Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
30 Search and Identify
 Ruidi Zhou
Shitian Yang
Yilai Liang
Yitao Cai
 design_document2.pdf
design_document3.pdf
proposal1.pdf
proposal2.pdf
 Howard Yang
# Team members:
Yang, Shitian
sy39

Cai, Yitao
yitaoc3

Zhou, Ruidi
ruidi2

Liang, Yilai
yilail2

# Title:
Search and Identify

# Problem:
There is a noticeable gap in the availability of assistive applications tailored for homes, businesses, and individuals with mobility challenges. These groups lack efficient tools to swiftly locate everyday items, creating a significant inconvenience. This absence of specialized support not only hampers the day-to-day functionality within households and corporate environments but also poses a considerable barrier to independence for those with physical disabilities. Addressing this need with innovative solutions could dramatically improve the quality of life and operational efficiency by ensuring that vital items can be found quickly and easily, without unnecessary delay or reliance on others.

# Solution overview:
In solving the problem of accurately identifying specific items based on a user's immediate request, we are developing an innovative service-oriented robot capable of interactive processing. Our robot is equipped with a rotatable wireless camera mounted on a 360° steering engine which is controlled by a STM32F103c8t6 microcontroller under the drivetrain and power system, allowing it to visually scan its surroundings on receiving the user’s voice inquiry. When the software observes objects like cups, pencil cases, flowers, toys, and helmets, it processes the images to create an attention map. This map guides the robot to focus on and identify the specific object in question. Software component gives the object recognition feedbacks, the sensing system in the hardware component will output the 0/1 signal through signal control module and send it to the 360° steering engine. Such objects are easily achieved and can provide a suitable testing environment.

# Solution Component:
## Software Component:
1. Speech recognition: Transform audio instructions given by users into text tasks.
Prompt key item recognition: Simplify the text task prompt into a keyword or phrase.
2. Vision model: The vision model should take in the text prompt, and search for the object that matches the description best.
3. Algorithm: Our software parts will use a project on github called AbsVit as baseline, and we will remove the noise from the heatmap, and try to modify it to get the detail target object. The AbsVit is a algorithm and model for language-vision attention model.
## Hardware Component:
1. A drivetrain and power system: including a 360° steering engine, a wireless camera, a STM32F103c8t6 microcontroller, a 12V power source and a voltage converter. This system can rotate the camera to capture the pictures of its surroundings.
2. Control system: PC inputs the program into STM32F103c8t6 microcontroller, it will control the angles we want the camera to rotate each time and can control the time intervals between each rotation.
3. Storing system: including SD card which can store the pictures that the camera captures before, after software component finds that the object is found in the last picture, we can compare the pictures before and the picture which includes the object to verify the result.
4. Sensing system: including a signal control module. It can process the software component output into high-level or low-level signals and input 0/1 signals into drivetrain and power system to help it judge if it should operate or stop.

# Criterion for Success
1. Capable of identifying and navigating in indoor spaces, which have varying lighting situations including bright natural sunlight to dim artificial lights, and obstacles such as furniture and shelves.
2. The voice response system should also be easy to use, so it must respond timely and interact in natural language with the user (Users don’t need to learn the extra commands). The voice response system should also be easy to use, so it must respond timely and interact in natural language with the user.
3. When search request received from PC, our microcontroller of STM32F103c8t6 should send the correct impulse signal to control the 360° steering engine to automatically stop when the desired object is detected by the camera attached to it. The difference of the direction of the camera to the actual direction of the desired object should be within 3°.
4. Steering engine can rotate uniformly, smoothly, and continuously when no commands are given in a balanced and room temperature environment.

# Distribution of work
Yang, Shitian and Cai, Yitao:

Voice Recognition and Software Development:
Responsible for developing and testing the voice recognition system.

Yang, Shitian and Zhou, Ruidi:

Vision Module and Software Development:
Focus on developing and testing the vision module for object identification.

Zhou, Ruidi and Liang, Yilai:

Hardware and Microcontroller Development:
Responsible for developing and testing the hardware components, including the steering engine and microcontroller.

Cai, Yitao and Liang, Yilai:

Integration and Testing:
Oversee the integration of software and hardware components and conduct comprehensive testing of the entire system.

Electromagnetic Launch System with Switchblade Drone

Zheng Fang, Shuyang Qian, Xinyu Xia, Ruike Yan

Featured Project

# TEAM MEMBERS:

Shuyang Qian (sq8)

Zheng Fang (zhengf4)

Xinyu Xia (xinyux4)

Ruike Yan (ruikey2)

#TITLE OF THE PROJECT:

Electromagnetic Launch System with Switchblade Drone

# PROBLEM:

The Switchblade UAVs in use today tend to use pneumatics for power. It has been limited by its launching speed, cost, and portability. Making use of electromagnetic technology can improve the design. The project aims to develop an electromagnetic launch system which can launch switchblade drone well.

# SOLUTION OVERVIEW:

The project involves the development of an electromagnetic launch system and a switchable drone. The launch system is designed to propel a fixed-wing drone to a relatively high speed, using electromagnetic forces. The drone is equipped with a switchable wing mechanism that allows it to be housed within the launching track during launch and then deployed for flight after exiting the launching system. There are several main steps to finish the project well:

Design and construction of the launch system

Development of the foldable wing mechanism

Integration of subsystems

Testing and validation Overall, the project's success will depend on the effective implementation of these solutions, which will require careful planning, design, and testing to achieve the desired outcome of a functioning electromagnetic launch tube with a switchblade drone.

# SOLUTION COMPONENTS:

The solution will consist of the following components:

Electromagnetic launch system: the system includes multiple sets of acceleration coils, a base to hold the coils, a base with both a guide slot for the horizontal movement of the ejection ram, and a launch cart to hold the drone.

Switchblade drone: the system includes the main body of the drone, a pair of foldable wings, a folding device powered by a torsion spring, and an attachment device for the drone to the ejection ram.

Electrical control system: the system mainly controls the charging and discharging of the coil, the main components are Hall Effect Sensors, N-Channel Power MOSFETs, MOSFET Heatsinks, High Speed Power MOSFET Drivers, Resistors, Momentary Switch.

# CRITERION OF SUCCESS:

The success of the project will be determined by the following criteria:

Portability: Weather the system is small and portable enough to be carried in a suitcase or other boxes.

Speed of the launched plane: The speed of the plane needs to be fast enough so that it can travel enough distance and realize some additional functions.

Safety: The system should not cause danger to the operator or other people around it. Potential dangers are, for example, Mechanical scratches and electric leakage.

Stability: The success rate of launching the plane, and the route of the plane after each launching should be similar.

# DISTRIBUTION OF WORK:

Shuyang Qian (ME): Responsible for designing and constructing the mechanical part of electromagnetic launch system including the guide rails, fixing parts and installation of coils.

Zheng Fang (ECE): Responsible for designing and soldering the circuit for controlling the charging and discharging of the coil.

Xinyu Xia (ME): Responsible for designing and constructing the switchblade drone which can be accelerated by the electromagnetic launch system and whose foldable wings can run well.

Ruike Yan (EE): Responsible for designing the control system for switchblade drone which lets the drone continues to fly after leaving the electromagnetic launch system.