S15: Bug Rider
Contents
Bug Rider
Abstract
The "BUG RIDER" is robotic toy car which is ridden by the "HEX-BUG" toy!!!! Confused ???
Ok ,So the "HEX-BUG" toy placed on top of the car will be moving in random directions and its movement is captured by the camera attached to the supporting frame of the vehicle.The movements are image-processed and the data
is given to the "SJ-ONE BOARD" which in turn sends the wireless signals to the "SJ-ONE BOARD" present on the car which finally drives the car in that particular direction as the Hex-Bug's direction.
Below is the sample pictorial representation of the project.
Objectives & Introduction
Show list of your objectives. This section includes the high level details of your project. You can write about the various sensors or peripherals you used to get your project completed.
Team Members & Responsibilities
- [Vishnuram Venkataswamy Sampathkumar]
- <Image Processing Module>
- [Krishna Sai Sevilimedu Veeravalli]
- <Nordiac Wireless & Serial Communication>
- [Saketh Ram Bhamidimarri]
- <Platform Design>
- [Prakash Kurup]
- <PWM Driver>
Schedule
Show a simple table or figures that show your scheduled as planned before you started working on the project. Then in another table column, write down the actual schedule so that readers can see the planned vs. actual goals. The point of the schedule is for readers to assess how to pace themselves if they are doing a similar project.
| Sl. No | Start Date | End Date | Task | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03/31/2015 | 04/07/2015 | Order required components | *Completed* |
| 2 | 04/08/2015 | 04/14/2015 | Image processing for object tracking | *Completed* |
| 3 | 04/15/2015 | 04/21/2015 | PWM driver and motor calibration | *Completed* |
| 4 | 04/22/2015 | 04/28/2015 | Serial communication & Nordic wireless communication | *Completed* |
| 5 | 05/29/2015 | 05/05/2015 | Platform design for the hexbug and building the framework to hold the camera on top | *Completed* |
| 6 | 05/06/2015 | 05/12/2015 | Ultrasonic sensor for obstacle avoidance | *Completed* |
| 7 | 05/13/2015 | 05/19/2015 | Integration of complete system and testing | *Completed* |
| 8 | 05/20/2015 | 05/26/2015 | Final Testing and demo | Scheduled |
Parts List & Cost
| Item# | Qty | Description | Manufacturer | Part Number | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | RC Car | New Bright | Jeep 9.6V | $60.00 |
| 2 | 1 | Bluetooth Camera | Adesso | CyberTrack V10 | $40.00 |
| 3 | 2 | SJ-One Board | NXP LPC1758 | SJSU development board, LPC1758 | $160.00 |
| 4 | 1 | HexBug | Innovation First | HexBug Larva - Green color | $8.96 |
| 5 | 1 | Dual H-Bridge Motor Drive | Drok | L298N | $8.48 |
| 6 | 1 | Acrylic sheet | Tap-Plastics | Pure opaque-milky white | $24.29 |
| 7 | 3 | Camera holding rods | Tap-Plastics | Plastic material | $ 17.40 |
| 8 | 2 | Antennas | University | 10-feet range antennas | $ 6.00 |
| 9 | 1 | Double-sided tape | Tap-Plastics | Double sided tape for plastic material | $ 5.06 |
| 10 | 3 | Welding work and Integration of the framework | Tap-Plastics | Glass Fibre rods for the support frame | $ 20.00 |
| Total Cost | $350.19 |
Design & Implementation
The design section can go over your hardware and software design. Organize this section using sub-sections that go over your design and implementation.
Hardware Design
The main components required for this project are :
(1) A Toy Car of dimensions approximately 25*12 inches which we bought from WALMART.
(2) An Acrylic sheet of dimensions 30*15 milky white color with highest opaqueness for light bought at TAP-PLASTICS.
(3) A framework consisting of vertical rods attached to the front and back of the car and a horizontal rod which can be movable on the vertical rods.The camera will be attached right at the middle of the horizontal rod.
The intention of the horizontal rod sliding on the vertical rods is to adjust the height of the camera position relative to the platform.
(4) Ultra-sonic sensors attached at the front portion of the car to provide the obstacle avoidance feature to the car.
(5) The "SJ-ONE" board will be placed underneath the platform,in the slot provided for the batteries of the car.
Hardware Interface
- The "SJ-ONE BOARD" is used for the control of DC motor and SERVO motor control using Pulse Width Modulation(PWM).
- The DC motor and the SERVO motors are connected to the "SJ-ONE BOARD" using jumper cables.
- An Antenna is attached to the "SJ-ONE BOARD" which is used for the communication with the other "SJ-ONE BOARD" connected to the laptop through Nordic Wireless Communication.
- The wireless Camera attached to the horizontal section of the framework will be capturing the movement of the Hex-Bug toy and transmitting the data to the laptop via bluetooth.
- The ultra-Sonic Sensors which are placed at the front portion of the vehicle for the obstacle-avoidance feature is connected to the "SJ-ONE BOARD" through jumper cables.
Software Design
The Software Design is divided into two parts. The first part of the software is running in the PC end and the second part of the software is running at the SJ One Board. The first part of the software running at the PC requires the Image Processing. Image Processing:
Image processing is done by using OpenCV libraries in Python.We also use NumPy (Numerical Python) Package which is used by OpenCV for image processing.
We capture the Video frames in Python by using VideoCapture() function and convert RGB image to HSV, for extracting a colored object. In HSV, it is more easier to represent a color than RGB color-space. After converting the image to HSV color-space,Image will be thresholded for a range of desired object color. Position of the image is returned by using moments() function of OpenCV library. It gives centroid of the object in terms of (x,y) co-ordinates. By using the (x,y) co-ordinates, the position of the object is determined in the tracking window and send the SJone Board through Serial Communication.
pySerial package provides required libraries for serial communication in python. Desired port number is set and data is send using write() function.
The second part of software will be running in Sjoneboard:
We use one Sjoneboard for transferring data from PC to another Sjoneboard which is used in RC car for controlling the car.
The Software which is running in the Sjoneboard which is used for transferring data through UART serial communication from PC contains a task,once the task begins executing, it waits for the serial data from the PC. On receiving the data from PC,it transfer the data to Nordic wireless function which sends the data to other Sjoneboard.
Implementation
This section includes implementation, but again, not the details, just the high level. For example, you can list the steps it takes to communicate over a sensor, or the steps needed to write a page of memory onto SPI Flash. You can include sub-sections for each of your component implementation.
Testing & Technical Challenges
Describe the challenges of your project. What advise would you give yourself or someone else if your project can be started from scratch again? Make a smooth transition to testing section and described what it took to test your project.
Include sub-sections that list out a problem and solution, such as:
My Issue #1
We faced some issues which we would like to mention and how we overcame those.
(1) Hardware items: After the idea was finalized and the how-to-do stuff was imagined and designed,the initial problem was to where to find the materials,the hardware tools which would exactly meet the requirements of the project. After searching various hardware stores,we would a really nice place called the "TAP-PLASTICS" where the technician named Kevin was really helpful in his suggestions and the improvisations which can be used.
Headline text
Conclusion
Conclude your project here. You can recap your testing and problems. You should address the "so what" part here to indicate what you ultimately learnt from this project. How has this project increased your knowledge?
Project Video
Upload a video of your project and post the link here.
Project Source Code
References
Acknowledgement
We,the team of Bug-Rider would like to wholeheartedly thank our friend,our guide and our Professor "Preet Pal Kang" for guiding us,encouraging us to do these projects and imparting knowledge and wisdom to us in our academics as well as for our career.Thank You "Preet".
References Used
(1) http://www.socialledge.com/sjsu/index.php?title=Main_Page
(2) https://learn.adafruit.com/series/learn-arduino
Appendix
You can list the references you used.
