During our meeting this week we received the IR sensor and motor shield that were ordered last week so in  the lab attempted to test the functionality of our stepper motor using the example sweep code.  We tried connecting the servo directly to the board into ground, 5V, and the signal pin but we got no response.  After further troubleshooting we found that the problem was most likely with the specific board we were using but we ran out of time before we could try running it with another one.

We also were able to bend and cut a piece of coat hanger wire that seems to provide enough strength to push the button down on the silly string shooter.  Obviously we will need to get the servo motor operational before we know if the hanger wire will perform reliably.  

Our goals for meeting this Sunday will be to make sure the servo works and then continue fine-tuning the code which will allow the IR sensor to trigger the servo motor with little delay once triggered.  We will also cut a block (maybe wooden) to rest behind the silly string shooter for the servo to rest on.  Additionally we will use another wooden block underneath the apparatus for stability and the final step will be cutting out a stuffed animal from which the silly string will be shot from but which doesn't impede the IR sensor.