The Recycling Robot

SECON Team B

Mid-Term Presentation

Team B

Dr. Bryan Jones,

Advisor

Jeff

Brantley

Jonathan

Bryant

Brooke

Grantham

Kevin

Vu

Sorting X X

Storage X X

Discrimination X X

Navigation X X

Outline• Competition Overview

• Project Division

• Technical Constraints

• Practical Constraints

• Project Timeline

Problem Statement• Autonomous recycling robot

for 2009 IEEE SECON hardware competition

• 10 Recyclables include:– 5 aluminum cans– 3 plastic bottles– 2 glass bottles

• Must locate, acquire, sort, and store recyclables on the robot [1].

Competition Playing Field

• Artificial turf• Recyclables will be

placed on their sides• The recyclables

arrangement will be the same for each heat

Competition Recyclables

Image obtained from SoutheastCon 2009 Hardware Competition rules [1].

Outline• Competition Overview

• Project Division

• Technical Constraints

• Practical Constraints

• Project Timeline

Team Tasks

Driving

Navigation

Boundary Detection

Acquisition

Target Detection

Discrimination

Sorting

Storage

Team A

Team B

Outline• Competition Overview

• Project Division

• Technical Constraints

• Practical Constraints

• Project Timeline

Technical Constraints

Name Description

Storage Capacity The robot’s storage compartments must accommodate all 10 containers that will reside on the playing field.

Target Discrimination

The robot must recognize the containers as being either glass, aluminum, or plastic.

Storage Capacity• Constraints

– Plastic bags cannot drag on the field– Store 10 containers

• Approach considerations– Number of compartments– Expansion

Storage Tradeoffs• Three compartments

– Necessary for maximum score

– More complex

• Two compartments– Less sorting

complexity– Reduces maximum

possible score

• Expanding containers– More room for internal

subsystems– More likely to extend

outside boundary

• Fixed containers– Less complex– Limits room for other

components

Storage Capacity• Final Approach

– Three storage compartments– Store internally

Storage Access• Small rear slot for glass bottles

• First slot on top for aluminum cans

• Can slot closes for plastic to roll past

Target Discrimination• Initial Approaches

– Camera• Complex, dependent upon lighting conditions

– Infrared (IR) sensor• Sensitive to lighting conditions

– Force Sensing Resistor (FSR)• Limited sensitivity

Target Discrimination

Container Type Voltage*

Glass 3.17

Plastic 2.62

Aluminum 0.00*Using 3.3V scale

Target Discrimination• Final Approach:

– Combination FSR and IR sensor– FSR to detect and differentiate between glass

and plastic– Cans detected by IR sensor

Mechanical Lift• Placement

– Middle– Front– Back

• Lift Mechanism– Pulley System– Stepper Motor

Lift in the middle• Complexity

• No storage space– Requires expansion

Lift in front• Storage room

• Arms in front– Push items– Past outer boundary

TOP VIEW

Lift in back• Robot drives over item

• Arms moved inside– Turn at outer limits

• Storage space lost at the bottom

• Final Approach TOP VIEW

Pulley System• Level with ground

• Complexity

• Room for cables

and pulleys

SIDE VIEW

Stepper Motor• Simplicity

• Offset with size

of motor

• Final Approach

SIDE VIEW

NavigationSystematic scanning for all possible target locations• perimeter• sweeping back

and forth

Outline• Competition Overview

• Project Division

• Technical Constraints

• Practical Constraints

• Project Timeline

Practical ConstraintsName Description

Manufacturability The robot must fit inside a 12" X 12" X 18" box before beginning of each round.

Sustainability The robot must operate at least 4 minutes on a single battery charge.

Manufacturability• Allowed to use 18” for L, W, or H

• 18” Height– Small footprint (12” x 12”) is more

maneuverable– Tracks take up 3-3.5” in width– Plastic bottles are 8.7” long– Need more room for bottles to between tracks

Manufacturability• 18” Width

– Plenty of room for bottles to pass between tracks

– Containers do not naturally fall in the most optimal arrangement

– Must reorient some containers to fill in wasted space due to extra width

Sustainability• Robot must be able to run for a full round

(4 min.) on a single battery charge• Battery options:

– Lithium-Ion Polymer• Small, high energy density• Performed well for SECON 2008 team• Requires external protection circuitry

– Lithium-Ion• Also a high-density battery• Protection circuitry housed in battery

Outline• Competition Overview

• Project Division

• Technical Constraints

• Practical Constraints

• Project Timeline

TimelineSept. October November

Sorting

Storage

Discrimination

Navigation

Integration

Summary

Problem Approach

Target Discrimination FSR and IR sensor

Storage Fixed-size box with three compartments

Sorting Lift-and-dump

Navigation Systematic, full-coverage sweep

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 16, 2008.