Release 2
In the second release, we are planning on knowing where all the desks are.
By knowing where all the desks are, we are required to use localization, which
will be most of this phase. In addition to localization, we will also assume
we have a chair grasped, and put it in the slot. By putting a chair in an empty
slot, we will find out how accurate the chair can be. A schedule of each person's
task is as follows (Brad - Green, Matt - Red, Peter - Gray, J.D. - Blue, Entire
Group - White):
Below is a description of each point in the chart. Some of the areas have a
lot of detail. To see this detail, simply click on the title.
Laser Drawn Map of 2029
In order for localization to work, two maps must be drawn. The first is a more
traditional, measured map of the room. The second is drawn with the robot itself.
The robot must be walked around the room, with the laser taking measurements
on the static items. We must not include the dynamic items, such as the chairs
and tables on wheels. These two maps are laid on top of each other, along with
where the robot thinks it is, to correctly determine the exact position of the
robot.
Localization
Localization is the main part of this release. The robot must know exactly
where it is, and that is a major problem to solve. If you tell a robot to move
forward five feet, that does not necessarily mean the robot will go exactly
five feet straight forward. Many factors come into play with making the robot
be off of its destination. For example, one tire could have more pressure in
it, or one wheel motor could work just a little faster than the other.
Chair Gripping Research
Research will be done to see how much trouble gripping a chair can be. This
will give us an idea on how much time to spend working on gripping a chair in
Release 3. This item looks like it could be the “make or break”
portion of our project. Some of the main problems with gripping a chair include
items such as the robot rolling backward after it moves forward to grasp the
chair, along with crashing into the chair, which could damage either the chair
or the gripper.
Simple Chair Placement
For this part of the release, the robot will start with the chair already gripped.
It will then push the chair to a goal position which will be an (x,y) coordinate
somewhere in the EB-2029 lab, then release the chair at its proper resting place.
The purpose of this part of the release is to determine how accurate we can
get to our (x,y) point.
Obstruction Detection
This topic was initially introduced in the Chair Movement Module for release
1. For release 1, sonar was used to detect an object in front of the robot and
chair or to the sides of the robot. For release 2, the robot will have a further
developed “more mature” version of this to work in the smaller confines
of the senior project lab. We also will be using the robots laser capability,
which has a software interface very similar to that of the robot’s sonar
utility, thus minimizing the learning curve.
For this release, we need to come up with a Coding/Algorithm Design Document.
The Coding/Algorithm Design Document is used to put into words what is going
on in our code when the code would not be sufficient enough explanation itself.
The main function of this would be to quickly get a new team member up to speed
on what has been done in our project so far. This document will grow throughout
the semester.
User's Guide
The User's Guide is another milestone that must be included for this release.
However this is not a "full-blown" User's Guide, but more of a pamphlet
giving general instructions and procedures. In this release, the User's Guide
will include things such as explaining the process for obtaining an account
to use the robot, other software required for use, and the process of connecting
to and disconnecting from the robot. This guide will grow as time progresses.
Website
At this stage, the website will need simple changes and updates. The major
part of the website was done in Release 1.
Release 3 Planning
We will be expanding the items mentioned in the Release 3 Gantt chart into
greater detail and also further define the subtasks.
