Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
80 MazEscape
 Jatin Tahiliani
Jayanto Mukherjee
Will Knox
 Aishee Mondal design_document2.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
grading_sheet1.pdf
other2.pdf
other3.jpeg
other1.pdf
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video
Maze Quiz
Jayanto Mukherjee(jayanto2) Jatin Tahiliani(jatint2) Will Knox (wk9)

Problem

Modern-day theme park immersive games have become stale and predictable, so we wanted to make them more entertaining by seeing if it is possible to mix some of them. So, we devised a fun idea for a mix between a maze and an escape room where the participants will enter a labyrinth and answer questions to move onto the next level or to the next room and complete the game.

Solution

To tackle this challenge, we have decided that there will be a set of four smart lock systems, two of which will have an LCD screen along with a keypad with which the user will be able to interact with the whole system, and the other two will be the emergency escape lock system. Each set of smart lock systems will be attached to a door that will open up to the next part of the maze or the next level or to a door that will take them out of the maze and back to the starting point. The questions that will be asked on each of the smart locks will be related to small puzzles or general knowledge questions that they will get one chance to answer, as all the questions displayed will be multiple-choice. The players will answer the questions using the keypad by selecting one of four choices: A, B, C, or D.

There will be a total of two levels: an entry-level or the first level, which will be the first instance where the player will be asked to answer a question, and upon successfully answering the question, the system will unlock the gate and the player will be able to move onto the next level and which will be the second or the final level. The player will then again be asked to answer a question, and if they get the correct answer, they exit the maze and claim their prize. If, however, in any of the two levels, the player selects the wrong answer, then the smart lock will send a signal automatically to the escape smart lock system, which will be put on an escape gate, to unlock the gate so that the player can leave the game and go back to the starting point. Each of the two smart locks which will have an LCD screen, will also have a motion sensor so that the smart lock is automatically able to detect if a player has approached it, and then it can display its question.

The smart lock systems which will ask the questions will also be able to communicate with each other so that the user is not introduced to the same question.

The player will also have an additional option to leave the game by pressing a leave button on the keypad, upon which the smart lock system will send the escape lock system a signal to unlock the gate.

Solution Components

Subsystem Mechanical subsystem:

We will use a 1602 LCD Display Module to display the problems the user will solve and a Numeric Keypad to input their answers. The LCD module will be very important for the user interface as all the information the user will need to use the device properly will be available on the LCD display. The user will be able to navigate the different functionalities using the keypad. The LCD module and the keypad will communicate via the SPI protocol with the microcontroller.

Subsystem Microcontroller:

The ESP32 microcontroller will have different types of questions organized into various kinds of questions (MC questions about trivia and general knowledge questions answered with pressing buttons).

Subsystem Wifi/Bluetooth:

We will use the ESP32 Microcontroller as a Wifi/Bluetooth module that will connect all the LCD screens together. The Bluetooth module will also allow the smart lock system to send the escape lock system a signal in case the player gets the question wrong or if they want to leave the game.

Subsystem Motion sensor:

To have a unique and interactive experience, we will implement an HC-SR501 Infrared PIR Motion Sensor Module that will interact with the user by detecting them, and then once the user is detected, it will prompt them with a question to unlock the system

Subsystem Mechanical Lock: We will use a sliding lock when the questions are answered. It will unlock the door, and it will lock after the user closes the door. When the questions are fully answered, the sliding lock will be in the form of a rod and operated by a motor on command.

Criterion For Success

High-level goals our project needs to accomplish to be effective Successfully update and randomize problem sets so that solutions aren’t memorized Ensure the door is unlocked when problems have been solved and locked when the closet is closed Make sure that the different lock systems receive data regarding questions and locking and unlocking via Bluetooth. Minimize power consumption of the system Adjust the difficulty of problems based on user feedback and experience

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