Project

#	Title	Team Members	TA	Documents	Sponsor
41	Vibrational GPS	Kevin Xia Soo Min Kimm Stephen Battin	Andrew Chen	design_document1.pdf final_paper1.pdf presentation1.pdf proposal1.pdf
	# Team Members Kevin Xia: kevinx3, Stephen Battin: sbattin2, Soo Min Kimm: skimm2 # Title: Vibrational GPS # PROBLEM When people bike, skateboard, or walk, it is not always convenient to take out their phones. However, when it comes to getting to a new destination, many people have no choice but to use the GPS on their phones to get directions. Looking at your phone; however, means that the person must take their eyes off of the sidewalk/path which could cause an accident. Also, using headphones to hear means that the person would not be able to hear other noise on the path such as other people trying to pass them. In addition, not everyone is able to hear so they wouldn't be able to hear directions that were spoken. Therefore, a method to be able to get directions without audio or visual feedback would be optimal. # SOLUTION OVERVIEW Our group will create one arm guard that will be worn on either the user’s left or right hand containing two vibrational motors. Each of these motors will be positioned on the left and right sides of the arm guard. During use, the user will launch an app that asks them which arm they will wear this arm guard on as well to properly calibrate it. After this, the app will act like a normal GPS and ask the user where they would want to go. After selecting start, the user can now put their phone away and the armguard will start working. Whenever a left or right turn is needed, the arm guard will vibrate the corresponding motor (left or right) to tell the user which direction they need to turn or walk towards. It will also vary the intensity of this vibration corresponding to how close they are to the turn. For example, 100 meters away there will be a slight vibration, 75 meters 2 vibrations, 50 meters 3 vibrations, 25 meters 4 vibrations, but when only 5 meters, it will start vibrating intensely. Once the user gets to the location they want to get to, both vibration motors on the arm guard will vibrate simultaneously for 3 seconds as well to let the user know they have arrived. # SOLUTION COMPONENTS ## APP SUBSYSTEM The app would be responsible for connecting to an existing map solution such as google maps and use this information to get the directions needed to arrive at a destination. This app would also send a signal to the vibration subsystem telling it when to vibrate and what intensity to vibrate at. This connection would be made with Bluetooth. ## VIBRATING SUBSYSTEM This would contain a battery power source, two vibration motors (one for left, the other for right), a microcontroller, and a Bluetooth module. This system would be integrated into an arm guard that the user would be able to take on and off. This would allow for the user to have two distinct vibration locations depending on the direction that they needed to turn, which would eliminate the need for the user to memorize different vibration patterns if there was only one. # CRITERION FOR SUCCESS A successful vibrational GPS armguard will be able to have a working app that can let the user select a destination to go to and also have the armguard vibrate properly if a left or right turn is coming up. We also need the app to calibrate the arm the user is wearing the armguard on to ensure proper vibration instructions during use.

Low Cost Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand

Michael Fatina, Jonathan Pan-Doh, Edward Wu

Low Cost Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand

Featured Project

According to the WHO, 80% of amputees are in developing nations, and less than 3% of that 80% have access to rehabilitative care. In a study by Heidi Witteveen, “the lack of sensory feedback was indicated as one of the major factors of prosthesis abandonment.” A low cost myoelectric prosthetic hand interfaced with a sensory substitution system returns functionality, increases the availability to amputees, and provides users with sensory feedback.

We will work with Aadeel Akhtar to develop a new iteration of his open source, low cost, myoelectric prosthetic hand. The current revision uses eight EMG channels, with sensors placed on the residual limb. A microcontroller communicates with an ADC, runs a classifier to determine the user’s type of grip, and controls motors in the hand achieving desired grips at predetermined velocities.

As requested by Aadeel, the socket and hand will operate independently using separate microcontrollers and interface with each other, providing modularity and customizability. The microcontroller in the socket will interface with the ADC and run the grip classifier, which will be expanded so finger velocities correspond to the amplitude of the user’s muscle activity. The hand microcontroller controls the motors and receives grip and velocity commands. Contact reflexes will be added via pressure sensors in fingertips, adjusting grip strength and velocity. The hand microcontroller will interface with existing sensory substitution systems using the pressure sensors. A PCB with a custom motor controller will fit inside the palm of the hand, and interface with the hand microcontroller.

Project Videos