Weekly Status Reports

Over the past two weeks, I have primarily worked on the camera and projector system as well as refined the design report. Before the break, I dedicated significant time to the design report, particularly working on the design requirements, design trade studies, and risk mitigation plans. Additionally, I contributed to the project budget, ensuring our resource allocation aligns with project constraints.

I conducted preliminary tests to the camera and projector to assess their capabilities. This included evaluating calibration accuracy, image capture quality, and potential integration challenges. However, our progress is currently hindered because our group has yet to receive the pool table, which was scheduled for delivery two weeks ago. As a result, I am not on track, and our timeline may be impacted until we can begin full system integration.

As a team, the majority of our time these past two weeks was focused on the design report and beginning to implement our project. We spent significant time on the design report to make sure that we could best convey our idea of our project to the reader. Additionally, we went more in-depth into how our system works and how each part comes together: creating a comprehensive block diagram, function signatures for software subsystems, choosing and ordering the exact hardware parts we will be using, and more. The more in-depth research/development of our project has made it easier for us to actually begin and go through with implementation, as we will have a majority of it detailed in our design report.

As for implementation, we have started implementing the major software subsystems of our project — the CV and the Physics Simulation. The third software subsystem, the display mapping, will be completed after the physics simulation is finished. Unfortunately, we are in a bit of a roadblock in terms of our physical implementation. We’ve received the projector and camera that we will be using for our project, however, we have yet to receive the physical pool table we will be working on. When we asked the ECE mailing room if they had received the pool table package yet from Amazon, they said it was still delayed. We will be checking again tomorrow after we meet with Professor Brumley, and are hoping the pool table will be in ASAP.

Overall, we are making steady progress on our project despite being blocked. There are no changes to the schedule on the software side of our project, however, we will need to speed up the schedule for our physical side of the project due to not being able to work on it just yet.

For the past two weeks, I spent most of my time on coding and the design report. I put a significant amount of time into the design report before break. I spent the most time on the system implementation section of the design report, where I figured out what different subsystems are and how they would interact with each other. This included coming up with the function signatures of all our software (like getBalls or find_best_shot), figuring out how each function should work, and finally figuring out what each function should take in as input and output to best transfer data from subsystem to subsystem. Additionally, I began a little bit of coding on the physics simulation subsystem. I will be focusing the majority of my time this month on making sure the code for that is well put together. I am currently on schedule and hope to be done with coding by the end of this month so that we can integrate everything and be at MVP.

This week, I focused primarily on coding and documenting my progress to facilitate a smooth integration with the physics simulation portion. I detailed the physical layout/setup of the table, specifically highlighting the portions relevant to our CV computations. This included documenting the placement of corner stickers, which will be used to compute a more accurate homography for gathering positional coordinates. Additionally, I mapped the layout to real-world coordinates to provide better insight into the input data for the physics simulation.

Beyond coding, I have been closely communicating my progress with my teammates to ensure they understand the data transfer process. I am on track with my tasks and will aim to speed up my progress to allow more time for the later stages of our processing pipeline.

This week, our team primarily focused on preparing for the Design Review Presentation and refining various aspects of our project’s implementation beforehand. We finalized the GitHub repository setup, installed necessary dependencies, and began initial coding for both the computer vision and physics simulation components. Additionally, we made key decisions regarding hardware selection, including researching projector options and materials for mounting the overhead camera.

Samuel focused on the physics simulation setup, setting up the GitHub repository and installing the required dependencies. He also contributed significantly to the Design Review Presentation slides and written report. Moving forward, his main priority will be coding the physics simulation, particularly shot simulation and best shot selection. Next week, his availability will be slightly limited due to exams, but he plans to dedicate spring break to making significant progress on the project.

Luke concentrated on preparing for the Design Review Presentation and researching the materials for the camera/projector mount. He also narrowed down the projector selection to two options (Yaber V6 and ViewSonic PA503W), weighing factors such as keystone correction and input lag. His next steps involve ordering the necessary materials for the frame, assembling the mount, and assisting Samuel with the shot simulation algorithm. While he faced a slight delay due to the pool table not arriving yet, he expects to catch up next week as he has more time to focus on the project.

Kevin worked on finalizing his section for the Design Review Presentation and collaborated with Samuel to set up the repository and integrate dependencies. His upcoming focus is on coding and optimizing data extraction to support the post-processing physics simulation. He remains on track and is coordinating with Samuel and Luke to ensure smooth integration between components.

Overall, our team is making steady progress despite minor delays related to hardware availability and course pressure. In the upcoming weeks, we will finalize the design report, begin full integration, and start assembling the physical components of the system. We remain on schedule and will continue refining our implementation while preparing for the next project milestone.

This week, I spent most of my time finalizing different parts of my area for the design review presentation and working on the design slides. I helped set up the repository with Samuel to install the necessary dependencies for integrating my code. The majority of my time in the following weeks will be spent coding and ensuring accurate data extraction early for the post-processing physics simulation part of the project that Samuel is working on. I am on track and will be working with Samuel and Luke to ensure a smooth integration from the start.

Additionally, this coming week I have an exam and essay due that may slightly hinder my progress, but I have time in the coming week to ensure I keep on track.

This week, I spent most of my time preparing for my Design Review Presentation. I have also been doing some research on the specific materials we will be using for the frame where we will mount our camera and projector. I have also been weighing the pros and cons of the specific projector our team will be utilizing and narrowed it down to either the Yaber V6, which is better for keystone correction, allowing for +/- 50 degrees of rotation, or the ViewSonic PA503W, which has very good low input lag. I will decide by Monday and have it ordered by Tuesday. I set up some of the Design Review Report already and will be meeting with Samuel and Kyi on Sunday (2/23) to organize and work on the report. The majority of my time in the next two weeks will be focused on the report as well as:

1. Ordering the materials for the frame
2. Building the frame
3. Helping Samuel with simulating slots and assisting with the development of the best shot algorithm

I am a bit behind schedule because I was planning to start the actual building of the frame this past week. However, since the pool table has not arrived, this has delayed my progress a bit. This week, however, I do not have much work from other classes and therefore can allocate a larger portion of my week to building the frame and working on the Design Report and best shot algorithm.

 

This week, I spent most of my time on the Design Review Presentation slides. Additionally, I started working on my portion of the coding for our project. I set up our GitHub codebase and installed/set up the necessary dependencies for the physics simulation. I have also begun to work on our Design Review Report and will be meeting with Kevin and Luke tomorrow and throughout the week to get that done in time. The majority of my time in the next two weeks will be focused on the report as well as coding the following: simulating shots and finding the best possible shot. I am on track based on our schedule, however, next week I will have less time to work on capstone as I have two exams and a project due. Thankfully, I will have ample time during spring break to focus on our capstone project.

This week, our group focused on refining our approach to the computer vision and physics simulation components of the project. After meeting with our professor and TA, we reassessed our hardware requirements and decided that using a single-board computer, such as the Jetson Orin Nano or Raspberry Pi, is unnecessary. Instead, we will run all computer vision and physics simulation tasks on our personal computers, allowing us to prioritize algorithm development while addressing hardware needs as they arise.

Luke spent much of the week assisting with research on both the computer vision and physics simulation aspects of the project. He also worked on the Design Review presentation and Written Design Review, including drafting sketches for the mount that will hold the overhead camera above the pool table. Next week, he will begin constructing the mount and ordering the necessary parts, as the pool table is set to be delivered soon.

Kevin focused on implementing computer vision for boundary edges and pocket detection. He developed edge detection algorithms to determine the table’s physical dimensions and started working on thresholding techniques to identify pocket positions. Additionally, he researched ball detection and categorization methods for later stages of the CV pipeline, compiling useful resources for future implementation.

Samuel concentrated on the physics simulation, researching existing codebases, papers, and videos that could inform our approach. He also conducted initial benchmark testing by playing three games of 9-ball with Luke to establish a baseline for shot efficiency. Furthermore, he updated our block diagram and Gantt chart to reflect the removal of the Nvidia Jetson, as we will now directly connect the camera/LiDAR to a computer.

Overall, our team remains on schedule, and we will continue refining our design while moving into the implementation phase. Next week, we plan to begin assembling the system, conduct additional benchmark testing with the newly ordered pool table, and further develop our physics simulation and computer vision algorithms.

This week, I primarily assisted my teammates with their research on the computer vision and physics simulation components of our project. After our weekly meeting with the professor and TA, we reassessed our hardware requirements and concluded that using a single-board computer, such as the Jetson Orin Nano or Raspberry Pi, is unnecessary. Since all computer vision and physics simulation tasks can be efficiently executed on our personal computers, we decided to prioritize algorithm development and address hardware needs as they arise.

In addition, I dedicated significant time to preparing the Design Review presentation and Written Design Review. This included drafting sketches for the mount that will hold the overhead camera above our pool table.

I am currently on schedule and will continue refining our design while assisting with implementation efforts in the coming weeks. Next week, I plan to order the necessary parts and begin building the mount, as well as order the camera, since the pool table will be delivered by then. My focus will shift toward constructing the system for our project in addition to supporting implementation efforts.