ECE 477 HW12 – User Manual

I, Robotic Waitress

Team 10

Product Description

We are delighted that you have chosen to purchase the “I, Robotic Waitress” for your food service needs. The “I, Robotic Waitress” will facilitate easy delivery of food at your restaurant using Radio Frequency (RF) communication. The Waitress receives instructions from a control center specifying which table to deliver food to. All food deliveries are made from a specified central location. The control center consists of an RF transmitter (315 MHz) and a receiver (418 MHz) module packaged together on one printed circuit board. The control center also has a red power Light Emitting Diode (LED), a green RF receiver LED and a yellow RF transmitter LED. When the power switch is on, the red LED is lit while the green and yellow are lit when the control center is receiving and transmitting RF data respectively. A Visual Basic application running on a computer sends instructions to the Waitress using the Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) controller on the computer and via the RF transmitter module on the control center. The control center operates on a 9VDC battery.

When the Waitress receives instructions, it navigates to the specified table and attempts to avoid obstacles in its path. In case an obstacle cannot be avoided, the Waitress sounds an alarm and sends an RF message to notify the control center of its current status. Also, if the Waitress detects that the food is missing from the tray before its gets to the specified table location, it sounds an alarm and sends a message to notify the control center of the mishap. Upon successfully delivering food to a table, the Waitress returns to the central location from where all deliveries are made. While executing received instructions, the Waitress displays status messages, such as the operation being performed, on the liquid crystal display (LCD). The Waitress’ wheels are powered by four 1.5V AA batteries. The Waitress’ other major components comprising the RF transmitter (418 MHz) and receiver (315 MHz), the LCD, the micro-controller and the buzzer are all powered by a 9VDC battery.

Using the Waitress requires a simple installation of the Visual Basic control center program on a computer and essentially connecting the required components.

Product Illustration:

Figure 1. Kit Contents

Figure 2. Front View with Right, Left and Food Sensors

Figure 3. Bottom View – AA batteries

Figure 4. Side View

Figure 5. Back View

Figure 6. ControlCenterTransceiver

Figure 7. Software Screen Shot
Product Setup Instructions

Step1. Take out the robot, transceiver, serial cable, and installation CD out of the box. If your robot has not already been programmed with your restaurant’s table layout, please do so by sending it to an authorized deal or contact tech-support for further instructions on doing this yourself.

Step 2.Install the software onto your computer. Insert the installation CD you’re your CD drive. As a quick reminder, the provided software only runs under a Windows XP/ME/2000 platform. After the CD has been inserted, go to ‘Start’-‘Run’ and type D:\setup.exe.

Step 3.After the installation of the software for the ControlCenter has been completed, proceed by placing all the batteries. Place a 9V battery on the battery holder located above the servo motors. Place another four AAA batteries into the battery pack located at the bottom of the robot. Plug in another 9V battery into the adapter for the transceiver module provided.

Step 4.Connect the transceiver to the computer with the serial cable. Make sure the serial cable is properly plugged in. The serial port must also be plugged into COM port 1. Then, power up the transceiver.

Step 5. Power up the Robotic Waitress and the servo motors by switching the two switches located at the back of the robot (Figure 5).

Step 6.The Robotic Waitress is now ready to be used.

Tips Before Use:

-Align the robot before any instruction has been sent

-remove any obstacles in front of the robot

Product Use Instructions:

There are a total of 4 switches on the robot for different purposes (figure 4, 5 and 6).

To turn on/off the power of the robot:

Turn on/off the switch labeled "power" on the back sideof the robot.

To turn on/off the motors of the robot:

Turn on/off the switch labeled "motors" on the back sideof the robot (figure 5).

To turn on/off the backlight of the LCD display of the robot:

Turn on/off the switch labeled "backlight" on the left side of the robot (figure 4).

To reset the robot:

Press the switch labeled "reset" on the left side of the robot.

Once the software has been installed, you can easily send instructions to the robot. The user interface consists of a menu, a status display window, check boxes for tables, and a "Go!" button (figure 7).

To deliver food to a table do the following:

Step1. Turn on the power of the robot andits motors

(Note: It's optional to turn on the backlight of the LCD display)

Step2. Put the food on the tray mounted on top of the robot

Step3. Open the software

Step4. Click on "Connect to robot..." buttonin the software's menu

Step5. Checkthe box labeled with the table number

(Note: You can only deliver food to one table each time)

Step6. Click the "Go!" button

The Robot's status will be displayed on the status window. In the event that the robot has detected an obstacle in its path and is unable to re-route, the robot will go back to the starting position automatically and an alert message will be displayed on the status window. In the event that the food is taken away from the robot's tray on its way to the table, an alert message will be displayed on the status window.

To disconnectfrom the robot:

Click on "Disconnect to robot..." button in the software's menu

(Note: It's recommended that you disconnect from the robot before you close the software)

Troubleshooting Guide

Robot Problems

Problem / Cause / Solution
LCD display does not display anything / Power is not turned on / - Switch the power switch ON
Insufficient battery voltage / - Replace the 9V battery
Poor contact between battery and terminals / - Polish the terminals with a soft cotton swab before placing or replacing the battery
Robotic Waitress does not run in a straight line anymore / Worn out rubber traction bands / - Replace the rubber traction bands
Insufficient battery voltage / - Replace the AA batteries located at the bottom of the robot (Rechargeable batteries are recommended)
After boot up, the Robotic Waitress moves randomly / Obstacle sensors are blocked / - check for objects within 20 cm of the obstacle sensors
- re-set the robot after obstacles have been removed
Robot is receiving junk data / - Move robot to an electronic-free environment and restart the robot
- If problem persists contact tech-support
Robotic Waitress does not move even after instructions have been sent through the computer / Robot is not receiving instructions / - Check the status displayed on the LCD to see if instructions are being received by the robot
- If no receiving status is displayed, move transceiver closer to the robot
The food tray is empty / - Place food on the tray before any instruction is sent. The robot does not move initially until food is present on the tray
Robotic Waitress has been just turned on, but the robot does not respond after an instruction has been sent from the pc / The self diagnostic test is still running / - After booting up the robot, allow 10 seconds for the robot to run the self diagnostic test before sending it any instructions
Servos are not powered up / - Turn the switch ON for the Servo motors located at the back of the robot
After the motors are powered, the robot moves slightly to a side / Not a problem / - This is normal at power up. We recommend re-aligning the robot every time the robot leaves the starting point

Control Center & Software Problems

Problem / Cause / Solution
Error appears while installing the software / Running the software under incorrect platform / - The current software only runs in Windows XP/ME/2000
Can’t connect to the Robotic Waitress with the ControlCenter software / Serial cable is not connected properly / - Check the serial cable connection.
- Make sure it is properly connected at the transceiver and the computer’s serial port.
Serial cable is connected to the wrong port / - Connect the serial cable to port 1 on the computer
Serial port is being used / - Make sure the serial port is not used by any other programs.
- Close all programs that might be using the serial port
ControlCenter software doesn’t seem to be sending or receiving information / Serial cable is not connected properly / - Check the serial cable connection.
- Make sure it is properly connected at the transceiver and the computer’s serial port.
- Connect the serial cable to port 1 on the computer
Transceiver and/or robot is/are not powered / - Check the TX and RX LED’s
- Turn the power switch ON for the transceiver, the robot, and the motors
Robotic Waitress does not respond to instructions sent by the software / Transceiver and/or robot is/are not powered / - Check the TX and RX LED’s on the transceiver and robot to make sure information is being sent and received
- Turn the power switch ON for the transceiver, the robot, and the motors
Robot is out of communication range / - Check the TX and RX LED’s on the transceiver and robot to make sure information is being sent and received
- Re-send instructions to the robot at a closer distance until proper communication has been achieved

For any other problems, contact the company’s tech support. Any unauthorized modification of the products will void the warranty