Assignment: Applications and Implications

1. What will it do?
2. Who has done what beforehand?
3. What materials and components will be required?
4. Where will they come from?
5. How much will it cost?
6. What parts and systems will be made?
7. What processes will be used?
8. What tasks need to be completed?
9. What questions need to be answered?
10. What is the schedule?
11. How will it be evaluated?

1. What will it do?

My Final Project is to make a toy Rocking Robot,which has the following functions: auto balance with two wheels, visual identity, bluetooth communication and control, voice broadcast.

Until June 12, I am complete the original project-- Autobicycle. It's main function is: auto follow, which means that when I am walking on the road , my bicycle can follow with me autonomously. From the beginning of the Fablab, I prepared for this project but at last, I gave it up because of technic problem.

So the answer to the following question is only about the Rocking Robot.

2. Who has done what beforehand?

The Rocking Robot is familiar, the base is an auto balance vechile, which is very common on Taobao. And the Pixy camera is produced by CMU, which embeds the Open CV program in it. I have always wanted to be a self balancing machine , through this machine, you can master the basic principles of PID regulation, PID is a magical, but also very useful control mathod.

3. What materials and components will be required?

My Rocking robot include two seperated parts: the bottom parts is the Balanced Vechile, which main funcition is movement and keeping balance, I bought it from Taobao, which include:

  • Encoder DC motor
  • Integrated Arduino UNO compatible control board with MPU6050 Sensor and motor driver
  • module and power management board
  • lithium battery(6C)

    • The top part is the main function, it includ the following components:

  • MCU and board:328p
  • Shield board
  • Ultrasonic
  • Pixy camera
  • the voice speaker
  • Servo
  • bluetooth
  • battery and box
  • wood board
  • nut,screw etc .

    4. Where will they come from?

    Taobao is universal in China, I will buy the components from Taobao. It's very convenient and quick.

    5. How much will it cost?

    Around 1,150 RMB. The main component's cost list below:

  • The Auto balanced vechile ---- 438RMB
  • MCU 328P ---- 20MB
  • Shield board ---- 20MB
  • the Pixy camera ---- 492 RMB
  • the bluetooth module ---- 18 RMB
  • the battery with charge and box ---- 28 RMB
  • the voice speaker ---- 22 RMB
  • the two servo ---- 18 RMB
  • the ultrasonic ---- 8 RMB
  • and the others is about 100 RMB

    • 6. What parts and systems will be made?

    The work of the whole project consists of Hardwre and software.

    Hardware:

    For the control board, the bottom part use the integrated UNO board, the top parts use 328P, I use eagle to make the 328P and mini CNC to milling it. Use SolidWorks to create the mould of the head cover, and use 3D printer to print it. Use AutoCAD to draw files and Laser to cut the wood board.

    Software:

    The software of the robot is a little more diffcult, the program includes:

  • Pixy Camera and servo -- Visual identify system
  • Ultrasonic -- distance check system
  • Voice Speaker -- voice system
  • bluetooth -- communication system

    • 7. What processes will be used?

  • 3D designing
  • MCU circuit design and CNC milling
  • 3D printing
  • moulding and casting
  • Laser cutting

    • 8. What tasks need to be completed?

  • Computer-aided design
  • 3D printing
  • moulding and casting
  • Networking and communications
  • Programming

    • 9. What questions need to be answered?

    Although I bought the Auto balanced vechile with progam. Mastering the principles of PID and how to adjust parameters are still the focus of my study. In addition, how to determine the direction and speed of the vechile by reading the value from the encoder DC motro, and to read the tilt information of the car through MPU6050 and Calman filter is also the focus of learning.

    10. What is the schedule?

  • ~ June 1 - main comonents purchasing and self production of Autobicycle project
  • June 1-12 - solving the technic problem of Autobicycle project
  • ~ June 12 - main componets purchasing of Rocking Robot project
  • June 12-17 - reading the balanced vechile program, test the Pixy camera
  • June 18 -21 other components testing and programing, structrue design
  • June 22-28 - assembling, debugging and testing
  • June 29-July 4 - replacing arduino UNO with 328P and testing

    • 11. How will it be evaluated?

    The final project can be evaluated from two aspects: First, the function, the second is the value.

    Function the system and process mentioned below is really realized.

    First of all, the vechile can still maintain balance after adding the upper structures; secondly, automatic tracking objects by pixy camera objects, distance broadcast, and finally through the App to control the whole Rocking Robot movement.

    Value

    This project will serve as a final teaching aids to inspire students' imagination and creativity. If it can get the students like, it succeeded.

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