System Progress
This week we worked on the ethnic homework including both individual part and team section. We also worked on setting up the voice recognition module in our robot system. For example, instead of using the default command work, we modified the wake-up word and the command words (“throw trash”) so that the system can respond to our customized voice inputs. And we explored how to connect these signals to Rpi to be part of the control flow in our system. Furthermore, we started working on the computer vision subsystem for the TrashDash project, and set up the camera pipeline and began experimenting with MediaPipe for hand detection. We also explored how to combine the RGB image with depth information from the camera in order to estimate the 3D position of the user’s hand. For the motor part, we assembled the car chassis platform and brought up the motors to verify that they work properly.
System Design
To make it easier for users to empty the trash bin, we plan to redesign the physical structure by adopting a nested double-bin structure. The space between the two bins will accommodate our hardware devices, and this design will also simplify the process of removing and cleaning the trash bins. This approach enhances both usability and maintenance convenience.
Risk and Mitigation
For this project, there is a potential risk of conflict when both camera vision and ToF sensors simultaneously detect the target, as their signals might disagree on the object’s position. To mitigate this, the system should prioritize ToF sensor data when identifying obstacles, allowing the ToF signal to override the camera’s input. This ensures that obstacle detection is more reliable and safe. Also, anomaly detection and fault tolerance mechanisms should be implemented, when the outputs of the two sensors differ significantly, the system triggers a safe mode or performs resampling to avoid incorrect navigation.
Plan for Next Week
Our next step will be to continue working on the subsystems and then we will integrate each part together to meet the full control logic.