2. Project management¶
Part of this week’s assignment was to 1) Sketch out an initial project idea and 2) familiarize yourself with GIT and start creating your website (Documentation on that here.)
Project Idea:¶
For my project, I want to build a personal home robot that can connect to the internet, help you with menial tasks, and interact with the environment.
Sketch:¶
What it will do:¶
Broader goals: * Make it autonomous * Make the gyroscopic head
I love the rolling ball idea behind bb-8, but instead of a rolling body I would love to integrate a rolling head with a stable body, so it can appear as if the face is tracking you. The idea behind moving bb-8’s body uses a gyroscopic design, with wheels pushing on the outside of the sphere so when they turn, the sphere moves, and a stable base + counterweight to keep the internal mechanism in place. Using an accelerometer and other sensors it would track the movement of the head and communicate with the motors via bluetooth to move the head.
The bluetooth modules would also communicate with the motors at the bottom of the robot so it can move as well. I do want it to be autonomous, so there would need to be some form of object detection sensors on the sides and or/ a camera on the head.
Who will use it/Weekly plan¶
It’s purpose would be to roll around and interact with its users. It could have 3 possible input devices that would primarily help it navigate but that would also contribute to its functionality:
1 . Camera- keep an eye on the house, watch pets, send notifications to your phone when people come/go, etc. 2 . Microphone and speaker- respond to basic commands (i.e. come when called, though this would require other features like tracking) record notes, play songs, respond to predetermined questions, set alarms/reminders, and act as a limited personal assistant. 3 . Object detection sensors- this would primarily be for moving around. They would be the most effective in motion tracking, but it doesn’t have as many other features. For example: track motion when you leave the house)
My main concern is getting the gyroscope to work and connecting all the parts to one another. I need to do a lot more research into what is possible so I can make more definitive decisions on the features. I also need to do much more research into materials, because I’ve seen lots of ideas but I don’t know what is best for my project yet. There will be a lot of rubbing between the spinning head and the frction might be problematic. I also don’t know what dimensions (especially for the wheels) this robot needs to be so it moves stably and quickly, but is also cost effective.
Here is a chart with all the parts I will need to incorporate every week and how my project will use the skils from these weeks. This is highyl subject to change.
| Week | Component |
|---|---|
| CAD | Design the interior frame and possibly the exterior frame, there will be lots of parts that need to go together |
| computer-controlled cutting | parts of the framework |
| electronics production | PCB board that connects all the components (motor, bluetooth…) |
| 3D scanning and printing | scan the inside of the frame and 3d print the wheels so they fit well together |
| electronics design | Designing the PCB board |
| computer-controlled machining | parts of the framework |
| embedded programming | program PCB board |
| input devices | either the camera, microphone, or sensors |
| output devices | Create an output device that monitors the sensors controlling the robot (especially the head) and that monitors the input device and send it to the controller board to be used. |
| molding and casting | create parts of the framework |
| networking and communications | bluetooth module |
| interface and application programming | microcontroller and output devices may need to communicate between some sort of external program like an app (especially if it is a camera) |
| mechanical design/machine design | Hooking up all the different parts of my robot machine |
| wildcard week | I don’t know yet because I don’t know what we will do this week yet |
(markdown table generator- so you don’t have to type the whole table.)
But I can’t wait to get this started!