What I did:
- Soldered the MCU, haptic driver, and multiplexer. Soldered the connections between the haptic driver and the single LRA
- Put together each individual hardware component to work together with Lakshmi’s code
- Connected the haptic driver+LRA to one channel of the multiplexer to allow for sending commands to 2 separate haptic driver + LRA components for both sides of the leg as part of the device
- LRA vibration testing
- Read through the documentation for the haptic driver we are currently using (DRV2605), as it contains a library of preset vibration commands to drive the LRA that can be put into different sequences for different types of vibration feedback (sinusoidal, ramp up, constant, pulsing, etc.)
- Tested the vibration feedback from the LRAs with Lakshmi using her code/pipeline to send vibration commands from the MCU to the haptic driver
- The LRA feedback was too faint to detect a difference among the different vibration commands,
- I debugged this issue by changing the pin the haptic driver was connected to (originally it was connected to the 3V pin, but I then adjusted it to V_in, which supplies 5V)
- LRA type comparisons
- Conducted literature review on different types of LRAs and their vibration amplitudes to see which models could provide the most detectable vibration amplitudes
- Worked on Design Review presentation slides
- Worked on the solution approach slides by compiling the information we have on hardware component comparisons (different LRAs, MCUs, IMUs)
On schedule?
I am on schedule based on our project timeline, as I have connected the necessary hardware for the device that will be worn on the shank and integrated it with the current code. I also worked on testing the LRA vibration commands. After discussing with the group, we agreed to shift around when I will start building the sleeve for the LRA by another week since ideally the hardware components for the device worn on the shank will be connected first. I also still need to look into tradeoffs between an adhesive attachment vs. using a strap for the attachment.
Next week’s deliverables:
- Present Design Review in class
- Solder the second LRA and haptic driver
- Integrate the additional haptic driver to the current system
- Test vibration intensities with the 2 LRAs
- Solder the IMU/MCU components to be worn on the foot for the FPA estimation
- Comparison between adhevise vs. strap to attach the device on the shank