This week, I worked more on setting up the electronics for the conveyor belt in time for the demo. Currently, we are able to use one power supply to move the conveyor belt at a fixed speed and simulate the servo moving every 5 seconds. This is approximately how it will be when we integrate the classification signals into the system. In addition, I set up the web interface on the Jetson, and early next week, I plan on writing a framework allowing us to change the conveyor belt speed. I will also be working with Mohammed to integrate the classification signals into the project. I anticipate running into a bunch of timing issues, specifically getting the ramp to turn exactly when the object is at the end of the belt; however, with some experimentation and synthesized delays, I’m sure we will be able to navigate this.
To verify that the subsystems I am working on meet the metrics, we have a set of comprehensive metrics and tests:
Selection of bin in < 2 seconds
Run 20 trials of placing random objects on the belt, and record how long it takes for the ramp to turn to the bin of the material it is classified to be. The average will be a good indicator of if we met our target.
Reaction to controls < 400ms
Run 5 trials for each actuator (servo and DC motor), and start a timer when an instruction is sent using the Jetson. The measurement will end once the actuator completes the instruction, (a change in speed for the motor and rotation for the servo).
Depending on the data that we collect from our comprehensive testing, we may have to further tune and improve parameters in our system to help meet benchmarks.