Sensors and Motors Assignment
ILR 1, Date: 10/16/2015
Presenter: Dorothy Kirlew
Content: Dorothy created the code for the Sonar Range Finder and worked with Mohak to create the GUI. Shivam created the Arduino code for the DC motors and the force sensor. Richa created the Arduino code for the slot sensor and the stepper motor. She also worked on hardware integration. Pranav created the code for the servo motor and IR sensor, as well as created the structure for the entirety of the Arduino code to be integrated together.
Progress Review 1
ILR 2, Date: 10/22/2015
Presenter: Pranav Maheshwari
Content: The ongoing work being done on various subsystems was showcased. Findings from the literature survey conducted by Team members were discussed. This included the trade studies done on depth cameras and communication network hardware. Future plans regarding system integration and testing were shared. Also shows preliminary App to be used as GUI and progress done with Bluetooth communication.
Progress Review 2
ILR 3, Date: 10/29/2015
Presenter: Richa Varma
Content: Pranav worked with Mohak on creating a ROS node to receive serial messages via Bluetooth and with Shivam on interfacing Arduino Mega as a node in ROS. Shivam worked with Pranav on interfacing Arduino Mega as a node in ROS and with Mohak on Kinect interfacing and depth map/PCL visualization. Dorothy worked on the Android app with me. Mohak worked with Shivam on Kinect and with Pranav on creating a ROS node for receiving Bluetooth messages. Richa worked with Shivam and Mohak in creating the conceptual design of the Power Distribution Board for our project. We discussed the power needs of our system and decided which of our subsystems need a controlled power supply. We are in the process of deciding components for the schematic and I will soon come up with the schematic design of the board. As a team, we decided on a mobile platform that best suits our needs for the long term. After considering a number of platforms that would work well with ROS, we narrowed down on the Oculus Prime.
Progress Review 3
ILR 4, Date: 11/12/2015
Presenter: Mohak Bhardwaj
Content: Shivam worked with Mohak on implementing the obstacle detection algorithm using Kinect, the PCB Power Distribution Board and setting up of electrical components of
the mobile platform with Richa. Pranav worked on configuring and testing the XBEE hardware and deciding the protocol for serial communication between XBEEs with Richa as well as with Dorothy and I on setting up the mobile platform. Dorothy worked on interfacing the IR sensors with Arduino Mega and publishing data on a ROS node. She also worked on setting up the serial functionality for the app and helped with the mobile platform assembly as well. Richa worked with Pranav on configuring and testing the XBEE hardware as well as deciding the serial communication protocol and with Shivam on setting up the electrical components of the mobile platform. Mohak worked on obstacle definition for vision subsystem, downsampling and filtering of point-cloud data to implement obstacle detection, setting up appropriate operating system on the three Odroid single-board computers, and assembling the Oculus Prime mobile platform.
Progress Review 4
ILR 5, Date: 11/24/2015
Presenter: Shivam Gautam
Content: Work done on Obstacle Detection, XBee Mesh Network, Platform Locomotion and Mobile App was presented. Shivam worked on implementing Obstacle Detection via IR Proximity Sensors. Richa demonstrated two XBees exchanging data packets with her custom packet definition which encoded multiple values such as Message ID, Vehicle ID, etc., in a compressed format. Mohak integrated the platform with Single Board Computer and was able to tele-operate it. Dorothy demonstrated progress of her Mobile Application and the associated ROS Node.
Progress Review 5
Fall Validation Experiment, Date: 12/3/2015
Presenter: Pranav Maheshwari
Content: The team showcased the capabilities of the integrated system in front of the panel consisting of Instructors and Teaching Assistants. The experiment was broken down in two demos. First demo showed the core functionality of the Mobile Application and Platform Locomotion. Due to last minute integration issues, the app, even though fully functional by itself, couldn’t be integrated with the system. The platform was however able to execute locomotion in 2D. Second demo built up on this by adding the capability to detect obstacles and collaborate. Due to hardware related issues, the sensors weren’t functioning properly and the platform couldn’t detect obstacles. However, we were able to demonstrate collaboration between the mobile platform and another Single Board Computer.
Progress Review 6
Fall Validation Experiment Encore, Date: 12/10/2015
Presenter: Pranav Maheshwari
Content: Similar in nature to Fall Validation Experiment, the presentation was broken down into two demonstrations. We were able to the first demonstration perfectly with the Mobile App properly integrated with our system. For the second demonstration, we were able to improve upon our previous showing by having a functional obstacle detection subsystem. Unfortunately, we faced some issues with integration of the XBee mesh network, therefore couldn’t show collaboration between multiple systems. In addition to the previous subsystems, we also showed a functional visualization tool which could show the origin, destination and current location of the vehicle.
Progress Review 7
ILR 6, Date: 1/27/2015
Presenter: Pranav Maheshwari
Content: The ongoing and finished work on various subsystems was presented. Dorothy made the app fully functional and SVE ready. Pranav created a basic template of the Visualization Tool and did a literature survey of Oculus Prime’s Telnet API and ROS Navigation Stack. Richa collaborated with Dorothy to design the routine/protocol of the communication network. Shivam designed new and improved PCBs for our Obstacle Detection subsystem.
Progress Review 8
ILR 7, Date: 2/10/2016
Presenter: Mohak Bhardwaj
Content: The team presented capabilities developed on different subsystems. Shivam worked on developing the emergency node using arduino and interfacing it with the Parallax Laser Range Finder in addition to calibration and testing. He and Pranav worked on CAD and 3-D printing of the servo mounts. Pranav also developed way-point following code using ROS Navigation stack and a visualization tool for emulating different scenarios in the parking lot. Dorothy and Richa collaborated to develop and implement the network protocol using multiple XBees. Mohak worked on developing a ROS node for dynamically allocated the most optimal spot to the car entering the parking lot based on the data coming from different cars.
Progress Review 9
ILR 8, Date: 2/24/2016
Presenter: Shivam Gautam
Content: The team presented the integrated communication system as well as the groundwork for the simulation environment. Shivam, Pranav and Mohak created the map of the environment and tested the locomotion of the platform. Shivam worked with Dorothy on deciding requirements of the mock parking lot that she was building. Mohak, Pranav and Shivam came up with the entire architecture and planning heuristics for the simulation environment. Dororthy, Richa and Mohak worked on integrating the planner with the communication system. Later, Pranav too integrated the visualization tool with the communication system. Richa also started working on installing the OS on the new Intel SBC.
Progress Review 10
ILR 9, Date: 3/16/2016
Presenter: Richa Varma
Content: The team presented navigation capabilities of a single platform in a temporary parking lot made out of cardboard. The team also demonstrated path planning and rendering subsystems of the simulation environment. For this progress review, Dorothy and Richa worked together to refine their code for the communication system and the integration with the planner. Pranav integrated the code for all the subsystems on the platform. Shivam created the map of the parking lot which was later refined by Pranav. They also tested the full pipeline on the platform. For the simulator, Shivam, Mohak and Pranav defined the environment of the simulation and the ROS services that would be needed. Besides this, Pranav and Mohak worked on creating wooden reinforcements for the parking lot.
Progress Review 11
ILR 10, Date: 2/24/2016
Presenter: Dorothy Kirlew
Content: The team presented fully functional and integrated Oculus Prime localizing and navigating itself in the final parking lot. Dorothy and Richa discussed the improvements made to communication subsystem and the user interface. They also gave updates regarding the current status of the old platform and their future plans regarding multi-agent planning and spot allocation. Pranav, Mohak and Shivam presented their progress on the Simulator, which was in a beta phase.
Progress Review 12
ILR 11, Date: 3/11/2016
Presenter: Mohak Bhardwaj
Content: The team presented two fully functional and integrated Oculus Prime platforms navigating from the start of the parking lot to their allocated spots. Shivam, Pranav and Mohak presented the final version of the simulation system showcasing parking of around a hundred vehicles. Plans to implement unique path allocations for multiple platforms were also discussed by Dorothy and Richa. The team was successful in demonstrating a mini version of the tasks it had planned to demonstrate in the Spring Validation Experiment.