Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
11 Glove Controlled Drone
 Aneesh Nagalkar
Atsi Gupta
Zach Greening
 Wenjing Song design_document1.pdf
other1.pdf
other2.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video1.pdf
Glove Controlled Drone

Team Members
- Aneesh Nagalkar (aneeshn3)
- Zach Greening (zg29)
- Atsi Gupta (atsig2)

# Problem
Controlling drones typically requires handheld remote controllers or smartphones, which may not feel natural and can limit user interaction. A more intuitive way to control drones could increase accessibility, improve user experience, and open possibilities for new applications such as training, entertainment, or assistive technology.


# Solution
Our group proposes building a wearable gesture-control glove that sends commands to a quadcopter. The glove will use motion sensors to detect the user’s hand orientation and movements, translating them into drone commands (e.g., tilting forward moves the drone forward). The glove will transmit these commands wirelessly to the quadcopter through an ESP32 Wi-Fi module. The drone will be purchased in parts to simplify integration and ensure reliable flight mechanics, while the glove will be custom-built.

To improve from previous iterations of similar projects, we plan to:
- Use IMU sensors instead of flex sensors for more precise and complex gesture detection.
- Add haptic feedback to communicate status updates to the user (e.g., low battery, weak signal).
- Implement an emergency shutoff mechanism triggered by a specific hand gesture (e.g., closing the hand).
- Potentially integrate a camera onto the quad copter that will be signalled by a different hand gesture.

The system is also scalable to include advanced commands such as speed adjustments based on motion severity.

# Solution Subsystems
**Subsystem 1: Gesture Detection**
- IMU and gyroscope sensors embedded in the glove to detect orientation and movement.
- Sensor fusion algorithms to interpret gestures into defined drone commands.

1. Three axis gyroscope: mpu-6050
2. IMU: Pololu MinIMU-9 v6
Controls:
Here is a clear definition of how the drone will move
- Drone maintains a constant hover height (handled by the drone’s onboard flight controller barometer/altimeter stabilization)
- The glove only controls horizontal motion and yaw (turning
- Pitch forward (tilt hand down): Move forward
- Pitch backward (tilt hand up): Move backward
- Roll left (tilt hand left): Strafe left
- Roll right (tilt hand right): Strafe right
- Yaw (rotate wrist clockwise/counter-clockwise): Turn left/right
- Clenched fist (or another distinct gesture): Emergency stop / shutoff

**Subsystem 2: Communication Module**
- ESP32 microcontroller on the glove acts as the transmitter.
- Wi-Fi connection to the drone for sending control signals.

1. ESP32 microcontroller
2. Integrated ESP32 wifi chip
3. Voltage regulation

**Subsystem 3: Quadcopter Hardware**
- Drone hardware purchased off-the-shelf to ensure stable flight.
- Integrated with receiver to interpret Wi-Fi commands from the glove

1. LiteWing – ESP32-Based Programmable Drone

**Subsystem 4: Feedback and Safety Enhancements**
- Haptic motors embedded in the glove to provide vibration-based feedback.
- Emergency shutoff gesture detection for immediate drone power-down.

1. Vibrating Actuator: Adafruit 10 mm Vibration Motor
2. Driver for actuator: Precision Microdrives 310-117
3. Battery: Adafruit 3.7 V 1000 mAh Li-Po
4. Glove that components will be affixed to

# Criterion for Success, minimum 5/7 of these
- The glove reliably detects and distinguishes between multiple hand movements.
- The drone responds in real time to glove commands with minimal delay.
- Basic directional commands (forward, back, left, right, up, down) work consistently.
- Scaled commands (e.g., varying speed/acceleration) function correctly.
- Haptic feedback provides clear communication of system status to the user.
- The emergency shutoff mechanism works reliably and immediately.
- The system demonstrates smooth, safe, and intuitive user control during a test flight.

El Durazno Wind Turbine Project

Alexander Hardiek, Saanil Joshi, Ganpath Karl

El Durazno Wind Turbine Project

Featured Project

Partners: Alexander Hardiek (ahardi6), Saanil Joshi (stjoshi2), and Ganpath Karl (gkarl2)

Project Description: We have decided to innovate a low cost wind turbine to help the villagers of El Durazno in Guatemala access water from mountains, based on the pitch of Prof. Ann Witmer.

Problem: There is currently no water distribution system in place for the villagers to gain access to water. They have to travel my foot over larger distances on mountainous terrain to fetch water. For this reason, it would be better if water could be pumped to a containment tank closer to the village and hopefully distributed with the help of a gravity flow system.

There is an electrical grid system present, however, it is too expensive for the villagers to use. Therefore, we need a cheap renewable energy solution to the problem. Solar energy is not possible as the mountain does not receive enough solar energy to power a motor. Wind energy is a good alternative as the wind speeds and high and since it is a mountain, there is no hindrance to the wind flow.

Solution Overview: We are solving the power generation challenge created by a mismatch between the speed of the wind and the necessary rotational speed required to produce power by the turbine’s generator. We have access to several used car parts, allowing us to salvage or modify different induction motors and gears to make the system work.

We have two approaches we are taking. One method is converting the induction motor to a generator by removing the need of an initial battery input and using the magnetic field created by the magnets. The other method is to rewire the stator so the motor can spin at the necessary rpm.

Subsystems: Our system components are split into two categories: Mechanical and Electrical. All mechanical components came from a used Toyota car such as the wheel hub cap, serpentine belt, car body blade, wheel hub, torsion rod. These components help us covert wind energy into mechanical energy and are already built and ready. Meanwhile, the electrical components are available in the car such as the alternator (induction motor) and are designed by us such as the power electronics (AC/DC converters). We will use capacitors, diodes, relays, resistors and integrated circuits on our printed circuit boards to develop the power electronics. Our electrical components convert the mechanical energy in the turbine into electrical energy available to the residents.

Criterion for success: Our project will be successful when we can successfully convert the available wind energy from our meteorological data into electricity at a low cost from reusable parts available to the residents of El Durazno. In the future, their residents will prototype several versions of our turbine to pump water from the mountains.