Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Robot Desk Lamp with User Interaction |
Chris Shan Qianyu LI Yiming Niu |
Wesley Pang | ||
| **Project Title:** Robot Desk Lamp with User Interaction **Team Members:** Chris Shan(chriss4) Yiming Niu(yimingn4) Qianyu Li (qianyul4) **PROBLEM** In everyday work or study, people frequently need to adjust the direction of a desk lamp's light depending on the task at hand, but traditional desk lamps are either completely fixed or require both hands to physically bend the lamp arm to change direction -- which is inconvenient when one hand is already occupied with something else. We want to build a robotic desk lamp that can automatically reposition its light direction, allowing the user to precisely aim the light at a desired area on the desk using only a single hand. **SOLUTION** We will design and build a 3-4 degree-of-freedom (3-4 DOF) articulated robotic desk lamp, running on a custom ESP32-S3 PCB. The lamp's mechanical structure includes three base joints - base rotation, upper arm, and lamp head tilt - with a possible fourth joint (a forearm/elbow) added depending on mechanism tuning, to expand the reachable workspace. To address the core need of single-hand lighting adjustment, we plan to evaluate three candidate human-machine interaction schemes - ToF distance sensing, camera-based visual tracking, and a phone-based BLE remote - and select one as the primary interaction method after preliminary feasibility testing. Once the interaction module provides a target direction, the system computes inverse kinematics (IK) based on current joint angles, drives the servos into position, and continuously corrects based on the interaction module's next reading. **SOLUTION COMPONENTS** - SUBSYSTEM 1 -- Mechanical Structure & Joint Actuation: The three base joints (base rotation, upper arm, lamp head tilt) are servo-driven, with a reserved interface for a fourth joint (forearm). All servos receive PWM timing from a shared I2C multi-channel PWM driver chip, offloading this from the MCU. Servo power is supplied independently from the logic rail to prevent high-current draw from causing resets on the ESP32-S3. Parts: 3–4× digital servos (e.g., DS3218MG) / I2C PWM driver module / 3D-printed structural components and bearings / independent high-current servo power supply (barrel jack + external adapter, sized for ~8–12A peak at 4 servos) - SUBSYSTEM 2 -- Human-Machine Interaction & Closed-Loop Tracking Control: This subsystem converts the user's single-hand interaction into a target orientation for the lamp head. As the baseline control method, the robot will estimate the position of the user's finger or hand relative to the lamp and use the perceived distance and position to determine where the lamp should point. The lamp will continuously adjust its orientation so that its facing direction tracks the user's indicated target location. As an additional control feature, specific hand gestures may also be assigned to directly adjust the polar and azimuthal angles of the lamp's facing vector. The table surface is defined as the xy-plane, with the z-axis perpendicular to the table. These gesture-based angle adjustments would allow the user to fine-tune the lamp's vertical tilt and horizontal direction beyond the baseline position-based tracking method. The exact gesture mapping may be refined during preliminary testing. The system then operates as a continuously running closed loop: the interaction module provides the target direction -> the system computes IK based on current joint angles to get target joint angles -> the servos move -> the interaction module provides the next reading, and the error is recomputed and corrected until the lamp head stabilizes on target. Parts: (candidate) VL53L5CX multi-zone ToF sensor ×1-2 (8×8 zone array, needed for angular resolution — single-zone ToF such as VL53L0X/L1X cannot resolve direction) / (candidate) OV2640 or OV3660 camera module + custom-trained single-class lightweight YOLO model / 8MB PSRAM for frame buffering and model weights / phone-based BLE joystick control interface - SUBSYSTEM 3 -- Control PCB & Power Management: The custom PCB integrates the ESP32-S3, power management, and wireless communication, with independent 3.3V logic and 5V high-current servo rails to prevent cross-interference or brownout resets. The board reserves an I2C bus (shared by the PCA9685, ToF sensor, and optional camera module) and a programming/debug header. Parts: custom PCB (ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 + power management ICs + I2C bus routing) / 5V->3.3V switching (buck) regulator -- sized for logic-rail current, not a linear regulator given the current levels involved / USB-C connector for logic-rail power only / programming/debug header **CRITERION FOR SUCCESS** - Joint coordination: 3-4 joints move together within their rated angular ranges, allowing the light spot to continuously cover the defined desk workspace - Gesture recognition success rate: under defined test conditions, the interaction module correctly identifies the target direction/position at least 80% of the time - Power management under load: the system delivers light output at a specified wattage while the servo motion system is simultaneously active, without brownout, overheating, or MCU reset - Closed-loop correction success rate: given the interaction module's directional feedback, the system successfully corrects the lamp head to the target orientation at least 80% of the time |
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