Category: John’s Status Reports

This week, I worked on the Design Report and got started on the CV and depth AI code.  For our design report, I did the introduction, use case requirements, and the Test, Verification, and Validation section. I also worked on parts of the design trade studies centered around our use of CV and the OakD pro camera.  This took a long time; however, over break, I was able to get started on the code for our CV.

Since I didn’t have the Camera with me, I could not actually test any code that I wrote; however, I was able to figure out how DepthAI worked, specifically that DepthAI is run by the camera and simply will output the information it finds to our microcontroller. I found it is possible to get coordinates from depth AI running their general-purpose (mobilenet-ssd) model and using it for person detection, and sending coordinates and depth information. Because of this, I made a first attempt and wrote out our depthAI code that finds coordinates, horizontal displacement, depth, and height, which is to be run on the OakDPro Camera; however, I also wrote simple, incomplete CV code to use on our Pi just in case.  Both of these are simply a start and are unfinished and untested.

Our main goal last week was to complete all the deliverables needed for the report, which we were able to do. The goal for this upcoming week will be to get all of our parts ordered and to start our 3d print so that we can begin assembling and testing our ability to launch as soon as possible. We are a little behind progress with our physical build; however, I am currently still on schedule with the CV portion of the project

This week, I prepared and gave the design presentation. I also reviewed our design to make some changes before the presentation. Specifically, I planned out the removal of the tilting function after determining that the design we had in place wouldn’t function, exploring other designs, and determining that there was no solution where we either got a series of motors that would push our budget, or compromise the predictability of the flight of the ball post launch. Since tilting was not necessary and would strain our budget, we decided to remove it.  For the design Report, I started finalizing the solution approach and have added and expanded upon the tests and testing metrics.

I have not made much progress with the CV, other than deciding to use a HOG(Histogram of Oriented Gradients) and SVM (Support Vector Machine) in order to identify a person, and using depthAI (the depth perception library that pairs with the OAKD camera) for our depth perception. I have a few decisions to make about my code. The algorithm I plan on using normally suggests a resize for faster processing; however, I am hesitant to do so, as I am unaware of how I’m meant to draw depth information out of the depthAI. My concern is being unable to locate where exactly a person is on a depth map, since the image being processed by my CV would not be the same. Because of this, I had to put a pause on my CV code until I figure out how the OpenCV and DepthAI libraries will interact.

This past week, my main responsibility has been putting together our presentation. However, I have also focused on researching materials, helping determine specifics for our calculations, and making design decisions. Since I am the one in charge of the CV, I researched multiple cameras and decided to get the Oak D Pro Robotics Camera. I am also working on learning how to use OpenCV since that’s what we’re using to identify people with our camera. I have no deliverables yet, as the first goal of mine is to get the launcher built and working before the break. I have not finished any code, although I have started interfacing with the Camera.

I think we have fallen slightly behind schedule, primarily because we had to pivot part of our design at the last minute due to unforeseen physical constraints that we discovered with our current design. For next week, I would like to have some code deliverable as I continue to work on the CV, and potentially also have proof that I can successfully interface with the Oak D camera. I would also like to have our motors ordered and parts of our launcher 3d printed.

Worked on the Presentation. Focused on Use-Case requirements, Technical Challenges, and the Testing methods. This week, for design, I looked into potentially being able to add more force to the launch by having the launcher’s wheels pinch the ball when it is pushed through. Additionally, I’ve been researching methods to assist with CV targeting. Currently thinking of having a box lineup with the person and for our machine to target around 4/5 the height of the box in the middle, which would be the chest. I think that we should be able to determine distance with CV; however, if we find this to be an issue, we could use the box around the person, along with a reference, in order to determine distance as well. This is in hopes of helping finish the CV portion of our design presentation as I work on specifics. Within the next week, I’m going to have to select a camera that is compatible with our Raspberry Pi, figure out how exactly this camera is going to work with our Raspberry Pi, and exactly how I plan on integrating CV. Outside of this, we’ve been researching what components to use and are working on our bill of materials. My progress, as well as my teams, is currently on schedule.