fountain in the center of the pond. The object is to get from one corner to the other. The two viable routes are obviously straight through or following the arc. However, there will be a mesh that blocks the straight path twice. The mesh starts at the base of the pond, wraps around the fountain and returns to the base. I want to consider the curved trajectory. The hard part is that the boat must be self-propelled and self-guided. So after I turn it on and set it in the water, it must reach the end on its own.
I plan on using DC Motors and propellers (duh) to send the boat on its course. The boat will head straight from the finish and at a specified time, either turn off or turn on a motor to enable the boat to turn and after another period of time to do the opposite and let the boat go straight again. But how to I deliver the timed action?
I'd like to reemphasize that i really only need help with the circuit elements of the boat. I'd like to keep my source voltage at or below 12VDC so I don't have to carry too many batteries on board. The total length of the run will also not exceed 1 minute (it is a race after all).
The pond is semicircular in shape with a fountain in the center of the pond. The object is to get from one corner to the other. The two viable routes are obviously straight through or following the arc. However, there will be a mesh that blocks the straight path twice. The mesh starts at the base of the pond, wraps around the fountain and returns to the base. I want to consider the curved trajectory. The hard part is that the boat must be self-propelled and self-guided. So after I turn it on and set it in the water, it must reach the end on its own.
I plan on using DC Motors and propellers (duh) to send the boat on its course. The boat will head straight from the finish and at a specified time, either turn off or turn on a motor to enable the boat to turn and after another period of time to do the opposite and let the boat go straight again. But how to I deliver the timed action?
I'd like to reemphasize that i really only need help with the circuit elements of the boat. I'd like to keep my source voltage at or below 12VDC so I don't have to carry too many batteries on board. The total length of the run will also not exceed 1 minute (it is a race after all).