ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section : Gesture Controlled Car

Name	NetID	Section
Ribhav Sahu	ribhavs2	ECE 110
Xuhang Xiao	xuhangx2	ECE 110
Qinglin Ge	qge3	ECE 110

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this project is to build a car which can be controlled by hand gestures. We will be using the webcam to provide hand gestures and then the car will move accordingly. We believe that if this project works, then it could be scaled up to an actual car in future, and it would revolutionise driving and make it much easier. This idea is unique as the driver will no longer be physically touching either the steering wheel or the gas or break pedals

Background Research

Our project started with an idea to make a project related to vehicles. During the first week of discussion, we came up with an idea: to design a car that can jump across vehicles, After having a rough idea of the project, our group discussed the practicability of this project, we encountered three questions: "How can we make the car jump?", "How can the car recognize the height and width of the obstacle?", and "How can we control the height the length that the car jump?". These questions drove us to find more resources that were related to our project on the internet. On Youtube, we found a video related to object recognition. This technology can be used to find out the size of the obstacle. However, it is difficult to find videos on how to design a jumping car. After finding this problem, we thought again about our idea.

Since we had already done a lot of research on object recognition and how to make a car, the idea of making a 'Gesture Controlled Car' popped into our mind. This idea uses the same technology as the 'jumping car'. This project is important because it can simplify the process of driving a car. Instead of stepping on the gas and turning the steering wheel, the driver can control it by pointing to different sides. This project investigates a new style of driving.

Block Diagram / Flow Chart

System Overview

Provide descriptions to your block diagram and flow chart. State the purpose of each block.

Gesture: A human subject provides different gestures to control the car.

Webcam: The webcam will capture the gestures so that it can be processed.

Gesture Recognition Processing: Through Tensorflow, the gestures will be processed and appropriate instructionscontrols for the car) will be transmitted to the car.

Wifi Module: This will be used to transmit the controls to the car.

Motors: The motors will finally carry out the instructions to control the car.

Parts

Provide a list of parts that you may need for your project. You should include details such as the quantity, model number, purpose, vendor, and price (excluding taxes and shipping) for each part. This list may change as you work on your project.

S.No	Part Name	Description	Link
1.	Webcam	already have
2.	Arduino	already have
3.	Car chassis		https://usa.banggood.com/DIY-4WD-Smart-Robot-Car-Chassis-Kits-with-Speed-Encoder-p-1311282.html?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_organic&gmcCountry=US&utm_content=minha&utm_campaign=minha-usg-pc&currency=USD&cur_warehouse=CN&createTmp=1 (not in the given vendor option) OR https://www.adafruit.com/product/3216
4.	Motor	included in car chassis pack
5.	Wheels	included in car chassis pack
6.	AA Battery		https://www.target.com/p/duracell-coppertop-aa-batteries-10-pack-alkaline-battery/-/A-14044612?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tmnv&DFA=71700000083356537&CPNG=PLA_DVM%2B0066S00000wXfznQAC-Duracell_AO_GoogleSearch_CopperTop_2021_Flight&adgroup=PLA_Duracell+Coppertop&LID=700000001393753pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9022196&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_8aww-qn8wIVpTY4Ch1g2wYWEAQYASABEgKjD_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
7.	Wi-Fi Module	83-16992 probably nodemcu esp8266	https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13711
8.	Motor Drive Shield (2x)	(may need in future)	https://usa.banggood.com/Wholesale-L298N-Dual-H-Bridge-Stepper-Motor-Driver-Board-p-42826.html?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_organic&gmcCountry=US&utm_content=minha&utm_campaign=minha-usg-pc&currency=USD&cur_warehouse=CN&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_bgcs&utm_content=aliha&utm_campaign=aliha-SSC-usg-en-sku-xp-cz-upcvrdownPV-1015-2021&ad_id=553370752256&gclid=CjwKCAjwiY6MBhBqEiwARFSCPq_W_Yc5EfHwguekBWcKi0FltoZvlmmVL_igYsKX1KPtcqWCxyPf8RoCzRQQAvD_BwE

Roles:

S.No	Name	Role
1.	Xuhang Xiao	WiFi Communication
2.	Qinglin Ge	Turning Gesture commands into motor signals
3.	Ribhav Sahu	Getting Tensorflow to work

Possible Challenges

1，None of our group members have experience working with Arduino before, so the coding would be our primary challenge.

2，We are dividing our project into three parts, first being gesture recognition, second is the control of the car, and third a wireless module that would connect the first two parts together, and we will need to do some research about how to complete all three parts.

3，We are considering powering the car with two motors, one controlling the back wheels, responsible for moving forward and backward, and another responsible for turning, and we might face some challenges when working on the latter part.

References

Renotte, N., 2021. Tensorflow Object Detection in 5 Hours with Python | Full Course with 3 Projects. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqkISICHH-U> [Accessed 17 September 2021].

TensorFlow. 2021. Build from source | TensorFlow. [online] Available at: <https://www.tensorflow.org/install/source#macos> [Accessed 17 September 2021].

Arduino. 2021. Arduino - Home. [online] Available at: <https://www.arduino.cc> [Accessed 17 September 2021].

WebSocket, W., 2021. Web Server with NodeMCU WebSocket - Microcontroller Tutorials. [online] Microcontroller Tutorials. Available at: <https://www.teachmemicro.com/web-server-nodemcu-websocket/> [Accessed 17 September 2021].