Category: Team Status Reports

Our team made significant strides toward system integration in preparation for the Interim Demo on November 18th:

• Gantry Integration: Camera and gantry systems were integrated successfully. Jack implemented a solution to reduce latency in gantry movement by breaking commands into smaller steps, improving responsiveness.
• Remote and Gripper Systems: The remote system was integrated with the ESP32, and the gripper control software was completed, enabling object manipulation. The gripper reliably handled a 500g water bottle during testing.
• Hardware Improvements: Jack built a new controller housing for the ESP32 and a custom camera stand, enhancing system stability for testing.

These efforts have brought us to a serviceable MVP. Here is a video of testing the MVP this Saturday.

The compressed timeline for integration remains the primary risk. To address this:

• The team plans to meet this Sunday to ensure the MVP is ready for the Interim Demo on Monday

No major design changes were made. Minor updates include a new 3D printed case for the remote and the construction of a custom camera stand to replace a delayed delivery.

Next Steps

• Finalize testing and debugging to ensure a smooth Interim Demo.
• Begin post-demo performance optimizations, including force sensing, latency improvements, z-axis integration, etc.

Overall, the team is excited to deliver a successful MVP.

Here is the validation plan for the user requirements of the overall project.

This week, our team has been working intensively to finalize each individual subsystem in preparation for the Interim Demo on November 18th. Our goal is to complete all subsystem development by the end of this weekend, allowing us to move into system integration next week. Each team member has been dedicated to ensuring their subsystem is functional and ready for this critical deadline.

While we’ve encountered some delays and are slightly behind on the Gantt chart, we expect to accelerate our progress and return to schedule this week. The updated Gantt chart continues to guide our team, and we’re adjusting our plans to accommodate the current timeline. Recognizing the tight schedule, we have prioritized all of all next week to prepare for the demo.

The primary risk at this stage remains the time constraint for integration. With each subsystem set to complete by this weekend, we have intentionally allocated next week for integration and testing. This provides us with focused time to ensure seamless functionality across all components. While this timeframe is compressed, we believe that our focused efforts and contingency plans will allow us to mitigate integration risks effectively.

No major changes were made to the overall system design this week. Some minor adjustments within the hardware for the gantry system were made, but these did not impact our core design or budget. Jack has added and is working on more additional 3-D printed parts for the gantry system, as he has been assembling it.

The team has maintained open communication, and all members have committed additional time to ensure readiness for the Interim Demo. Although it will be a rush to complete integration, we are optimistic that we can accomplish this by the demo date. By following our structured timeline and focusing on clear communication, we remain on track to meet our project goals.

This past week, our team has been working hard to stay on track for our upcoming Interim Demo on November 18th. Each team member has been deeply focused on their respective sub-systems, ensuring that each component meets the requirements for our MVP. Recognizing the importance of a clear roadmap, we have updated our Gantt chart to include a more detailed breakdown of the tasks required in the coming weeks, providing a structured path to meet our project goals. In addition to updating our Gantt chart, we have also developed a new test plan proposal.

Each team member has been focused on preparing their sub-system for the Interim demo. However, as our project has progressed, we’ve encountered some challenges, with time being our most pressing concern. Development of the individual sub-systems has taken longer than initially expected, leaving us with only a single week to complete system integration before the demo. This condensed timeline adds an element of risk, particularly in ensuring seamless integration of each component.

To mitigate this risk, our team has doubled down on our commitment to the project. We have collectively agreed to dedicate all available time to work on this project, prioritizing it above other commitments as we approach the demo date. The updated Gantt chart will serve as a vital tool for tracking our progress and maintaining a clear overview of tasks, allowing us to stay organized and adapt swiftly to any obstacle.

The next week is critical to the success of our project. It is absolutely essential that each team member follows the Gantt chart closely, staying aligned with the timeline we’ve established. While the time constraints are challenging, we remain optimistic and committed to a successful MVP demo. We can see a clear path forward, but achieving our goal will require our best effort and complete focus.

Over the fall break, our team has worked in preparation of our parts being delivered. Which as of now, we have submitted all the orders for the parts we know we need. We have continued to research and implement the necessary software packages such that we can build our systems quickly when our hardware parts arrive.

The biggest risk right now is running into too many problems when parts arrive and we start putting together our prototypes. We have tried to mitigate this risk by spending our time preparing the software needed to control the system before and over the fall break.

The only change that was made this week was a 3D printer driver board that was acquired to replace the four separate driver boards. Jack made this change which he mentioned in his status report for this week.

Part A: Our system does include global factors. Part of the purpose of our project is to provide chemists with a safer environment to perform in a chemistry lab. Ideally, our system can be used anywhere in the world where one wishes to perform chemistry. Thus, it can keep people safer anywhere around the globe.

Part B: The Third Hand project could possibly have a cultural factor related to worker safety laws. Our product is designed to increase worker safety in chemistry lab environments. Thus, our team must consider the workplace safety requirements in the United States and how it will relate to our robot. Also, we should consider changing our testing strategy to better highlight our robot’s contribution to the safety in chemistry labs.

Part C: The Third Hand could have a environmental factor that should be considered. It is possible to have accidental spills that could leak toxic chemicals in the lab. Chemicals could spill down a drain contaminating the water, or evaporate and pollute the air. Our robot can be used in tandem with a proper work environment for it to prevent spills to harm individuals or the environment.

Normal Report

• What are the most significant risks that could jeopardize the success of the
project? How are these risks being managed? What contingency plans are ready?

As of now, the greatest risk to the project is finishing up the design process and ordering parts. I hope there are little to no changes after the design review next week, so that we don’t need to spend more time designing. The team has been working hard this week designing and preparing for the design review in order to minimize risk of redesigning. The team is committed to working extra hours if needed.

• Were any changes made to the existing design of the system (requirements,
block diagram, system spec, etc)? Why was this change necessary, what costs
does the change incur, and how will these costs be mitigated going forward?

The camera FOV was switched from 90 degrees to 78 degrees because I had trouble finding a good 90 degree FOV camera that fit the more important specifications. This change comes at a cost of needing to raise the camera higher off the table which our camera stand will account for.

• Provide an updated schedule if changes have occurred.

No scheduling changes were made.

• This is also the place to put some photos of your progress or to brag about a
component you got working

*Nothing for now…

+ the Status Report 2 assignment

Please write a paragraph or two describing how the product solution you are designing will meet a specified need…

Part A: … with respect to considerations of public health, safety or welfare. Note: The term ‘health’ refers to a state of well-being of people in both a physiological and psychological sense. ‘Safety’ is the absence of hazards and/or physical harm to persons. The term ‘welfare’ relates to the provision of the basic needs of people. –By Jack He

Our product is intended to promote health and safety by putting them out of harm’s way.  Lab environments can contain a wide range of hazards: flammables, explosives, toxic vapors, bio-waste… In addition to the obvious risk of severe injury, many substances found in a lab have negative long term health effects. For example, formaldehyde, commonly used to preserve tissue samples, are linked to neuraldegenerative diseases and cancer. By building a teleoperation interface capable of the fine manipulation tasks performed in a lab, we aim to make it easy for researchers to use our robot to perform these tasks from a safe location. Therefore, this system will promote both health and safety for the community of scientific researchers.

Part B: … with consideration of social factors. Social factors relate to extended social groups having distinctive cultural, social, political, and/or economic organizations. They have importance to how people relate to each other and organize around social interests. — By Zhenghao Jin

The remote-controlled robotic hand I am designing is primarily intended for lab environments, addressing the need for safer and more efficient experimentation. By enabling users to manipulate lab equipment and hazardous solutions remotely, the product minimizes physical risks and ensures a controlled, safe process for delicate or dangerous experiments. This solution is cost-effective and adaptable, making it a valuable tool for a wide range of labs, including those with limited safety resources. It enhances collaboration among researchers by providing a safer and more reliable way to conduct experiments, aligning with the broader goal of improving safety and efficiency in scientific research.

Part C: … with consideration of economic factors. Economic factors are those relating to the system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. — By Leland Mersky

Our product does not nicely meet a specific need with consideration of economic factors, as our product mainly meets the needs for public health and safety. The purpose of the robotic arm is to handle possibly dangerous chemicals to perform common tasks done in a chemistry lab. That being said, I can’t think of a way how this project affects the production, distribution, or consumption of goods and services.

 

At this point in the course, the biggest risk to the project is organization and communication within the team. We all we need to be doing our parts in the individual work, but we have to come together to plan for each week to come. These risks are being managed by our team’s iron will and dedication. We make sure to meet multiple times a week, so that we can stay on top of our progress.

We’ve had some discussion throughout the week on the design of our project. There have been minor changes, but we’ve really just been fleshing out our design more rather than making changes. At this point, we all have a good understanding of the project as a whole. This week, we started to work on the different sub-systems of the project individually.

No schedule changes have been made. Overall, we are making our final, initial design decisions and have started forming a list of parts to order. The goal is to have a close to complete list of parts by the end of next week.