SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2009 Southeastern Conference (SECON)

Hardware Competition

The Recycling Robot

[2]

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Outline

•Competition Overview•Problem Specifications•Timeline/Goals•Project Planning•Approach and Trade-offs•Project Concerns•Prototype Specifications/Demo

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Competition Overview•IEEE Atlanta Section & Georgia Tech

•March 5-8, 2009

•Atlanta, GA

•SECON Hardware Competition•“Real world” problems•Build an autonomous robot that must locate, obtain, sort, and store used beverage products.•Unofficial theme of “expansion”

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Outline

•Competition Overview•Problem Specifications•Timeline/Goals•Project Planning•Approach and Trade-offs•Project Concerns•Prototype Specifications/Demo

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

ProblemHow long?

4 minutesHow big?

Maximum robot dimensions: 12 “ x 12 “ x 18 “ Astroturf field dimensions: 10 ‘ x 10 ‘

How many?1 to 3 labeled plastic bags

5 aluminum cans10 recyclables 3 plastic bottles

2 glass bottlesHow much?

Correctly sorted can or plastic bottle = 15 pointsCorrectly sorted glass bottle = 30 pointsIncorrectly sorted recyclable = 5 points [1]

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SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

The Field

•10 ‘ x 10 ‘ Astroturf•8 ‘ x 8 ‘ electric dog fence•1 ‘ grid for recyclable placement•Unknown “hard” boundary

[1]

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

The Recyclables

•Coca-Cola products•Placed on side•Any orientation•Potential damage•Total 1.1 lbs•16% available volume

[1]

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Our Solution

• 12 ‘ x 18 ‘ x 12 ‘ (L x W x H)• 3 labeled plastic bags• No expansion• Internal storage• Mechanical focus

• Elevator• 2 sweeping arms

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Outline

•Competition Overview•Problem Specifications•Timeline/Goals•Project Planning•Approach and Trade-offs•Project Concerns•Prototype Specifications/Demo

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Timeline

Boundary Detection

Acquisition

Locomotion

Object Detection

Test/Debug/Assembly

Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Outline

•Competition Overview•Problem Specifications•Timeline/Goals•Project Planning•Approach and Trade-offs•Project Concerns•Prototype Specifications/Demo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Project Planning

• Logical separation of tasks

• Logical separation of groups

• Obtaining objects

• Technology used

More specific:

• Wheels/Casters vs. Tracks

• Arms vs. Brushes

SECON TEAM A

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Outline

•Competition Overview•Problem Specifications•Timeline/Goals•Project Planning•Approach and Trade-offs•Project Concerns•Prototype Specifications/Demo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Wheels/Casters

Pros

• Wheels are customizable

• Casters are easy

• Commonly available

Cons

• Casters cannot be controlled

• Wheels must be customized

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Pros

• Easy

• All-terrain

• Used by previous SECON team

Cons

• Not widely available

• Width

Tracks

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

The winner?

Quick, easy, and as Dr. Jones says:“It just works”

SECON TEAM A

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Brush

versus

Arms

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Brush vs. Arms

Looking for something effective and simple

Not simple

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Brush vs. Arms•Items are guaranteed to be lying on their side•A sweeping motion could collect these items

This solution was not effective:•Poor job of retrieving items•Requires rotating motion and forward/backward movement

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Brush vs. ArmsWhat about sweeping arms?

•Easy implementation•Crossing action of arms helps push items flush against back wall

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Brush vs. ArmsDesign issues with sweeping arms:

•Could knock other items out of the way

•Could bump physical boundary

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Outline

•Competition Overview•Problem Specifications•Timeline/Goals•Project Planning•Approach and Trade-offs•Project Concerns•Prototype Specifications/Demo

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Environmental

Robot can not damage items

• Cans/bottles may only suffer structural dents• Glass may not be shattered

Robot can not damage the field or other robots

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Health & Safety

Gas canister Power source Handling of recyclables

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Outline

•Competition Overview•Problem Specifications•Timeline/Goals•Project Planning•Approach and Trade-offs•Project Concerns•Prototype Specifications/Demo

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Prototype spec.

Measurements within +/- 0.2 lbs

Weight

Robot --- 4.2 lbsEEE Pc --- 3.2 lbs *Total --- 7.4 lbs

Dimensions

L x W x H12in 18in 12in

Vex motor kitMax speed: 1.71 ft/secSupply: 4.4V – 15VPWM:Forward: 1.5ms – 2.0msReverse: 1.0 ms – 1.5msNeutral: 1.5ms

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Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Prototype spec.

Acquisition Arms

•Placement

•Operation

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Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Prototype spec.Locomotion Demo

Speed: 9.82 in/sec (0.818 ft/sec)Voltage supply: 8.96VCurrent draw: 0.78A

Acquisition Demo

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

References

[1] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Southeastcon 2009 Hardware Competition: The Recycling Robot, 2008 August 28, http://hardware.gtieee.org/southeastcon2009/SoutheastCon-2009-Hardware-Rules.pdf. Accessed September 26, 2008.

[2] S. Austin, T. Donaldson, P. Duckworth, G. Grier. Product Specification: The Recycling Robot, http://www.ece.msstate.edu/courses/design/2008/secon/ProductSpecA-Final.pdf. Accessed September 26, 2008

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Questions?

SECON TEAM A

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department