Team Update
Risks we foresee that could jeopardize our success are the functionality of the sensors we’ve just ordered. We’ve conducted testing and integration using a few of each type of sensor, but if any of the new sensors were to fail, we may need to change our design to feature less sensors, or come up with a new algorithm for mitigating the impact of outlier data.
Our system as a whole has remained the same, we have just moved our schedule around regarding what sensory input will affect the Roomba movement.
Our Gantt chart has changed slightly. For our mid-semester demo, we have prioritized human detection and taking a photo without the fine adjustments. We will be working on those after the mid-semester demo. For Cornelia, we’ve swapped Roomba movement according to the camera with Roomba movement according to thermal and IR sensors. Mimi has also been helping with collision detection with the Roomba.
Our new Gantt chart for the coming week:
We still expect to be fully prepared for the midsemester demo, and our final demo.
Adriel
This week, I constructed the tripod mount that will be fixed on the Roomba. I did this by designing the CAD files and laser cutting the wood. I also completed the ethics assignment and the second submission.
According to the Gantt chart, I am currently on schedule.
This week, I hope to have the camera and RPi enclosure created, and have a design created for the motorized stick.
Mimi
This week I reinstalled OpenCV on our raspberry pi after some of its files got corrupted and we had to wipe the disk and reinstall the OS. I also wrote code which allows us to use our PiCamera module and OpenCV to get a video feed from the camera and save frames from the feed when desired. Lastly, I worked with Cornelia to come up with a plan for our software MVP, and how we will integrate our code for our mid semester demo. In addition I attended an ethics discussion and wrote up my final analysis in response.
According to our Gantt chart, I am on schedule besides testing our OpenCV accuracy which I will be able to catch up on this week as our project gets closer to its mid-semester demo state.
This coming week I hope to incorporate the OpenCV component into the camera capture code and write functions that can be used easily by Cornelia’s code. I will also begin testing the OpenCV accuracy uses real time video and figure out how to send images over wifi to a google drive folder.
Cornelia
This past week (and over Spring Break), I worked on the code to make the Roomba move and perform collision detection with its built-in IR sensors. Since I figured out the serial port communication between the RPi and the Roomba before break, I was able to move the code onto the RPi when I got back from Spring Break and make it move. After fixing lots of bugs, I ran into trouble with multithreading and interruptions. At the end of the week, I was finally able to figure out how to send interrupts to make the Roomba stop according to the built-in IR sensors and turn away from objects. Over break I also worked on the first ethics assignment and after our class discussion on Tuesday, I worked on the second ethics assignment that was due within 48 hours.
According to our newly updated Gantt chart, I am still a little behind. While the Roomba moves in all directions and can do collision detection with objects, it does not yet adjust according to the thermal camera or IR sensors. We only have 2 IR sensors and 1 thermal camera sensor right now, and I will be working with those this weekend and next week. We are still waiting for the rest of the IR sensors and the last thermal camera sensor. They should arrive this week.
This next week, I will be working with the IR sensors and thermal camera sensor on the Arduino to detect humans. I will also be working with Adriel to connect the Arduino to the RPi and figure out how the RPi will communicate with the Arduino and Roomba at the same time.