March & May 2023 Updates

31 March : First meeting w Dr Ho & discussed several possible ideas for our project, including a robot dog to help disperse seeds for reforestation

5 May: First group meeting with all the members to discuss about potential ideas , explored other ideas in line with SDG goals. One of them include all in one soil sensor to help farmers analyze soil health for them to have more accurate dosage of fertilizer and soil fixing (reduce fertilizer run off)

8 May: Safety Briefing with Dr Ho & address safety concerns related to our project

9 May: Project consultation and first 3D modelling class, found out that current project idea on soil sensor is too challenging

10 May: Online meeting and discussion on both idea, eventually decided to do reforestation as soil detector comes w too much challenges that we are unable to tackle within the 3 month frame period

14 May: Confirmed use of vehicle as  medium to disperse seeds

18 May: First project presentation & 3D modeling and printing of seed dispenser part (3.5 cm, 5 holes)

25 May:  Prototype & 3D Modeling of seed dispenser part revised (3.5cm, 3 holes instead) to reduce overall size.

26 May: Procurement of items (item list please obtain), Lowered weight vehicle can hold from 20 to 10kg, decided to choose rocker bogie system as our vehicle type, Found motor model (36GP 555) Acquired servo motor for seed dispenser

29 May: Printed prototype 3 for seed dispenser (but some parts broke off due to its girth & length) , so further revision is required

30 May: Exploring different type brush and brush-less motors & learning Arduino. Acquired motors of same model from seniors & acquired raspberry pi 3D,

31 May: 3D design and printing of rocker bogie legs prototype 1,  -Acquired motor drivers, arrival of ESP32 & tested servo with it. Learnt translational & rotational steering (differential swerve), flashed raspbian and got pi to boot. Pi3 is working but cannot run noetic, only melodic, hence waiting for pi4 to install ubuntu 20 for noetic.

June  2023 Updates

1 June:  I2c board not working, tested motor with l298n to be working. Set up github & use motion study to test out movements of 3D designs

5 June: 3D modeling &  printing prototype and assembling of rocker bogie legs. Screw sizes & holes fits perfectly

6 June: Internal progress check with Dr Ho, 3D  modeling & printing of seed pod mould prototype, requires revision as some part broke off

14 June: Test motor strength & current, decided on servo min & max of 145 & 545, use pca9865, assembling of rocker bogie middle legs with aluminum profile

15 June: created github, strong servo arrived & ordered drivers, made prototype circuit for seed dispenser

17 June: Determining wheel position of rocker bogie, decide to line all wheels on both side in a straight line

18 June: Complete 3D modeling of seed disperse & seed storage with 3D motion

19 June: Printing of seed disperser & attachment to servo

21 June: 2nd group presentation & complete 3D modeling of rocker bogie prototype as a whole

22 June: Soldering of circuit boards onto breadboard

26 June: 3D modeling & printing of parts connecting aluminum profile for rocker bogie legs, need revision as it is too fragile to withstand weight

31 June: Test driver sleep pin, Try control motor speed, Test PCAA9685, Print joints

July  2023 Updates

3 July: Edited 3D models to fit aluminum bracket, Changed dev mode to 2,Got the giga to control the motor (Pam too fast for motor), Got PCA9685 to control motor, Tony suggested using PCA9685 to control all pins for DRV8874

4 July: Printed the 3D parts chassis, servo housing and legs. Editing of differential bar 3D model, splitted into 3 parts and use tongue and groove method and screws to secure the pieces tightly together as original model is too big for printing.

5 July: Purchase of M8 screws

10 July: Assemble 1/4 of the rover. Failed the first trial the PCB and still deciding what will be used for communication on the user level, a source for battery (drone?) and good voltage regulator (protection?). We will also be using a 24V battery, step down 3.3V for logic and 5V for power (giga, rpi, camera, router &servo).

12 July: decided to throw away pi, use wifi direct to giga, decided on a one 5V step down regulator and decided to add imu

13 July: Besides more printing and assembling, we finally got to cut the aluminum profiles today. We decided on linear bush bearings and metal rod for pivot and tested giga(blink) over wifi

14 July: The body of the rover and the remaining legs was fully assembled but legs cannot be attached to the body.

17 July: We continued exploring the fuse, voltage divider, PCB connector and Ina219

18 July: We had our 3rd presentation to showcase our progress and changes of our project to our professors

20 July: Explored the use of hinges and the use of shaft in ball bearings

21 July: Failed to connect to Dlink camera as they have their own server

24 July: 3D printed ball bear hinge have insufficient clearance and space in the shaft area for the other part attached to the other aluminum profile to rotate smoothly & so was made tighter and longer

24~28 July: Overall angles of the aluminum connected to the motor and servo housing are not leveled so changes had to be made. Designed adapter to attach wheel to coupler. Ball end joint on differential bar is not parallel to legs which makes it unstable. PCB was ordered

August  2023 Updates

2&3 Aug: Receive of PCB and soldering of it was done. Changed 3D designing and printing of motor + servo housing for more support and make it longer so that it can navigate over rockier terrains. All of the motor was wired up and attached to pcb, and is able to run

4/8: The hinge used to connect the legs have too much rotational force on it due to the compression on the metal hinge which causes the legs to bent in an outward angle

7/8: Soldering of PCA9685 and test soldering of the PCB was done! Some small changes was also made towards the 3D design of the seed disperser that was some problem with attaching the different parts during assembly

10/8: Use of Canva to do our A1 Poster: Including Title, Introduction, Function of & how different part works, as well as future opportunities & improvements.

14/8: Submission of A1 Poster & Blog!

17/8: Final Presentation