ECE 477Digital Systems Senior Design ProjectRev 8/12

Homework 1: Design Project Proposal

Team Code Name:Autonomous Rescue Vehicle (ARV)Group No. 10

Team Members (#1 is Team Leader):

#1:Ruiyang Lin Areas of Expertise: Power Systems

#2: Vipul Vishnu Bhat Areas of Expertise: Software

#3: Krithika K.IyerAreas of Expertise:Embedded Systems

#4: Julia Liston Areas of Expertise: Networking

Project Abstract:

Our team’s goal is to build a prototype of a robot that would find and rescue people lost [GT1]in challenging circumstances and get them back to a safe location. The starting location of the robot will be considered the safe location for our purposes.

Design/Functionality Overview:

The rescue robotprototype that our team will build is intended to find people who are lost in unfamiliar areas, especially when they are not capable of finding their way back by themselves. The person needing help will communicate to the base (starting location for the robot) using a RF beacon.[dgm2]The robot will locate the person with the help of the radio signal and obtain the relative position of the location.The robot will attempt to reach the location along the shortest path which will be a straight line connecting the base to the person’s location. On confrontation with an obstacle in its path the robot will deviate to get around the obstacle.

On reaching the lost person, the robot will instruct the person to follow[GT3]. [MCJ4]The operator at the base will have a touch screen controller/console. This console will be used to keep track of the robot,[GT5] display its battery strength, and to send commands to the robot in emergency situation (like if the battery level is too low[dgm6], emergency reset etc.)

The main motivation behind our ARV project is to detect the location of a stranded person and to rescue him where human power is inadequate. An important application of the ARV would be in situations that often arise during adventure sports like trekking, hiking where individuals get separated from their team members during the various activities. [MCJ7]In these circumstances an autonomous rescue vehicle like ours will prove to be very useful to locate and rescue stranded team members. Other applications would be to find lost children, elderly persons and physically challenged persons.[BBG8]

Ruiyang Lin is an expert in motor designing and power systems. He will be primarily concerned with movement and steering of the robot. He will also take care of the power supply requirements of the robot and the console

KrithikaIyerwith her expertise in embedded systems and controls will be working on designing the circuit for obstacle detection and develop the algorithm necessary for obstacle avoidance and to navigate to the location of the RF beacon[WJ9]. She will also work on robotstatus monitoring and displaying using the console

VipulBhatwill be our team’s software lead. He will develop the software necessary for the user interface. He will also consolidate and unify the algorithms and code developed by the other team members for robot and console operations and controls.

Julia Liston’s concentration is networking. She will be involved with detection of radio signals. She will also be working on sending and receiving of commands and information to and fro the robot and remote console.

Project-Specific Success Criteria: [GT10]

  1. An ability to move and steer using appropriate motors and drive systems
  2. An ability to detect multiple radio signals [GT11]and to detect the location of the source [dgm12]of the RF beacon
  3. An ability to detect obstacles and navigate around them using ultrasonic sensors.
  4. An ability to send commands to the robot from the console and have the robot respond appropriately
  5. An ability to receiveand display the status information of the robot using the console

[dgm13]

Tentative Budget Plan:

Module / Estimated Cost
User interface / $40
Remote Console Microcontroller / $80
Remote Control Module / $50
Robot Microcontroller / $100
Status Monitor / $30
Ultrasonic range finder / $35
RF beacon and receiver / $50
Total / $385

Division of Labor:

Design Component Homework / Professional Component Homework
4-Packaging Design and Specs / Vipul / 3-Design Constraint Analysis/Parts List / Julia
5-Hardware Narrative and Prelim Schematic / Krithika / 10-Patent Liability Analysis / Krithika
6-PCB Narrative and Prelim Layout / Lin / 11-Reliability and Safety Analysis / Lin
9-Software Design Narrative / Julia / 12-Social/Political/Environmental Analysis / Vipul

Block Diagram:

[MCJ14][MCJ15]

[BBG16]

[GT1]Since the robot’s purpose is to lead people to safety, it should have a means for the controller to communicate with the person.

[dgm2]does this mean multiple antennas will be placed around the area to provide triangulation capability?

[GT3]How will the robot communicate?

[MCJ4]This is a good refinement relative to the earlier project idea submission.

[GT5]There is no means for the operator to remotely examine the person (in case of injury).

[dgm6]you will need to use a rechargeable battery and include battery management capability along with a “fuel gauge”

[MCJ7]What is the means of locomotion for this robot? The proposed application would seem to require something that can navigate rough terrain.

[BBG8]Why can’t your hiking buddies track your beacon and come hike over pick you up (or better yet use their Jeep)? This seems way easier than dispatching a robot that could be miles away.
The same goes for children and elderly people; are you too busy to take time to find your son or grandma when they’re lost? If they have a beacon, you could probably find them in less than half an hour. A robot, again, would likely be miles away.

I like your project, the supporting motivations just seem weak.

[WJ9]Also need to make sure that there will be a fallback system if the RF link is lost.

[GT10]PSSC 4 and 5 overlap in that they both rely on base-robot communications. I suggest that PSSC 4 be about getting the wireless communications working, and PSSC 5 could be about monitoring the battery level?

[GT11]I am unsure what you mean here

[dgm12]Does this imply use of triangulation based on RF signal strength?

[dgm13]eliminate the apparent overlap

[MCJ14]I think you mean “AVR” microcontroller.

[MCJ15]How will you determine RF beacon location from a single RF receiver fixed to the robot? You would either need multiple antennae or you would need to swing the antenna back and forth to find the direction of the signal either by signal strength or by timing difference.

[BBG16]GET RID OF RED TEXT!