Research Journal: Phase 2 - Bringing the Prototype to Life
Today marked one of the big milestone in the Adaptive Energy Recovery Initiative so far.
After days of wiring, troubleshooting, rebuilding circuits, and verifying every connection, the prototype successfully reached a stable operating state. While today's work wasn't about recovering energy yet, it established the foundation that makes the next phase possible.
The prototype now consists of an Arduino Nano controlling a power MOSFET that switches current through an inductor while displaying live system telemetry on an OLED display. Every subsystem—from the micro-controller and display to the analog sensing and power electronics—was individually tested before being integrated into a single working prototype.
One of the largest challenges was separating issues caused by software from issues caused by hardware. Analog inputs that appeared unstable were eventually traced back to floating inputs and power routing, while several iterations of the voltage-divider circuit were required before the sensor readings became predictable.
Another lesson learned was the importance of grounding. The project uses two separate power systems: USB powers the controller, while an external supply powers the switching circuit. Although they are powered independently, both systems must share a common electrical ground. Without that reference, the MOSFET gate cannot switch reliably.
By the end of testing, the controller was successfully generating pulse signals, the MOSFET was switching correctly, the inductor was energized, and the analog telemetry system was reporting live values on the OLED display.
While this may appear to be a relatively simple electronics project, reaching this point required validating dozens of individual electrical connections and confirming that every subsystem behaved as expected before moving on.
This milestone establishes the hardware platform for the next phase of the Adaptive Energy Recovery Initiative. The upcoming work will focus on capturing the energy normally dissipated when the magnetic field inside the inductor collapses. Instead of allowing that energy to be lost, future experiments will investigate methods for storing, measuring, and eventually reusing it.
Today was about building confidence in the platform. Reliable engineering begins with reliable hardware, and Project 2 now has that foundation.