Tag: Status Report

The most significant risks we are currently facing in our project are centered around mechanical design. In order for our setup to be comfortable and the transparent display readable, the mechanical setup needs to be incredibly precise.

For this reason, we both chose to self design the goggles themselves and are putting in a lot of work upfront to work on this CAD design so that we can print, test, and make modifications as needed. For example, if the Pi Zero and battery end up being too much weight on top of the goggles, we may have to consider moving these back and adding a mirror or adding additional straps on top of the goggles. Using fully 3D printed models grants us the flexibility to deal with these issues in stride.

We got a great start on the CAD for these goggles this week, including creating v1 models for the goggles themselves, and additional ventilated housing for the Pi Zero Battery in order to keep it from overheating.

In terms of schedule, we’re still pretty on track. We are meant to start testing hardware next week, but more time is going to be spent on the CAD and working on the design document. As a result, our hardware testing will likely get pushed back until next week. Still, hardware testing really is not going to take us more than a week, so this is not a huge concern.

The most significant risks that our group is facing are related to latency, overall physical housing, and text size. We are planning on actually switching from our own CNN for text recognition to an open source model, in order to speed up the computation. Furthermore, we have decided to use our own IOS app so that we can run the CNN and language translation models on our phone rather than the RPi.

The physical housing is somewhat of a challenge, as the focal length of our biconvex lens is 45mm. We may consider adding another mirror if having the display above the goggles becomes too bulky.

In terms of the text size, we now have area allocated for both a GPS HUD and translation at once, but a 12px text size may not be large enough for comfortability. In this case we may switch to having a button that can toggle between GPS and translation so that we only have 1 feature at once on the display.

There is no update to the current schedule.

A was written by Aidan:

The product solution will meet a specific need with respect to considerations of public health, safety or welfare because it enables people who would previously face a language barrier to read written text and signs in other languages. For example, a tourist visiting another country could wear Dawggles and see translations of important safety signs, navigation directions, and other information. These translations greatly improve safety and welfare.

B was written by Patrick:

I feel like our project had a clear positive social impact on the user. The Dawggles are targeted towards those who are trying to travel to foreign countries and need assistance with both navigation and translation in that country. This meets a clear need of eliminating—or at least decreasing—the language barrier and social anxiety that people may experience in this situation.

This project also encourages people to learn the language they are translating. Because the translation appears just moments after glancing at the foreign text, one can actually connect the two terms. If someone had to look up the term later, the foreign word would be less associated. This again helps people learn language in a more interactive and enjoyable way.

UX_DEMO

C was written by David:

The focus of Dawggles is on affordability and openness. This is through the use of open-source hardware and software. Hence, both the cost of production and the barrier of entry for independent developers to work on the goggles is lowered. This can include upgrading a part or writing new software for the developers needs. A modular design also supports easier distribution and maintenance since parts can be sourced from multiple vendors, swapped if supply changes, and replaced individually rather than requiring a full device upgrade.

The most significant risks that could jeopardize the project’s success are related to the lens and mirror not working correctly. For example, the screen might appear to have double images if our 1 mm beam splitter is too thick, or it could appear out of focus if the screen isn’t placed exactly at the lens’s focal point. In addition, the screen could be warped by the beam splitter unless the angle is correct. Finally, the beam splitter is 50% transparent and 50% reflective, but the screen’s display might be too dim or too bright compared to the outside world. We’re managing these risks by allowing extra time and money in our budget for changes that might need to be made to the lens and mirror system.

This week, we also made changes to the existing design in terms of its screen. Instead of using a large screen that spans the width of the goggles at the top, we’re using a simpler approach that shows the screen in a single eye. We made this decision so that we can use a simpler, more common approach and use more widely-used parts such as rectangular displays, lenses from Google Cardboard, and square beam splitters.

There aren’t any updates to the schedule because everything’s on time so far.