Hello

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Measuring Unicycling
Efficiency

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Problem Definition

• No method exists for quantitatively

1) Monitoring training, and
2) Comparing configurations for unicycles
in terms of efficiency.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Unicycling Efficiency
Losses

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Efficiency Losses

• Acceleration and
deceleration to maintain
balance on unicycle.

• Minimizing this leads to

increased efficiency.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Efficiency: Reduce Drag

• Wear tight clothing

• Cover spokes of wheel

with a disc or use bladed
spokes

• Adopt a more
aerodynamic posture
Source: Steed Cycles

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Measuring Efficiency

• Measure speed many times throughout

individual wheel rotations.
• Use velocity profile to calculate efficiency.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Data Collection
Timing and Tracking

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Timing Option: Magnets

• “Hal Effect” sensor

placed near spokes.

• Spokes crossing sensor

detected magnetically

Source: SparkFun Electronics

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Timing Option: Spokes

• Optical beam emitted

through wheel to sensor.

• Spokes break the beam,

signal sent to processor.

Source: todbot blog

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Timing: Rim Encoder

• Black tape placed at

regular intervals on
reflective rim.

• Leading tape edge

triggers reflectance
sensor.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

• Wide and narrow tape sections encode a

specified pattern around the wheel.
• Second sensor detects HIGH on narrow
sections, LOW on wide sections.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data:

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data:

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0 1

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0 1 0

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0 1 0 0

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0 1 0 0 1

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0 1 0 0 1 1

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0 1 0 0 1 1 1

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Rotation Tracking

C D

Data: 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Error & Precision

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Sources of Error

Electronics

Timer/ Software

Tape Placement

Slew Rate

0 0.75 1.50 2.25 3.00

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Slew Rate
6

4
Voltage (V)

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (s)

Square wave with no slew rate (ideal)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Slew Rate
6

4
Voltage (V)

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (s)

Square wave with visible slew rate

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Causes of Slew Rate

• Tape edge transition is not instantaneous.

• Transition time in signal causes slew rate.
• Other causes of slew rate from electrical
circuit elements are insignificant.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Slew Rate
6

2
Voltage (V)

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

-2

-4

-6
250 μs
Time (microseonds)

Optical Sensor Response (simulated)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Error: Tape Placement

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Tape Installation

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Delay
00

00

00

R² = 0.918

00

00

00

00

00

00
Untitled 1 Untitled 15 Untitled 29 Untitled 43 Untitled 57 Untitled 71 Untitled 85 Untitled 99 Untitled 113 Untitled 127 Untitled 141 Untitled 155 Untitled 169 Untitled 183 Untitled 197 Untitled 211

Delay over six revolutions with ideal time

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Calibration

Raw Velocity Data & Real Offset

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011
 System Overview

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011
 38640
37880
37848 2 Error!
37564

Data
37704
37904
37640
37396
36844
38468
37940
38236 3
38032

• Stored in three-column 38788

38420
TSV text file 38020
38692
39004

• 82 KB / Km; 38472
38340
13,000 rows / Km 38988
39424
4

39148

•
39048
40 MB for 500 Km; 39468
40136
6.5M rows 39508
39404
39780
• 4GB capacity µSD card 40248
39760
1

39624
40352
40392
40288
40132
41016
Thursday, March 31, 2011 40228
 Raw Data

Thursday, March 31, 2011

 Unicycling Efficiency

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011