Initial Project and Group Identification Document Project Idea: Metal detecting robotic vehicle (seek and find metallic objects using a robotic vehicle) Team Members: Robertson Augustine (Computer Engineer) Christopher Bond (Electrical Engineer) Mike Grasso (Electrical Engineer) Funding and Sponsors: Currently, no sponsors or significant contributors. The team members will split the costs of project evenly. Project Motivation and Function: To design, build, and test a robotic vehicle to locate and mark the location of metallic objects to fulfill the senior design requirement for the Computer and Electrical Engineering BS degrees. The project idea targets both recreational and official use although the primary goals and objectives of this preliminary design and prototype will mainly target the recreational audience. Recreational use of this device would be by treasure hunter enthusiast to find lost metallic objects which may or may not be buried in the ground without having to manually search the area themselves. Future design revisions may be targeted more towards the official use of the device by law enforcement and military personnel to locate possible hazardous metallic objects. The robotic vehicle will be able to operate in both manual operator control through the original R/C interface and autonomously using an onboard microcontroller and programmed algorithms. When operating autonomously, the vehicle will use a pre-programmed search pattern while performing obstacle avoidance and detecting metallic objects. When a metallic object is detected, the vehicle will stop moving and mark the location. Currently, the feasibility of what action to perform when a metallic object is detected is being evaluated. One possible idea is to stop over the location of the object and let the operator retrieve the object and manually restart autonomous operation if desired. Other ideas involve marking the object location and then continuing the autonomous operation to find additional metallic objects. One way to mark the location would be physically by dropping an object or using spray-paint. Another method of marking would be to use GPS data to record the location of the vehicle in onboard memory. The latter method is currently being considered as our primary action when a metallic object is detected and this initial document will be based off of that action. Also, due to the mechanical nature of a device to acquire metallic objects when buried, the team has decided to only mark the locations of the objects and leave the operator to manually acquire the object.
Project Goals and Objectives: -Operate under manual control mode -Operate under autonomous mode -Manually choose which operation mode -Autonomous obstacle avoidance -Detect metallic objects -Use GPS data to record location of metallic object -Log with object locations accessible to operator -Programmable via connection to computer -Light-weight, portable design -Easy to use -Low-cost Project Specifications and Requirements: -4 tires/wheels -Ability to steer and to move forward and backwards -Frame from R/C car -Battery Pack -GPS device to read location -Memory device to store program and location data -Programming/Data port -Microcontroller to control autonomous operation and data processing -Autonomous algorithm with object avoidance, metallic object detection, and location recording -Mechanisms/devices to detect obstructions -Mechanism to detect metallic objects (by vehicle running over object)
Project Diagrams and Illustrations: Diagram Listing: 1) Inputs and Outputs Diagram 2) Overall Hardware Diagram 3) Overall Software Design 1) Inputs and Outputs Diagram Radio signal for manual control Computer Connection Metal Detecting Robot Led/sound when metal found GPS Signal Log of GPS locations of objects Power to recharge battery Autonomous or manual control switch
2) Overall Hardware Diagram Robot Frame (Vehicle Chassis) Device to detect metal R/C Car Parts GPS Receiver Power Supply Device To Detect Obstructions Microcontroller Steering Wheels Motors Programming Port Memory Processor Mechanism Ports to send voltage signals to devices
3) Overall Software Design Start/Power/On Autonomous mode Yes Which mode? Found Metal? Stop Moving Mark Location Manual mode No Found Metal? Obstruction? No Yes LED Off Yes Stop Moving Backup, turn, stop No Wait/Delay LED On Wait/Delay Set Motors and Direction
Project Budget: Initial Project Budget (Note: All costs are currently estimated) Part/Activity Development Cost Cost of Project Cost to Reproduce Microcontroller (memory, programming port, processor, signal ports) $10 $80 (unknown) Motors, Wheels, Steering, Chassis (unknown) Metal Detector $20 $30 (unknown) GPS Device (unknown) (unknown) (unknown) Computer to program vehicle with (unknown) Miscellaneous connectors, wires, and supplies $10 $10 (unknown)
Project Milestones: Spring 2009: Research project ides and commit to one project* Research GPS hardware and connections* Research microcontroller and connections (in/out)* Research and prototype metal detector* Research and prototype obstacle avoidance mechanisms* Finalize Designs* Finalize semester project report* (* - Progressively work on semester project report) Summer 2009: Review and confirm designs Order Parts Get parts Build and test microcontroller module Write software to test individual modules Build robotic vehicle base frame (battery, motors, steering) Build and test metal detecting module Build and test GPS receiver module Build and test obstacle avoidance module Write autonomous software for overall operation Combine all modules Test combined system Modify system to resolve issues and test Finalize system; prepare product for delivery Present final project