Personal Accomplishment
What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours).
GPS Testing: Since we know our chosen GPS device only functions outdoors, we tested it outside in front of Hamerschlag Hall. The GPS successfully picked up the correct coordinates, and when these were fed into the Google Maps API, it returned the accurate physical address. To ensure a smooth demo, we tried placing the GPS indoors near a window, but it still couldn’t receive a signal. Therefore, our plan for the GPS demo will be to record a video of its operation in advance.
Radar Tuning and Testing: I also worked on optimizing the radar by adjusting key parameters, including the minimum and maximum detection angles, the movement speed range, and the detection distance. To better visualize the radar’s detection limits, I implemented a real-time tracking graph with the x-axis showing angles from -90° to 90° and the y-axis representing distances from 0 to 7 meters. This graph dynamically displays detection results for both distance and direction (a screenshot is included in the group report). For initial testing, we divided radar tests into nine scenarios (distances of 1m, 3m, and 5m, with obstacles on the left, center, and right). We observed that the radar’s accuracy was higher at shorter distances. Additionally, it performed better when detecting obstacles moving away from it rather than approaching. For instance, at a 3-meter distance in the center, the radar consistently detected obstacles only as they moved away, not as they came closer.
Schedule
Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule?
My progress is on schedule. We made significant strides this week, completing the first round of testing for both the GPS and radar, and they are functioning well overall. While there are some minor performance concerns, I plan to focus on tuning and optimization next week to address these issues and ensure everything is fully aligned with our project timeline.
Upcoming Deliverables
What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?
- Connect the radar output to the audio hat and implement corresponding audio alerts.
- Fine-tune the radar settings and conduct more detailed testing with improved test cases.
- Test the accelerometer and design an algorithm to recognize specific movements (falling down vs normal movement).