Week 2: #2

All:

Presentation

Parts planning

Han:

Built presentation box

Daniel:

Website

Sailesh:

Searched a BUNCH of different parts!

On April 4th, we presented our idea for our class. Here is our feedback and suggestions.

Would dog pee (which contains urea) be an issue?
Because there isn't a large cost associated with a false positive in our project, this is something we do not need to worry too much about. The consequence would be 'scooping' nothing.
The motor will be hard because of grass, dirt, etc.
We need to frame the problem and narrow the scope (be able to scoop in a certain setting) and optimize for that.
Would payload be an issue?
Because most dogs release about .002 pounds of payload per pound of dog, we wouldn't need to worry about anything that weighs more than 1 pound. Again, we need to frame the problem appropriately.
How to set boundaries?
We planned on having a set of dimensions programmed into the Raspberry Pi. However we received many suggestions including having infrared sensors plotted around the lawn or bluetooth beacons to record distance.
How to test the sensor?
Our original plan included utilizing the large reservoir of geese droppings near Drumheller Fountain, the icon of the University of Washington. Other ideas include using playdough, which would have a similar consistency, sprayed with urea.

Since then, we all (Daniel, Han, Jeremias, Sailesh) researched various parts and components to create the best product possible.

We ordered an Adafruit UV sensor and will test it to see what constraints we have.
We are looking into motorized hinges to alleviate potential mechanical troubles.

We created some requirements for our chassis; here's a shortlist: