What are the most significant risks that could jeopardize the success of the project? How are these risks being managed? What contingency plans are ready?
One of the most significant risks currently is that the stepper motors will not have enough speed to complete the pickup sequence in 8s. We have had to run the gantry slower than the maximum setting as the frame currently isn’t well-built enough to handle the stresses. We plan to address this by changing the frame to using aluminum extrusions instead of aluminum angles. One other risk is that the stereo camera might not be accurate enough to sense the depth for accurate placement of the end-effector on the trash items. Currently our contingency plan for this is to use a pressure sensor to detect when the end-effector touches the object.
Were any changes made to the existing design of the system (requirements, block diagram, system spec, etc)? Why was this change necessary, what costs does the change incur, and how will these costs be mitigated going forward?
Other than the change to the frame mentioned above, there are no planned changes to the existing system. This change was necessary as parts of the gantry were bending and buckling during the gantry’s movements. Replacing the aluminum parts costs around $60, which is not much of a problem since after the purchase we still have around $250 of budget remaining.
Provide an updated schedule if changes have occurred.
There are no schedule changes as of now.