Group 068-06: Jack the Greeter

The focus over the past week has been primarily on software, attempting to increase the voltage supplied to the circuit, so that the apparatus can run efficiently. This code, when downloaded to the Arduino board, enables the movement of the Stepper and Servo motors, which are responsible for head elevation and jaw movement, respectively. Date of Upload: May 30, 2018

Between the Week 7 and Week 8 lab periods, advancements were made relating to both the head and the integration of the Stepper motor and the scissor jack. The parts of the head were adhered together using hot glue, with the exception of the jaw pieces. Those pieces will be added after it is determined how the Arduino board will fit into the head. (add image) Assembled head excluding jaw (side view) Assembled head excluding jaw (front view) The group obtained the coupler that will be used to connect the motor to the screw of the scissor jack. Now it must be decided how to stabilize the bottom of the Stepper motor. Two possibilities are under consideration:      1) Constructing two guard rails on either side of the Stepper motor and placing a spring underneath the motor. Spring as support      2) Constructing two guard rails on either side of the Stepper motor and fixing a rubber band sling to both guard rails and resting the motor to th...

As of the time of this writing, all eight parts of the head have been printed. In addition, the podium on which the box will rest has been completed and the scissor jack that will support the head has been purchased. These advancements will enable the group to focus more of its attention on the software and hardware responsible for animating Jack's head. The goal for next week's lab period is to bring together the sub-projects on which individual group members have worked into the cumulative project that will be presented during Week 10. The static components (Jack's head, scissor jack) must be integrated with the moving components (Servo and Stepper motor), so that the head will behave as desired. To aid in this integration process, a coupler has been purchased that will allow the stepper motor to control the rotation of the screw responsible for the scissor jack's vertical movement. Without this coupler, the Stepper motor would have no way of properly ...

The accomplishments made this week were few in number, but integral to the project's success. The Servo Motor can now be activated by the PIR sensor, but does not rotate in one direction for an extended period of time. In addition, it seems that the PIR sensor struggles to detect a significant change in the IR when it is used in a bright room, such as the Innovation Studio. When it is used in a darker room, there is less IR, making it easier for the sensor to detect the change in radiation caused by a person walking in front of it. Once these two devices are able to successfully work together, they will be able to cause Jack's head to exit the box. The Servo Motor will be attached to the screw of the scissor jack, so that when the PIR sensor detects a person in front of it, the Servo Motor will know to begin rotating. This rotation will cause the platform on which the head rests to be elevated. Depicts the stuttering movement of the Servo Motor when triggered b...

Date: May 5, 2018 This week can be categorized as a problem-solving week. The Arduino team was having trouble writing the code that would allow the individual components mounted to the board (i.e. LED light, stepper motor, PIR sensor) to work harmoniously. In order to aid the Arduino team in solving this issue, a Google Doc was created that would serve as a place where all group members could add information that could be useful in programming the Arduino. This collaborative document will allow all group members to become familiar with Arduino code, thus strengthening group synergy. Since the skeleton is expected to be the easiest part of the greeter to manufacture, the group has opted to focus on constructing it at a later date. In the interest of time, the decision was made to purchase a scissor jack instead of trying to 3D print one. The CAD model made for a scissor jack will instead be used in the upcoming Draft Report to illustrate the group's comprehension...

The accomplishments made during week 4 were mostly intangible, but significant nonetheless. Tenzin and George continued to gather information about how to animate Jack's head, Tao and Joshua discussed how their CAD models would be able to coalesce, and work on the biographies was commenced. Date of Update: April 30, 2018