Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
26 Orion Med
 wenhao Zhang
XiangYi Kong
Yuxin Zhang
 Zhuoer Zhang proposal1.pdf
# ORION MED

Team Members :
- Xiangyi Kong (xkong13)
- Yuxin Zhang (yuxinz11)
- Wenhao Zhang (wenhaoz5)

# Problem

As the global population continues to age, the demand for elder care is rising faster than the number of available care workers. Care workers often spend much of their time on routine but necessary tasks, such as fetching medicine or preparing basic tools. These simple tasks leave them with less time to focus on what really matters: providing personal attention, comfort, and medical care to the elderly. This imbalance not only increases stress and workload for care workers but also makes it harder to ensure that the elderly receive the level of care they deserve
# Solution
We propose to design a line-following autonomous medicine cart that can navigate between a nurse station (HOME) and five fixed pharmacy locations along a predefined track.
The nurse will input a target pharmacy number (1–5) and a specific medicine type through a GUI. The cart will follow the track, detect the correct station using ground markers, and stop to wait. Once a medicine package is placed on the tray (detected by onboard sensors), the cart will first verify whether the correct pill bottle has been selected. If so, immediately return to the HOME position.
The system is divided into the following subsystems:
1. Locomotion & Navigation
2. Station Recognition
3. Load Detection
4. Medicine Verification
5. Control & Communication
6. Power Supply & Safety

# Solution Components
## Subsystem 1: Locomotion & Navigation
- Purpose: Drive the cart along the predefined track and keep it centered on the black line.
- Components:
- 2 × DC gear motors with encoders
- Motor driver: TB6612FNG (or L298N as alternative)
- QTR-8A IR reflectance sensor array for line tracking
- Functionality: Uses PID control with encoder feedback to follow the black line smoothly and reliably.
## Subsystem 2: Station Recognition
- Purpose: Detect when the cart has arrived at one of the five fixed pharmacy stations or the HOME position.
- Components:
- Ground marker system (unique tape patterns or RFID tags)
- Functionality: Each station has a unique marker or tag; the sensor detects it and signals arrival to the controller.

## Subsystem 3: Load Detection
- Purpose: Detect whether an object (medicine package) has been placed on the tray.
- Components:
- HX711 load cell amplifier + load cell sensor
- Functionality: Confirms stable load placement before triggering the RETURN sequence.

## Subsystem 4: Medicine Verification
- Purpose: Confirm that the medicine placed matches the nurse’s request before returning to HOME.
- Components:
- Color sensor module (e.g., TCS34725 RGB sensor)
- Functionality:
- The nurse specifies a medicine type (e.g., Red, Green, Blue pill).
- After load detection, the color sensor scans the deposited item.
- If the detected color matches the requested medicine → RETURN sequence is triggered. If not, the cart remains at the station, and an error/status is sent to the GUI.

## Subsystem 5: Control & Communication
- Purpose: Serve as the “brain” of the system, executing navigation logic and communicating with the user interface.
- Components:
- ESP32 microcontroller (Wi-Fi + control)
- Python Tkinter GUI or ESP32-hosted web interface
- Functionality:
- Receives target station input from GUI
- Executes finite state machine: IDLE → TO_STATION → WAIT → RETURN → HOME
- Sends status updates (Idle, Moving, Waiting, Returning, Done) back to GUI
## Subsystem 6: Power Supply & Safety
- Purpose: Provide stable power to motors, sensors, and controller while ensuring user safety.
- Components:
- lithium-ion battery pack
- Step-down voltage regulators (5V for motors/sensors, 3.3V for ESP32)
- Ultrasonic distance sensor (HC-SR04 or VL53L0X) for obstacle avoidance
- Emergency stop button with hardware cutoff
- Functionality: Supplies regulated voltages, ensures safe shutdown in emergencies, and prevents collisions.
# Criterion For Success
1. Navigation:
- The cart can travel from HOME to any of the five stations with high reliability.
- The cart stays centered on the line with little deviation.
2. Station Recognition:
- Correctly identify each of the five stations and HOME.
3. Load Detection & Return:
- Correctly detect object placement.
- Only allow RETURN if the correct medicine is placed.
- Trigger return-to-home sequence correctly after placement.
4. Task Completion
- Accept user input, reach target station, wait, detect load, and return to HOME.
5. Safety
- Stop within 20 cm of unexpected obstacles.
- Stable and safe operation with no exposed wires or hazards.

Electronic Replacement for COVID-19 Building Monitors @ UIUC

Patrick McBrayer, Zewen Rao, Yijie Zhang

Featured Project

Team Members: Patrick McBrayer, Yijie Zhang, Zewen Rao

Problem Statement:

Students who volunteer to monitor buildings at UIUC are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 itself, and passing it on to others before they are aware of the infection. Due to this, I propose a project that would create a technological solution to this issue using physical 2-factor authentication through the “airlock” style doorways we have at ECEB and across campus.

Solution Overview:

As we do not have access to the backend of the Safer Illinois application, or the ability to use campus buildings as a workspace for our project, we will be designing a proof of concept 2FA system for UIUC building access. Our solution would be composed of two main subsystems, one that allows initial entry into the “airlock” portion of the building using a scannable QR code, and the other that detects the number of people that entered the space, to determine whether or not the user will be granted access to the interior of the building.

Solution Components:

Subsystem #1: Initial Detection of Building Access

- QR/barcode scanner capable of reading the code presented by the user, that tells the system whether that person has been granted or denied building access. (An example of this type of sensor: (https://www.amazon.com/Barcode-Reading-Scanner-Electronic-Connector/dp/B082B8SVB2/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=gm65+scanner&qid=1595651995&sr=8-11)

- QR code generator using C++/Python to support the QR code scanner.

- Microcontroller to receive the information from the QR code reader and decode the information, then decide whether to unlock the door, or keep it shut. (The microcontroller would also need an internal timer, as we plan on encoding a lifespan into the QR code, therefore making them unusable after 4 days).

- LED Light to indicate to the user whether or not access was granted.

- Electronic locking mechanism to open both sets of doors.

Subsystem #2: Airlock Authentication of a Single User

- 2 aligned sensors ( one tx and other is rx) on the bottom of the door that counts the number of people crossing a certain line. (possibly considering two sets of these, so the person could not jump over, or move under the sensors. Most likely having the second set around the middle of the door frame.

- Microcontroller to decode the information provided by the door sensors, and then determine the number of people who have entered the space. Based on this information we can either grant or deny access to the interior building.

- LED Light to indicate to the user if they have been granted access.

- Possibly a speaker at this stage as well, to tell the user the reason they have not been granted access, and letting them know the

incident has been reported if they attempted to let someone into the building.

Criterion of Success:

- Our system generates valid QR codes that can be read by our scanner, and the data encoded such as lifespan of the code and building access is transmitted to the microcontroller.

- Our 2FA detection of multiple entries into the space works across a wide range of users. This includes users bound to wheelchairs, and a wide range of heights and body sizes.