Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
20 Vinyl Record Auto-Flipper
 Alfredo Velasquez Bustamante
Mohammed Alkawai
Riyaan Jain
 Chi Zhang design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
photo1.jpeg
photo2.jpeg
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video
Team Members:
- Alfredo Velasquez (av28)
- Riyaan Jain (riyaanj2)
- Mohammed Alkawai (alkawai2)

# Problem Statement:
Vinyl records have experienced a resurgence in popularity due to their rich and warm sound quality, and ability to physically own and view your favourite music and artworks. However, the need to manually flip records disrupts the listening experience, making listening to vinyl records more difficult than it needs to be. To address this, we propose developing an automatic record flipper that detects when one side has finished playing and seamlessly flips the record to continue playback without user intervention.

# Solution Overview:
Our design will integrate three primary subsystems to automate the playback of both sides of a 7-inch vinyl record:
Tonearm Mover: Automates the lifting, positioning, and lowering of the tonearm to start playback and to clear the record during flipping.
Record Flipping Mechanism: Automatically flips the record to play the opposite side upon detecting the end of a side.
Turntable Rotator: Controls the rotation of the turntable to ensure proper playback speed and synchronization with the other subsystems.
We will modify an existing compact record player to incorporate these subsystems, drawing inspiration from the flipping mechanisms used in vintage jukeboxes. Our focus will be on adapting these concepts to a smaller, modern context suitable for 7-inch records.

# Solution Components:
## Tonearm Mover:
Function: Automates the movement of the tonearm to initiate playback and to lift it away during the record flipping process.
Components:
- Servo Motor (HS-318): To precisely control the vertical movement (lifting and lowering) of the tonearm.
- Stepper Motor (290-028): To manage the horizontal distance to get to the record
- Ultrasonic Sensor (HC-SR04): To detect the end of the record by sensing a decrease in distance, indicating the tonearm is below it.
- ESP Microcontroller (Part # not found on ECE supply): ESP microcontroller to process sensor inputs and control motor actions.

## Record Flipping Mechanism:
Function: Automatically flips the record to enable playback of the opposite side.
Components:
- Roller Actuator (Part #W171DIP-21): To rotate the record from one side to the other.
- Side clamps (5075A25): To securely hold the record during the flipping process without causing damage.
- Ultrasonic Sensor (HC-SR04): To confirm the presence and correct positioning of the record before and after flipping.
- Control Circuitry (W171DIP-21): To manage the timing and sequence of the flipping operation.

## Turntable Rotator:
Function: Ensures consistent and accurate rotation of the record at standard playback speeds.
Components:
- DC Motor with Speed Controller (Part #ROB-10551): To drive the turntable at precise speeds (45 RPM for 7-inch records).
- Rotary Encoder (Part #377): To monitor and adjust the rotational speed in real-time.
- Power Supply Unit (Part #168605): To provide stable power to the motor and associated electronics.

# Criteria for Success:
- Automatic Detection: The system accurately detects the end of a record side without user intervention.
- Seamless Flipping: The record is flipped automatically and correctly aligned for playback of the opposite side.
- Tonearm Precision: The tonearm is precisely controlled to avoid damaging the record or stylus during lifting, positioning, and lowering.
- Playback Quality: The system maintains or enhances the audio quality of the original record player, ensuring no degradation due to the automation processes.
- User Safety: The automated components operate safely, posing no risk to users during operation.

Remotely Controlled Self-balancing Mini Bike

Will Chen, Eric Tang, Jiaming Xu

Featured Project

# Remotely Controlled Self-balancing Mini Bike

Team Members:

- Will Chen hongyuc5

- Jiaming Xu jx30

- Eric Tang leweit2

# Problem

Bike Share and scooter share have become more popular all over the world these years. This mode of travel is gradually gaining recognition and support. Champaign also has a company that provides this service called Veo. Short-distance traveling with shared bikes between school buildings and bus stops is convenient. However, since they will be randomly parked around the entire city when we need to use them, we often need to look for where the bike is parked and walk to the bike's location. Some of the potential solutions are not ideal, for example: collecting and redistributing all of the bikes once in a while is going to be costly and inefficient; using enough bikes to saturate the region is also very cost inefficient.

# Solution

We think the best way to solve the above problem is to create a self-balancing and moving bike, which users can call bikes to self-drive to their location. To make this solution possible we first need to design a bike that can self-balance. After that, we will add a remote control feature to control the bike movement. Considering the possibilities for demonstration are complicated for a real bike, we will design a scaled-down mini bicycle to apply our self-balancing and remote control functions.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1: Self-balancing part

The self-balancing subsystem is the most important component of this project: it will use one reaction wheel with a Brushless DC motor to balance the bike based on reading from the accelerometer.

MPU-6050 Accelerometer gyroscope sensor: it will measure the velocity, acceleration, orientation, and displacement of the object it attaches to, and, with this information, we could implement the corresponding control algorithm on the reaction wheel to balance the bike.

Brushless DC motor: it will be used to rotate the reaction wheel. BLDC motors tend to have better efficiency and speed control than other motors.

Reaction wheel: we will design the reaction wheel by ourselves in Solidworks, and ask the ECE machine shop to help us machine the metal part.

Battery: it will be used to power the BLDC motor for the reaction wheel, the stepper motor for steering, and another BLDC motor for movement. We are considering using an 11.1 Volt LiPo battery.

Processor: we will use STM32F103C8T6 as the brain for this project to complete the application of control algorithms and the coordination between various subsystems.

## Subsystem 2: Bike movement, steering, and remote control

This subsystem will accomplish bike movement and steering with remote control.

Servo motor for movement: it will be used to rotate one of the wheels to achieve bike movement. Servo motors tend to have better efficiency and speed control than other motors.

Stepper motor for steering: in general, stepper motors have better precision and provide higher torque at low speeds than other motors, which makes them perfect for steering the handlebar.

ESP32 2.4GHz Dual-Core WiFi Bluetooth Processor: it has both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity so it could be used for receiving messages from remote controllers such as Xbox controllers or mobile phones.

## Subsystem 3: Bike structure design

We plan to design the bike frame structure with Solidworks and have it printed out with a 3D printer. At least one of our team members has previous experience in Solidworks and 3D printing, and we have access to a 3D printer.

3D Printed parts: we plan to use PETG material to print all the bike structure parts. PETG is known to be stronger, more durable, and more heat resistant than PLA.

PCB: The PCB will contain several parts mentioned above such as ESP32, MPU6050, STM32, motor driver chips, and other electronic components

## Bonus Subsystem4: Collision check and obstacle avoidance

To detect the obstacles, we are considering using ultrasonic sensors HC-SR04

or cameras such as the OV7725 Camera function with stm32 with an obstacle detection algorithm. Based on the messages received from these sensors, the bicycle could turn left or right to avoid.

# Criterion For Success

The bike could be self-balanced.

The bike could recover from small external disturbances and maintain self-balancing.

The bike movement and steering could be remotely controlled by the user.

Project Videos