Tag: status report

Our current progress on the Rid3 device is going well. The main tasks for this week were to complete the setup for raspberry pi, finish setup for the blues starter kit, and get basic object detection with sensors. We were able to accomplish most of these goals since our last progress report. We have the raspberry Pi set up and have made it compatible with the blues starter kit by using ssh for programming on the Pi. In addition, we worked on configuration for converting speech to text using the Google Speech API and were able to see sample outputs. We also ordered materials for a new mount for our bicycle which we designing a component that is compatible with the mount ( see below ).

One of the risks that we are currently facing is the fact that the GPS information is not being sent properly through to the Raspberry Pi, this could be a problem as we need accurate GPS data for the proper directions to be sent.

NEXT WEEK DELIVERABLES:

Continue testing for speech-to-text translation and beginning implementation of R-Tree algorithm. Set up circuit for wristband + establishing basic object detection for sensors. Fixing GPS issues and storing GPS data to be used by the RPi.

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component compatible with mount.

sample output for Google speech API

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:

Part A: … with consideration of global factors. Global factors are world-wide contexts and factors, rather than only local ones. They do not necessarily represent geographic concerns. Global factors do not need to concern every single person in the entire world. Rather, these factors affect people outside of Pittsburgh, or those who are not in an academic environment, or those who are not technologically savvy, etc.

There is a global need for increased safety and accessibility in urban mobility. Our device Rid3 can help meet this increased need for bicyclists’ safety by enhancing phone-less navigation in increasingly crowded urban settings. Bike lanes and road support for micro-mobility are being expanded in many major cities worldwide, however riders are often still at risk due to poor visibility, car blind spots, and distractions from checking navigation devices. This technology lowers the risk of accidents and increases traffic safety by enabling cyclists to receive crucial blind spot alerts and clear directions without taking their eyes off the road by fusing voice navigation with a haptic feedback wristband. This solution is particularly impactful in regions where cycling infrastructure is still developing or where road conditions are less predictable. Additionally, our device is intended to work in various climates expanding beyond what typically occurs in Pittsburgh, like high dust environments. The usability of our device is also simplistic and meant to be intuitive to promote use for all people regardless of technological expertise. By enhancing safety in diverse environments, the product contributes to broader global efforts to promote sustainable transportation, reduce urban congestion, and improve public health. A was written by Emmanuel.

Part B: … with consideration of cultural factors. Cultural factors encompass the set of beliefs, moral values, traditions, language, and laws (or rules of behavior) held in common by a nation, a community, or other defined group of people.

Within the context of our project, the main cultural factor for consideration is the fact that different countries have different road laws hence it is important that the Rid3 devices adhere to these cultural norms. Specifically, it is important that our device functions in a way that it is intuitive to a biker on the road. Consequently, it is essential that the audio feedback for navigation instructions adheres to road safety rules. Consequently, research will have to be done to ensure that the system’s feedback adheres to the rules of the region. B was written by Akintayo 

Part C : … with consideration of environmental factors. Environmental factors are concerned with the environment as it relates to living organisms and natural resources.

Environmental factors play an important role in our project. We want to make sure that we’re using resources that do not pollute the environment and are safe for the environment. It is battery powered and does not release any toxins into the air when it is running, so the environmental concerns are limited. One thing to take note of is the potential for coming across different animals in the environment. If we detect animals in our blind spot, we want to notify the user so that they don’t hit the animal coming across. C was written by Forever.

This week we started receiving materials for our project and began testing their functionalities. We received our sensors, blues starter kit, microphone, batteries, and our raspberry pi hat. Our current risk is  stable mounting of our device to bikes. Our current implementation relied on a velcro strap which we realized after using bikes this week will be unstable.. Most bicycles use a mounting clamp to add accessories so we’ll do the same. We’re redesigning our encasing to be compatible with the NiteRider Tail Light Strap Mount. 

Since last week we decided to eliminate the web server aspect and will have all of the server processing happen on the raspberry pi. Two main reasons for this: sending audio to blues cloud is very inefficient due to the round trip latency from sending back and forward through the cloud to an internet-hosted server.  Thus not using the Blues cloud will reduce latency and it’ll be cheaper since we won’t be charged for each block of data being sent to the Raspberry Pi.

Sample Design of Encasing for Navigation/Audio System

Sample Design for Wristband  

New framework for navigation portion

NEXT WEEK DELIVERABLES:

Main tasks for upcoming week: complete setup for raspberry pi, finish setup for blues starter kit, get basic object detection with sensors.

This week we decided to flesh out the overall design for our project and made final decisions regarding the materials that we needed, which led to us submitting our requests for hardware and software. The most significant risk that exists at the current stage of our project would be processing power and latency. We currently have a lot of moving pieces connected to the raspberry pi for our design. Which means it needs to be able to sufficiently supply enough power to each of these pieces as well as respond quickly enough for information sharing. This is why we decided to use a Raspberry PI 4 versus our previous usage of the Raspberry Pi 3A+. It is a lot more capable, but still does not require as much processing power / energy as the Raspberry PI 5. We are also looking into usage of resistors + transistors for managing of power, so that we don’t have too much energy flowing in areas where we don’t need it. Another design change we made was switching from ToF sensors to Ultrasonic sensors. This was due to the fov of the sensors, we wanted to make sure we were able to capture a breadth of information instead of less. We also decided to use a USB microphone, just to simplify the pin out process, and make it easier to connect other pieces. The changes didn’t create a noticeable cost difference as the pieces were around the same price.  See below updated block diagram and schedule.

Additional Questions:

Part A: … with respect to considerations of public health, safety or welfare. Note: The term ‘health’ refers to a state of well-being of people in both a physiological and psychological sense. ‘Safety’ is the absence of hazards and/or physical harm to persons. The term ‘welfare’ relates to the provision of the basic needs of people.

By giving bicyclists a hands-free, real-time navigation and blind spot detection system, our solution improves public health, safety, and welfare. Conventional navigation techniques, such as looking up instructions on a phone, can be distracting and raise the risk of accidents. By wirelessly delivering obstacle alerts and directional indications to a vibration-based wristband, our device removes this risk and enables bikers to focus on the road. This improves rider awareness and considerably lowers cognitive overload, which benefits both physical and mental safety. The incorporation of ultrasonic sensors guarantees prompt identification of cars or other objects in blind spots, averting possible collisions and promoting safer interactions between motor vehicles and bicycles.

Furthermore, by promoting safer and more effective cycling, which is an eco friendly and healthful form of transportation, our solution advances public welfare. Our device adds to urban mobility solutions that benefit communities and individuals by increasing bike accessibility through a cheaper navigation tool and lowering the chance of accidents. Accurate route guiding is ensured by the Blues Starter Kit’s GPS tracking and server-based navigation system, which keeps riders from getting lost and lowers stress, both of which can improve general wellbeing. In the end, our product promotes a more secure and safe riding experience, enhancing public safety and encouraging a more sustainable and healthy transportation culture. A was written by Emmanuel.

Part B: … with consideration of social factors. Social factors relate to extended social groups having distinctive cultural, social, political, and/or economic organizations. They have importance to how people relate to each other and organize around social interests.

One important social factor that needs to be considered in regards to the project is the speech component. Specifically, the system will be receiving the user’s destination for their journey via their voice. As a result, different people have different speech intonations in their voice. In the same vein, people speak in different languages. For the scope of the project, we are solely focusing on ensuring the speech recognition and the audio response is functional primarily for English speakers. To handle different speech tones, we are using the Google Speech-to-Text AI system to handle this as it is optimized to identify a variety of speech types.  B was written by Akintayo.

Part C: ... with consideration of economic factors. Economic factors are those relating to the system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. 

One of the general themes that our group wanted for our project was the idea of a low cost low profit  model. Essentially, we aim to prioritize consumer satisfaction and accessibility to our product over company profits. Therefore, important factors that we must consider to achieve this goal are cost of production and cost of labor. At the moment the cost of our product seems kind of high relative to the alternative options that are our there. For example, google maps navigation paired with an apple watch. However, most of the products do not come with a haptic feedback feature that provides additional safety for bike users. So as we’re building we’re looking for cost efficient parts, that are lightweight and user friendly, but also aren’t too unreasonable due to the safety the product provides. Our highest priority is safety and ensuring that those needs are met before all else.  C was written by Forever.