1. Principles and practices

Fab Charter

I read the Fab Charter in order to get an idea of what Fab Academy provides.

Project Idea

The inspiration for the project was a suggestion made by my engineering teacher. My initial project idea is to create a wand that tracks motion and responds in some way.

I envision that the wand can cause a response in two ways:

  1. The processor in the wand recognizes the motion data and sends a response over Wi-Fi to an IP address
    • A simple matching algorithim
    • Potentially a simple neural network depending on available processing power
    • Could be a simple POST/GET request to a PHP webapp
  2. The wand continously sends motion data over Wi-Fi to a computer/phone for more powerful motion recognition models.
    • Neural networks
    • Gradient boosting machines
    • Google has several machine learning libraries for Android phones
    • Could explore Apple’s machine learning options on iOS
    • Requires a socketed server to continuously accept data

In addition, I plan to track motion through a 9-axis IMU. However, I could have two IMUs and determine rotation of the wand as well. Another idea, is to have one accelerometer for velocity and a gyroscope for rotation.

In order to facilate usage of the wand, there a buttons on the wand that could perform tasks such as recording gestures and linking that gesture to a customizable action.

Another concern is being a able to fit that many components into a relatively confined space. I need to fit atleast one method of tracking, a power source, a processor, buttons, and a PCB that connect the components together.

Rough plan of events

  • Week 5 - Designing a long and narrow PCB that can fit in the wand
  • Week 9 - Designing a simple and computationaly cheap gesture recognition algorithim that works on a microprocessor chip
  • Week 11 - Reading input from gyroscopes, accelerometers, and/or 9-axis IMU
  • Week 12 - Testing out communication via bluetooth chips
  • Week 14 - Testing out transmission and reception of motion data using Wi-Fi chips
  • Week 16 - Designing an app or website that manages the actions of the gestures