Category: Rosina’s Status Updates

This week I made more progress on the IMU. I finished integrating the fail-safe into our design and implemented the other z axis for the IMU movement. We are on schedule since the deadline is next and we are finishing up final touches. For the next week I plan to get the video and final report done and finish up anything small things that need to get done for the demo.

This week I mostly did work on the IMU. I made a lot of progress this week regarding the IMU. There is still some error that needs to be accounted for, which is the goal to be completed for the next week. I also helped put some of the hardware components together and permanently solder the components. I also plan the GUI this upcoming week. We are a little behind schedule, but once these parts are completed we’ll be on track.

This week I did some more work on the IMU. I have successfully added the calibration process, however the movements are not as accurate as we would like. I am still on schedule, and I’m hoping that this part can be finished by next week.  My goal for the next week is to work on the accuracy and get the IMU working as we planned to. As a team, I think we all learned how to work together and delegate tasks. Since we all need to work on the same hardware, we made sure to set weekly deadlines to get our individual work done so that everyone gets the parts they need. We would also try to work together in the same place so that everyone on the team knows what’s going on in other other sectors.

This week was the interim demo so I focused on getting something visually working for the IMU. I had the algorithm done that outputted x and y coordinates, but I then added code so that it would translate to mouse movements on the screen. I am currently on schedule with this. I also hope to continue working on the IMU calibration and the speed at which is moves and get it closer to working as desired. For testing the product, we heavily rely on user input. We plan to get a variety of people to test the product and use their feedback to improve the project. I will also be running latency tests and battery tests.

This week we received the IMU so I started to test my code and get the IMU interface it with the computer. Since we have demos due, I’ve been working on getting the IMU to output x and y coordinates as accurate as possible. Next week, I hope to use PyAutoGUI and translate the coordinates to position the mouse on the laptop screen.

This week, I wrote the code that processes the IMU data. I’m just waiting for the IMU to come in so that I can test it and alter values. I’ve started looking more into PyAutoGUI so that it can soon be integrated with the IMU code. We are still on schedule since we are confident in the code currently, but just need to test it. Next week I hope to have the IMU and start getting it to read the values and hopefully get it generally working.

This week was assigned as slack week for us. This week I did some more research on the IMU and PyAutoGUI since we hope to receive the IMU component soon and I want to make sure that we’re ready to use it.  We are still on schedule. For next week, I hope to start playing around with the IMU and look at the calibration software that is comes with.  As for new tools to learn, I primarily want to focus on PyAutoGUI and reading the IMU data.

This week my team delivered the design presentation. We spent most of this week on the design since we have the report due this week. This week, I got more comfortable with using PyAutoGUI and its features, so I moved on to looking into IMUs. Our group received the parts that we ordered today, but we have yet to order an IMU since we still haven’t decided on the capabilities it needs. During the design presentation we also received a question on IMU acceleration calculations that we didn’t know the exact answer to, so I spent a majority of this week researching IMU calculations. We are still on schedule according the the Gantt chart, and this upcoming week I hope to solidify the design since the design report is due. In addition to that I hope to decide on an IMU and be fully prepared to use it when it arrives.

This week I researched hijacking the mouse movements and looked at activating keystrokes. I looked at how this is typically done in software, and particular libraries in Python that would allow for this to be implemented. I’m currently working on programming mouse movements just within the Python IDE so that I can get comfortable with it and prepare to properly interface it with the IMU and microcontroller when that is ready. I will continue to work on this for the next week. We are currently on track with the schedule since most of the work involves learning and researching before we receive our parts. As for coursework that I used to achieve the engineering, science, and mathematical principles for our design, Intro to Embedded Systems is strongly involved. It covers the microcontroller and interfacing the hardware to software.

This week I practiced and delivered the proposal presentation. Since this was done on Monday, I spent the rest of the week preparing information for the design report and presentation. Specifically, I did some research on the specific components we need since we plan to have a definitive list of parts to order this upcoming week. I looked into existing bluetooth components that we could potentially use, which include microcontroller boards that come with a bluetooth module, external bluetooth modules, and extended board bluetooth components. I also reviewed the feedback we received and expanded on the use case requirements. Specifically, quantifying the accuracy and how we can measure speed and accuracy to a regular mouse. I’ve also been looking at bluetooth communication and what component would be most optimal to use with the proposed proposal.