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Andrew’s Status Report for 3/14

This week I further flushed out the software. For the Pi code, I created an initial draft with C++ code that takes display data over UDP and outputs it to the LED matrices. I implemented some hall effect sensor logic so we can estimate the angular velocity and determine the timing of when to push GPIO data. I also interfaced with an external library (https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix) to actually send the data to the LEDs. Beyond the Pi code, I also briefly tested the Jetson code to ensure that the logic for spawning a Docker container from C++ and correctly implementing shared memory worked.

I think the progress for the software is on schedule since most everything is done. All that’s left is integrating the software to make sure it works with the hardware. Next week my main goal is to laser cut the enclosure, since I am in another class that gives me access to a laser cutter.

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Kendric’s Status Report for 3/14

This week I focused on preparing the pulleys that will need to be 3D printed for the project. My initial plan was to begin printing the parts this week so we could start testing fit and integration with the other components.

However, I am currently behind schedule.  When the components arrived, specifically the motor screws, I discovered that the screw head diameter and screw length were larger than the dimensions I had originally researched. Because of this, the mounting part of the smaller pulley needed to be redesigned. This is included making a larger clearance for the screw to fit and adjusting the depth of the mounting area so the screw heads would sit properly. The updated designs have now been finalized.

Next week the priority will be the 3D printing the finalized designs. The goal is to complete the prints and begin verifying that the components fit correctly with the screws and other hardware so we can move forward with assembly and testing.

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Kendric’s Status Report for 3/7

I spent time working on the larger pulley mounted on the shaft and the smaller pulley connected to the motor. The larger gear that attaches with the hub adapter was relatively straightforward to design since it mainly needed to match the hub’s bolt pattern and mounting dimensions. Once those measurements were confirmed, integrating the gear with the hub and shaft assembly was fairly simple.

Most of the time was spent on new designs for the smaller pulley connected to the motor. A challenge I had weeks ago was that the pulley’s dimensions are fixed and slightly too small to bolt directly onto the motor in a convenient way. Because of this, I designed an adapter piece that would allow the pulley to mount to the motor. At first this seemed to solve the issue, but after reviewing the assembly more carefully, it became clear that actually fastening the pulley to the motor would still be difficult in practice. The limited clearance makes it hard to fit screws, access the bolt locations, and assemble the parts cleanly, so the design work this week involved rethinking this design. I explored a new design that extends the distance between the pulley and the motor. This provides more room to access the bolts and assemble the parts more easily. At the same time, this change introduces new considerations around stability and ensuring the extended structure remains strong enough to handle the belt tension without bending or breaking.

Part C: Environmental Factors
Environmental factors are addressed through the use of a modular design and commercially available components. By relying mostly on off-the shelf parts such as motors, microcontrollers, and mechanical components, the system avoids the need for complex manufacturing processes and allows for parts to be replaced if they fail. This modular approach helps reduce electronic waste by making repairs easier and extending the lifespan of the device.

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Team Status Report for 3/7

This week, our overall status remains largely the same as last week. We have continued to experience shipping delays that are limiting our ability to move forward with subsystem testing. At this point, our primary bottleneck is still the arrival of a few key components required for full electrical integration. In the meantime, we have shifted our focus toward documentation and have been primarily working on completing and refining our formal design report.

Because we are still waiting on parts, we have not made major progress in hardware validation. However, we are using this time productively to ensure our documentation is thorough, technically consistent, and aligned with our implementation plans. This will allow us to transition smoothly back into hands-on testing once all components arrive.

We did not make any major changes to our system architecture or incur new costs this week. We received mostly positive feedback from our design review presentation, and as a result, we have continued forward with a design report that closely mirrors our presented architecture and justification. At this time, we do not anticipate significant structural changes to the system and will proceed with implementation as planned once testing can begin.

For product solution answers, A was written by Andrew, B was written by Steven, and C was written by Kendric.

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Steven’s Status Report for 3/7

This week, my primary focus was on writing and refining our formal design report. I was responsible for drafting the electrical subsystem section, ensuring that our power distribution architecture, current calculations, and safety margins were clearly justified and consistent with our earlier design trade studies. In addition to the electrical content, I also contributed to several of the general project management sections, helping document our schedule, team responsibilities, risk mitigation plans, and validation strategy to ensure the report accurately reflects our current system status.

Regarding our schedule, we are now facing a more significant delay than anticipated. Our most critical outstanding component—the rocker switch—has still not arrived. This part is essential for safely connecting our PSU to the rest of the system, and without it, we are unable to power and test the electrical subsystem in an integrated manner. Since next week is Spring Break, active progress will temporarily pause. While we are hoping all remaining components arrive during this time, our previously allocated buffer has now been fully consumed. As a result, we are slightly behind the schedule I originally planned for electrical validation and subsystem testing.

Next week, my primary goal is for all remaining components to arrive so we can immediately begin electrical testing upon returning. It is critical that we validate the electrical subsystem as soon as possible, since software development and debugging depend on having a stable, powered hardware platform. Beginning testing promptly will ensure we still have sufficient time to implement and refine the necessary control logic before final integration.

Part B:

Our volumetric display allows users to be immersed in a 3D experience with friends, rather than isolated from them. Rather than being forced to enjoy the experience alone, much like many VR headsets, the hologram display allows friends to interact and enjoy the experience together.  Moreover, our display transcends the language barrier, enabling individuals from various backgrounds to immerse themselves in the technological feat of a 3D display and bond over their shared fascination with making science fiction our reality.

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Andrew’s Status Report for 3/7

I spent more time flushing out all of the software for the Jetson. Beyond the computer vision Python code, I made the C++ environment for using OpenGL to render 3D geometry from OBJ files, implemented a compute shader to sample 2D slices, and developed some networking logic for compressing and sending data over UDP. Progress is visible on Github where all the source code is.

I think the software is overall on schedule. The current code should be enough to get the MVP working on the Jetson side, so all that’s left is the Pi code. Once initial implementations are done we can do more testing and optimization. Next week I want to try testing some of the software more.

Part A: Our product mainly addresses global factor through our implementation of interactivity. We want 3D interaction to feel natural and smooth compared to commonly available methods. For example, traditional 3D manipulation occurs in complex CAD software with unintuitive controls or VR environments with complex controller mappings. Using simple hand gestures to spin an object around removes these kinds of barriers for access.

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Kendric’s Status Report 2/21

This week I focused on refining the base design and responding to feedback about lowering the center of gravity. Since we’re spinning the motor at high RPM, stability is critical. I adjusted the layout so heavier components sit closer to the base plate and slightly widened the design to improve resistance to tipping and vibration.

I also began designing the wooden structural components we plan to fabricate. I finalized the plate and mounting locations for the motor and bearing supports so that once parts arrive, we can move directly into cutting and assembly.

We’re still on schedule. While we’re waiting on a few components, figuring out the base design now should make integration easier in the future.

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Andrew’s Status Report for 2/21

This week I began some work on the software side. I did some more in depth analysis for what ML models would work well. The final 2 choices were between trt_pose and mediapipe. trt_pose was made by Nvidia and was optimized for our Jetson hardware, making it much quicker. However, it had much worse accuracy compared to mediapipe. By default, the mediapipe installation doesn’t use the GPU on the Jetson, so I worked a bit on building the package from source to optimize performance. I think I got it working, so now the performance is more comparable to trt_pose while having much better accuracy, making it a clear winner. I also did some research into OpenGL for much of our graphics logic as well as some possible compression protocols to improve networking performance.

I think we are still on schedule overall as the software design is pretty mature, so the only big hurdles left for software are implementing and integrating.

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Team Status Report for 2/21

As we anticipated last week, we are currently experiencing shipping and logistical delays that are bottlenecking our testing phase. Fortunately, because we ordered our most important components early and built buffer time into our schedule, we have more than enough time to manage these delays without falling behind our final deadlines. Since we are stuck waiting for a few key items, our biggest risk remains the possibility of those delayed parts arriving broken or incorrect. To mitigate this risk as much as possible, we are actively bench-testing all the parts we currently have on hand. By making sure our existing components work properly right now, we can prevent a pile-up of technical issues later when the rest of the system finally comes together.

We did not make any major changes to our system design or incur any new costs this week. We just finished presenting our formal design review and are currently waiting to receive official feedback. We plan to keep the system architecture as it is until we hear back, and we will likely make any necessary design changes next week once we can review that feedback and incorporate it into our project plan.

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Steven’s Status Report for 2/21

This week, my primary focus was on preparing for our upcoming design review presentation. We dedicated significant time to reviewing and finalizing our overall system design, making sure our calculations for gear ratios, target RPM, and power constraints were fully validated. Since we have spent the past few weeks solidifying these technical details, the majority of my time was spent translating our system models and mathematical considerations into a clear, comprehensive slide format for the formal review.

Regarding our schedule, we are currently having some minor testing delays but remain on track overall. I had planned to begin validating the electrical components this week, but key items such as the Raspberry Pi and the main power socket have not yet arrived. Fortunately, since we were slightly ahead of schedule previously, this is not a major cause for concern. The buffer we built into our Gantt chart is currently absorbing this shipping delay, and other than the two missing components, the majority of our other parts have arrived in working condition.

Next week, I am hoping the delayed parts will be delivered so that we can begin assembling the components and I can conduct a full electrical safety test on the integrated system. Additionally, we will do a final inventory check; if we realize we are missing any minor components or hardware, we will place those orders immediately so they can arrive over Spring Break while the team is away.