Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
25 Electronic Martial Arts Paddles
Alexander Lee
Liam McBride
Jason Jung design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
grading_sheet1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video1.mov
# Title: Electronic Martial Arts Paddles

Team Members:
- Liam McBride (liamjm2)
- Alexander Lee (asl9)

# Problem

Currently there is no good way to accurately quantify performance in Taekwondo training for drills such as speed and power drills. There exists electronic gear for automatic scoring by tracking the power and the location of the martial artists’ kicks, but that gear is only used in competition and is prohibitively expensive.

# Solution

We are proposing electronic target paddles with pressure sensors at different locations of the paddle and LED’s to measure power and speed for kicking during training. We will also facilitate reaction speed/timing drills via sound or blinking of the LEDs. Example paddle here:

[https://www.ctitkd.com/product-page/vision-kicking-target](url)

We would have our main system (pcb) be a separate box that would handle the inputs from the paddles, and connect to a display to show scores and statistics.

# Background


Both Liam and Alex are executives for the university’s RSO Competitive Taekwondo Club, and have practiced Taekwondo for 10+ years, competing at local to international levels.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1: Control Box and Display

Explain what the subsystem does. Explicitly list what sensors/components you will use in this subsystem. Include part numbers.

Custom PCB




Bluetooth receiver for connecting with the paddle and sending/receiving data and instructions:
The target paddles will be difficult to maintain if there were wires coming out of it to the PCB, so we will utilize bluetooth connection for the LED and sensors

HDMI Out to regular display or LCD screen:
Have an HDMI connection to a monitor or LCD screen directly from the PCB to display our scores using a health bar mechanism as commonly seen in video games.
We will also display statistics for our drills


Wall power/power supply:
We would need a constant source of power, which we would use a power supply. The power supply will be connected to a wall outlet.

Sound system/speaker (optional):
We will use speakers that play a sound when the target paddle is hit, along with the LED.
We will also use the speakers to give a sound cue for reaction drills
different sounds for different kicks or choosing right or left leg

## Subsystem 2: Electronic Paddle

Pressure/force sensor:
three of these sensors each placed at the front, middle, and rear side of the paddle to distinguish the location of the hits. Each of these sensors will measure how strong the hits were, and crossing a certain force threshold will indicate a valid hit. Since force sensors that handle high forces can be fairly expensive, we would need to come up with a way to dampen the impact or distribute the force, and then scale the measurement so we can use cheaper, lower threshold sensors. We are also considering the use of an accelerometer for a potentially more affordable option.

LEDs or LED strip:
These led strips will be an indicator for a valid hit,
or for reaction drills,
or each led with different colors will indicate which part of the paddle was hit.
Different colors for different kicks or choosing right or left leg

Bluetooth transmitter for connecting with control box


Battery power:
Since the components on the target paddles will be physically separate from the PCB box, we will need battery power to keep the LED and sensors operating without a direct power supply from the wall.



# Criterion For Success

- System is able to accurately track response times
- System is able to accurately measure force of strikes
- Bluetooth is working so we don’t resort to using wires
- Paddle and auxiliary machinery is able to withstand repeated strong blows without breaking. (> 10 strikes min)
- LED, speaker, and sensors are working in cohesion
- Display is accurately reflecting desired results.

Cloud-controlled quadcopter

Anuraag Vankayala, Amrutha Vasili

Cloud-controlled quadcopter

Featured Project

Idea:

To build a GPS-assisted, cloud-controlled quadcopter, for consumer-friendly aerial photography.

Design/Build:

We will be building a quad from the frame up. The four motors will each have electronic speed controllers,to balance and handle control inputs received from an 8-bit microcontroller(AP),required for its flight. The firmware will be tweaked slightly to allow flight modes that our project specifically requires. A companion computer such as the Erle Brain will be connected to the AP and to the cloud(EC2). We will build a codebase for the flight controller to navigate the quad. This would involve sending messages as per the MAVLink spec for sUAS between the companion computer and the AP to poll sensor data , voltage information , etc. The companion computer will also talk to the cloud via a UDP port to receive requests and process them via our code. Users make requests for media capture via a phone app that talks to the cloud via an internet connection.

Why is it worth doing:

There is currently no consumer-friendly solution that provides or lets anyone capture aerial photographs of them/their family/a nearby event via a simple tap on a phone. In fact, present day off-the-shelf alternatives offer relatively expensive solutions that require owning and carrying bulky equipment such as the quads/remotes. Our idea allows for safe and responsible use of drones as our proposed solution is autonomous, has several safety features, is context aware(terrain information , no fly zones , NOTAMs , etc.) and integrates with the federal airspace seamlessly.

End Product:

Quads that are ready for the connected world and are capable to fly autonomously, from the user standpoint, and can perform maneuvers safely with a very simplistic UI for the common user. Specifically, quads which are deployed on user's demand, without the hassle of ownership.

Similar products and comparison:

Current solutions include RTF (ready to fly) quads such as the DJI Phantom and the Kickstarter project, Lily,that are heavily user-dependent or user-centric.The Phantom requires you to carry a bulky remote with multiple antennas. Moreover,the flight radius could be reduced by interference from nearby conditions.Lily requires the user to carry a tracking device on them. You can not have Lily shoot a subject that is not you. Lily can have a maximum altitude of 15 m above you and that is below the tree line,prone to crashes.

Our solution differs in several ways.Our solution intends to be location and/or event-centric. We propose that the users need not own quads and user can capture a moment with a phone.As long as any of the users are in the service area and the weather conditions are permissible, safety and knowledge of controlling the quad are all abstracted. The only question left to the user is what should be in the picture at a given time.

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