Project Proposal for Wayside Pickup and Control Unit

After the meeting on 9/9/2015, i brainstormed some ideas of how a wayside pickup power can be implemented into the track. The wayside source power can be possible by installing a conducting material between the track and have a connecting point at the bogie. The power cable can be connected to the conducting material and have grounds run through the support towers with proper insulation. An additional trail will be added to the top track to support conducting material. Once the redesigning of the current track to resemble actual model is done, then a sample track will be tested for the functionality. The conducting trail will be installed in between the distance of Bogie's tires. Below figure shows a hand sketch of the design in different views.

Proposed Design for wayside

The above picture illustrates the basic model of wayside power pickup rail. An additional rail made of copper will be added to the track system and bogie will powered by completing the circuit.
The connection pivot should have a shoe for better and steady transfer of power to the Bogie. The current to the Bogie can be blocked by outside controllers and also by the passengers to prevent any fire injuries.

The second part of my proposal will be focused on control system of the scale model Bogie. The current design does not integrate any sensor in the system and it communicates through Xbee wifi kit. This has enabled the Scale Bogie to be accessed from any laptop with proper software and Wifi. The goal of this year's team will be to improve the communication with the master controller, implement sensors for collision prevention, and having a sort of GPS system on the Scale Bogie for its positioning along the track. Current Bogie design will be altered to compensate for changes in the track. The idea of the design will be to see the positioning of each bogie through a computer screen and constantly receive the data from the bogie. Much of the controls will be done through the computer, but once the idea has been improved an App will be designed that can access the bogie.