As we are heading towards integrating parts together, the main risk we might encounter is the unforeseen technical difficulties with connecting electronic devices with our physical robot. The mitigation for this issue is unit-testing each component (Jetson Orin, Raspberry Pi, ultrasonic sensor, etc,.) individually and, subsequently, integrate and test them as a whole.
Also, we see that there are potential technical difficulties with communicating VSLAM with pi. Since ROS are running on two different machines (Isaac ROS on Jetson Orin and Ros2 Humble on pi), figuring out the communication and, furthermore, fixing any future errors seem to be very challenging. Therefore, we have mitigated this issue by re-designing path finding algorithm and movement algorithm by making them simpler. If a trash object is detected, the robot will simply move towards it (no coordinates will be needed, and no specific distance calculator would be required) and collect the trash. The ultrasonic sensor, meanwhile, will be able to avoid obstacles. Here, everything is done on pi. Then, we would not have to deal with the issue discussed above while also being able to narrow down our focus to pi and speed up the implementation process. Also, VSLAM will be used only for tracking robot so that it can come back to its starting location once the tasks are done. This would be done on Jetson Orin only, not on Pi.
There were no changes on our system design other than the change of the path planning algorithm stated above.
There have been some schedule changes with our build and codes for ROS based on our risk mitigation plans. The codes for motion control and motor control are expected to be completed by this Sunday or next Monday. We are holding off the VSLAM implementation to after interim demo, as it does not play an important role in robot demonstration. We are planning to integrate the Raspberry pi with the robot by the end of Wednesday next week so that we have time to test it and debug any unforeseen errors through the rest of the week and the weekend. We are meeting on Monday and/or Tuesday to finish building rollers and conveyor belts for our pick up mechanism.
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