Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Autonomous Cylindrical Root Camera |
Aidan Veldman Nathaniel McGough Zach Perkins |
Rishik Sathua | proposal1.pdf |
|
| # Autonomous Cylindrical Root Camera Team Members: - Zach Perkins (zjp4) - Aidan Veldman (aidankv2) - Nathaniel McGough (nm47) # Problem The problem we intend to solve is the one outlined by John Hart and Jeremy Ruther in their presentation on a new hemispherical root camera model for their research. They want a new model that addresses the issues with usability and cost-effectiveness of the current one. For the research, they need high quality photos of the development of root systems. Every season clear tubes that are about 5ft long and 5in diameter are planted for root systems to grow into, and at the end of the year photos are taken by their current scanner system to assess the success of that plant. The problem is that the current printer scanner based model needs to be lowered and rotated manually, is vulnerable to wear and tear from use in the fields, and is vulnerable to water damage from moisture in the tubes. # Solution *Note that we have not been able to formally meet with the pitchers of the project, so some of the exact desired specifications are still vague/unknown* The new design is a cylindrical device that uses a 360-degree mirrored orthographic camera to capture its pictures, LEDs for light, a servo motor to winch the device up and down the tube, a button for starting the task, and exterior small wheels for smooth transversal. The exposed electronics (button, servo motor, LEDs, and camera) will be waterproof models and sealed properly within the device casing. Operating it would require reaching through the winch cap mount and pressing a start button. The device would turn on its LEDs and lower itself into the tube as it takes pictures, then reverse and ascend to its starting position ready to be moved to the next tube. Obtaining the photos would be done via local storage ready to be downloaded later (likely a flash drive/SD card). # Solution Components ## Subsystem 1: Camera and LEDs To save costs and camera interface complexity, we will use a standard camera with a custom lens for obtaining ring-shaped cross-sections of the tube. The camera is centered on the bottom face of the device and faces directly down. Ahead of it, the vision of the camera is focused out into a telecentric lens. A few centimeters in front of the lens is a semi-spherical mirror. Both the lens and the mirror are roughly equal in diameter so that the camera obtains clear orthographic pictures of the mirror’s contents. From its shape, the mirror displays a ring featuring a slice of the desired root system. The camera is connected to the main PCB and communicates a stream of photos as it descends. A ring of small LEDs surrounds the lens to bring symmetrical lighting into the dark tube. They are also connected to the PCB. Camera DigiKey part number: 1738-FIT0701-ND ## Subsystem 2: PCB and Power The single PCB controls the device. It features a ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 microcontroller chip for image processing and any extra storage needed for multiple large photos. A battery power pack connects to the PCB to run the device. The main task of the microcontroller is to implement an algorithm to slice the known ring of data from each photo, reconstruct it horizontally, and stitch each slice into a final rendered picture which it saves to the local storage. ## Subsystem 3: User Interface The user interface subsystem consists of a waterproof button accessible from the top of the device that connects to the PCB. It directs the process to begin There is also an external USB port for extracting the pictures. It may need an accompanying LED to indicate a successful pairing between the flash drive and microcontroller. *Note if it is viable, the task could also be achieved with Bluetooth connection to the microcontroller* USB port DigiKey part number: 1528-6073-ND Waterproof button https://www.wickedwarnings.com/product/waterproof-push-button-on-off-switch/?srsltid=AfmBOoqiUecr6UN8rvu42ILdTlRO9r2S_dkrkDFNViV1Ggn5V13krY0z ## Subsystem 4: Winch The winch operates by a servo motor driving a spool at the top of the device. A strong weather resistant cord outputting from the spool is hung from a cap that attaches to the top of the tube. A rotational sensor attached to the axis of the spool tracks the number of rotations so the microcontroller is aware of the device’s depth. # Criterion For Success - Cost-effective. - Drop resistant, able to be subject to repeated use. - Waterproof, able to resist high moisture content within the tubes. - Winch system consistently completes motion cycles without getting stuck. - Obtains clear, large, and consistent pictures of the desired root systems on par with the currently used model. - User interface is simple and easy to use. - Power system keeps the device powered consistently and battery lasts for the time the device is required in the field. |
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