This week, I mainly focused on the hardware and mechanics side of the design of our project. Specifically, I fine tuned our trapdoor design, planning out specific measurements for the bins, lid, trapdoor/platform door, camera-jetson frame, etc. I went through multiple iterations of the trapdoor design, some as seen below:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1vTtQRCfDoRzRX9KN5lw0bdCIRwlpby7mf9q2U1XyG2s/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/113cMvrOCkN0lnGb3p7Mp-p-1ntxNbYKT5Z-GDhDywOc/edit
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1SFQX2WVGmJm90RJwDvzh1R_OuZj7p4rXcLf2yBIn_wA/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Q1V-tIaLU_egyhBnFnMCREbfhr12IFpmU5ED0h5apkc/edit?usp=sharing
The first design above was the design as of last week, involving an actuator controlling a single lid for recycling. After some research and suggestions from the TA, we decided to switch to a swinging platform controlled by a servo. One servo will be connected to the swing door, controlling the degree of turn towards each bin. Then, on each side of the platform door, a servo will be attached to the lid frame and act as a sort of lock to support the platform to make sure it cannot be forced into the wrong direction. This setup will then allow us to go back to our initial idea of having a bin self-separate incorrect recyclables instead of the user having to wait and remove their waste from the platform if not recyclable. Designs 3 and 4 provide specific measurements and perspectives for the initial swing door design. Side by side, I developed a list of materials needed based on the design changes, and looked up different material types and sizes based on the needed measurements. If only a certain measurement was available (ex. Recycling bins only came in certain sizes), I scaled up/down the other parts of the design to account for this. Updated list of materials here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g7h4UxZviUhH3USrjvgQkKy8eIstabp8K-l7TRypfCo/edit?usp=sharing
I worked on the arduino circuit design for all the hardware components – neopixels, servos, piezo speaker, and proximity sensors. I used tinkercad to create the design and programmed the simulation with the basic control flow of the circuit based on the output that will be sent to the Arduino from the Jetson. Link to design + simulation code: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/lqaXO4oCuXd?sharecode=SEZayoRTbx7Bb38PGnaV4sheBsci4fS94ztYQ4ntChs
Lastly, I worked on the design presentation, creating schematics and updating the HW side of the design.
Diagrams worked on: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15j3AFNqRnFr1QK4KOhniSD_vvZ2-SMlD/view?usp=sharing
While progress so far has been on schedule, with a solid mechanical and circuit hardware design completed, there might be a slight setback due to the fact that not all the materials have been ordered yet. Since our schedule originally had us start assembling the hardware next week, this might be difficult to begin until all parts have arrived.
Therefore, next week I will work on finalizing design (ex. working out specifics regarding cutting the acrylic for assembly, where to screw parts in, adding more details to the circuit simulation etc.), the report, and help out more on the software side (ex. debugging the training model) until the parts arrive to still make progress and be prepared for when the parts actually arrive.
Some of the ECE courses that covered engineering, science, and mathematics principles I used for the design include 18-100 and 18-220 for the arduino circuit design. In addition to this I used simple geometry/math topics, and my team used concepts from ML and Programming courses to work on the software side of the design (ie. training model, arduino programming).