electrical and electronic engineering and robotics project

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Electrical and ElectronicEngineering and Robotics

PROJECT SHOWCASE 2020May 2020School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

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Introduction

Professor Deborah Greaves OBE FICE MRINA Head of SchoolProfessor of Ocean EngineeringDirector of COAST

Our SECaM Project Showcase celebrates the excellent project work of our students and the diverse range of research and development projects they undertake. It is an opportunity for the students to showcase their work to external visitors from industry, fellow students and members of the academic staff.The School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics offers our students the opportunity to study for degrees under six main disciplines: Mathematics, Computing, Mechanical and Marine Engineering, Civil and Coastal Engineering, Electrical, Electronic and Robotics Engineering and Navigation and Maritime Science, the latter being the historical focus of education since the Plymouth School of Navigation was founded in 1862. We aim to serve the educational, research and industrial needs of those living and working in the South West and further afield – our graduates are eminently employable and we are proud of their contributions to society.

The final year projects provide an opportunity to integrate degree topics and transferable skills and demonstrate the ability of a student to work on a significant individual project. Many of the projects are interdisciplinary and a fair number are sourced from industry, often as a result of a placement year in a particular industry.

The information presented in this brochure provides a summary of the projects that will be presented through the Showcase 2020 website. While this brochure does not convey the full extent of the students’ activities and achievements, it does provide a means of encapsulating something of their efforts into a permanent record.

So, on behalf of the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics I extend a particular welcome to our sponsors from industry and to other members of the public – I hope that you enjoy the website and connecting with the students. These projects are only as good as our ability to explain and promote them and whilst we provide our students with a significant number of opportunities to present and explain their work during their degree programmes, the final year project showcase is the ‘pièce de résistance’.

2 ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING AND ROBOTICS

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Contents

Introduction from the Head of School 2

Projects 5

BSc (Hons) Projects 6

BEng (Hons) Projects 8

MEng (Hons) Projects 17

MEng (Hons) Final Stage Group Projects 22

Thank You to Our Supporters 27

3ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING AND ROBOTICS

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Projects

BSc (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

BSc (Hons) Robotics

SECaM (Non-Exchange) Engineering

BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

BEng (Hons) Robotics

MEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

MEng (Hons) Robotics

MEng (Hons) Final Stage Group Projects


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Biorhythm Sleep Bracelet

Siyuan ChenBSc (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Many people wake up feeling drained of energy even though they get enough sleep, this affects their work or study for the rest of the day. This is due to the biorhythm of sleep, which goes through a cycle of five different stages in about 90 to 100 minutes. This project uses a bracelet to monitor body temperature, heart rate and movement at various times during the whole night's sleep, it transmits via Bluetooth and makes a reasonable assessment of sleep quality. Users can choose the time period they want to be woken up (e.g. 7.00am to 8.20am), then they can be woken in the most reasonable period thus ensuring full energy.

Key Words: Biorhythm, Bracelet, Bluetooth, Sleep

Intelligent Talking Precision Weighing Scales

Jiaqi HuaBSc (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The aim of this project is to design a weighing scale which can achieve the function of weighing, display and calculate the weight data to make different voice response according to the stored data. For a selected cell phone system and appropriate software, a Bluetooth module is used to transmit the step information to MCU for calorie calculation.

Key Words: Scale, Speech IC, Bluetooth

Smart Light

Xuan ChenBSc (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

In recent years, due to the increasing popularity of smart devices, people's requirements for smart devices are not limited to just mobile phones and computers. The intelligence of home products has gradually come into people's vision. This product is to make the lights' monotonous functions more intelligent, such as changing the lighting colour, temperature and humidity detection (alarm system), and automatically turning the lights on and off.

Key Words: Intelligent, PCB, Embedded System Development

Home Autonomous Retrieval System

Samson Ayowoletomiwa AfolabiBSc (Hons) Robotics

Mobility for the elderly and disabled can be very limiting, and when they need an object that is only a short distance away, it can be very challenging. The goal of the Home Autonomous Retrieval System is to create an independent opportunity for individuals with mobility challenges to have more control. The system uses a mobile phone camera to find certain objects, then the mobile manipulator robot will move to the position, grip the object, and find its way back to the user.

Key Words: Mobile Manipulator, Computer Vision, Autonomous

BSc (Hons) Projects


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Tracked Stair-Climbing Robot

Daniel StaresBSc (Hons) Robotics

Search and rescue during disasters can be a dangerous task, particularly during high-rise fires. The aim of this project is to develop a search robot that can traverse stairs in a burning building to search for survivors. It uses caterpillar tracks and high torque, planetary gear motors to achieve this, as well as using a gyroscope and time of flight sensors to measure the robot’s position and to make decisions. The robot is controlled by an ARM Cortex STM board, and the motors are powered by lithium polymer batteries paired with motor drivers.

Key Words: Search and Rescue, Tracked Robot, Stair-Climbing, Gyroscope, ARM Cortex, High Torque Motor

Quantum Computing Library for Musical Applications

Srishti SinghSECaM (Non-Exchange) Engineering

Computers are essential for the functioning of our society. Quantum Computing is emerging as a technology game-changer which is built on the principles of quantum mechanics. This project aims to develop tools for musicians to make music. ICCMR has collaborated with Rigetti Computing, Berkeley, USA, to develop approaches to making music with quantum computers and build bespoke programming tools for musicians. My research project aims to make music using famous algorithms i.e. Grover’s Algorithm by making use of MIDI output.

Key Words: Quantum, Music, Grover’s Algorithm, Rigetti, MIDI

Lab-VIEW Based Multi Sensor Data Acquisition and Analysis

Viraj BansalSECaM (Non-Exchange) Engineering

National Instruments’ Lab-VIEW has become a popular programming environment for data acquisition in academia and industry. In this project I am be building a multi sensor electronic circuit. There would be three or four sensors attached to the PCB board. After that a Lab-VIEW code would be designed to acquire data from these multiple sensors using My DAQ. The real time data from different sensors would then be analysed through graphical representation in Lab-VIEW. There would then be a comparison between the analysis of Excel and Lab-VIEW so as to check the accuracy of the result.

Key Words: Lab-VIEW, PCB, My DAQ

BSc (Hons) Projects


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Soft Microprocessor in VHDL

Edijs AbolnieksBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The aim of this project is to produce a soft microprocessor on a Cyclone V FPGA, demonstrating a low-cost implementation of an application specific device. Basic components of an 8051 microcontroller like the arithmetic and logic unit (ALU), registers and instruction set will be recreated, to allow for a simple assembly language program to be run.

Key Words: FPGA, Cyclone V, VHDL, Soft Microprocessor, 8051

Hybrid Synthesiser

James BramwellBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

With the rising trend and demand for authentic, unique sounding musical synthesisers the idea for this project is to create an inexpensive hybrid synth that combines digital and analogue parts. A microcontroller will create analogue waveforms from digital samples that’s frequency is dependent on MIDI data. The project focuses on utilising digital features to ensure affordability whilst encompassing analogue circuitry to manipulate waveforms to produce sounds commonly found in analogue synths.

Key Words: Synthesisers, Monophonic, Microcontroller, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)

Wireless Charger

Ala’a Al-RawiBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The aim of this project is to explore the world of wireless charging, and produce a portable wireless phone charger. Creating an easy way of charging a device, no matter the time or place. The product will consist of a battery pack connected to a transmitter ready for a receiver to start the induction charging process and charge the device.

Key Words: Wireless, Charging

Audio Digital Multi-Effects Platform

Jack David Russell BruceBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The proposal is to design and produce a microcontroller-driven audio effects processor for instruments as well as vocals with studio-worthy fidelity capable of Preamplifying and EQ’ing audio, tuning an instrument, producing a multitude of audio effects in real-time simultaneously, and displaying the effects used with a user interface. All while using a range of high-quality analogue and digital circuits in order to retain audio fidelity, using Analogue and Digital Signal Processing.

Key Words: DSP, Digital Signal Processing, C++, Embedded, Filtering

BEng (Hons) Projects


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Poker Tournament GUI

Zack ButcherBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The goal of this project is to develop a consumer-focused system to interface poker with an interactive GUI to allow users to mimic professional poker tournament GUI’s or to log and analyse their performance for improvement. This system will incorporate multiple microcontrollers for user interfacing and communication, an FGPA for video output and will host a local webserver as an alternative graphical output. This is primarily focused at streamers as this is a rapidly growing industry.

Key Words: Embedded Systems, Firmware, Microcontrollers

Power Efficient SMS Notification GPS Tracker

Harry Keane BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

A device built with the aim of increasing stolen property recovery rates, specifically referring to bicycle thefts. The device is a location monitoring system that incorporates the use of Geo-fencing algorithms and ARM CPUs, in order to allow for power efficient data location acquisition in the form of GPS Coordinates. The device notifies the user via SMS of its locations when triggered to do so, enabling tracking of the device from any point reachable within a 2G network.

Key Words: ARM Cortex M, Embedded, GPS, RF, SMS, Tracking

Wireless Weather Station

Jordan Connelly BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The wireless weather station is intended for small sports and activities centres. The weather station contains a remote unit placed where the activities take place. This unit contains sensors to measure wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity. The data from the sensors is sent over Wi-Fi to allow club members to access the information from any location. The sensor data is also transmitted to a secondary unit located at the centre which will display the current weather conditions.

Key Words: Weather Conditions, Wi-Fi, Wireless

GSM Frequency Energy Harvesting System

Elias Kolb BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

This system will harvest surrounding RF energy to give a desired voltage output with great availability and free of cost. This system may also enable a future in energy transmissions over longer distances improving on the current ones as it is a form of wireless power transmission. This application involves harvesting energy from already existing sources abundant in a set environment. Another application involves transmitting RF signals from a set source to create a wireless power transfer in an environment where cables are not suitable e.g. in Aerospace Engineering. This will be ideal for applications such as remote wireless batteries.

Key Words: RF, Power, Transmissions, Graphene, Smart, Efficient



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Wind Turbine System for Battery Charging

Toby LaiBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Fossil fuels used for energy sources have declined recently due to limited amount, as well as negative impacts to our environment, such as global warming. The use of renewable energy as a source of electricity has therefore increased to reach our high energy demand. To secure my place in this area of industry, my project involves designing and building a wind turbine system for battery charging. To maximises the charge stored in the battery and to ensure my design is highly efficient, I am designing and building a Weinberg converter that involves maximum power point tracking (MPPT) that is implemented by a microcontroller (STM32 Nucleo MCU Development Board).

Key Words: Renewable Energy, Wind Turbine, Weinberg Converter, STM32 Nucleo Board, MPPT

Sonic-Stick

Christopher OwensBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Without the ability of sight, the outside world can be a mortifying place. My project aims to return some awareness to those who are visually impaired. By using an ultrasonic sensor, the user is able to detect the world around them without colliding into objects. A motor vibrates the handle, warning the user if there is something within a certain distance. There are also other sensors used to improve the safety of the user. These sensors are controlled through an Arduino microcontroller.

Key Words: Ultrasonic Sensor, Accelerometer, Arduino

Tennis Sensor

Gian MaranonBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Tennis players of all levels spend hundreds of pounds every year on lessons taught by professional coaches in order to help improve their technique. The aim of this Tennis Sensor is to help beginners as well as recreational and amateur players see feedback on their play technique, since they have less coaching and the least awareness of how they are hitting the ball. The sensor will analyse groundstrokes, ball speed, ball spin and whether the sweet spot has been hit on the racket. This uses a microcontroller, gyroscope, accelerometers and a blue tooth chip so that it can detect the orientation of the racket as well as speed, sending data via Bluetooth to a smart device.

Key Words: Data Feedback, Sports Sensor

Mobile Phone Detector for Cars

Aaron StillBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Mobile phone use while driving causes an estimated 1.6 million accidents worldwide per year. Of this, 25% is believed to be due to texting while driving, this is a statistic that has failed to drop in recent years. The mobile detection device aims to deter drivers from using their mobile phone whilst driving. The device uses an antenna with a band of 0.9GHz – 3GHz to detect transmitted and received RF signals and will in turn set off an alert system until the mobile phone is removed from the detection radius.

Key Words: RF, RF Signal, Antenna, Mobile, Driving



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Smart Cycle Computer

George William Adam WhiteBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The Smart Cycle Computer is a rechargeable device which monitors the parameters of a bicycle. Like other cycle computers it will measure speed, distance and duration, but my device will also monitor incline as well as the distance in front of the bicycle by using LiDAR. Collisions will be prevented from objects within close proximity to the front of the bicycle by pulling the brake relative to the closeness. The devices parameters can be viewed using the android app connected by Bluetooth LE.

Key Words: Smart, LiDAR, Bluetooth LE, Android App

Rubik’s Cube Solver

Kevin Khai Wen YeapBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

To create a Rubik’s Cube solver using a LEGO Mindstorms kit to research and develop the recently released Autodidactic Iteration Algorithm into C program. The algorithm does not rely on pre-programmed human insight to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

Key Words: Rubik’s Cube, LEGO Mindstorms Kit, Autodidactic Iteration Algorithm

How Can Railways Improve their Energy Efficiency?

Thomas E WongBEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Options for DC traction systems to become more energy efficient are being explored by Network Rail. Energy storage devices placed trackside and on board, recover energy which would otherwise be lost, using it to share demand on substations, alongside options for renewable energy devices to contribute to traction systems could provide an opportunity to become more environmentally friendly. This project will be used to determine the viability of using energy storage and renewables to achieve this.

Key Words: Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, Renewables

Mobile and Modular Agricultural Robot for Autonomous Platforms

Samuel BaileyBEng (Hons) Robotics

With around 70% of UK land used for agriculture and an industry worth billions of pounds, farmers recognise the potential of precision agriculture, as it allows them to increase productivity, maximise yields, and increase profitability. Many existing companies are focusing on creating entire autonomous systems which means that the technology then becomes expensive and inaccessible. For this reason, I decided to focus my efforts on designing and implementing a low-cost agricultural robot that is modular/scalable, mobile and easily augmented with other autonomous platforms.

Key Words: Agriculture, Modular/Mobile Robot, STM32, 3D Printing, Soil Analysis



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Multi-Robot Coordination and Cooperation – Unknown Exploration

Oscar BestBEng (Hons) Robotics

The exploration of the unknown is an exciting yet potentially hazardous task for humans. This makes it the perfect job for a robot. More efficiently, a pair of robots working together. This project sets out to develop an algorithm, using a robot operating system (ROS), to effectively coordinate the autonomous navigation of two Turtlebot2 robots within an unmapped area. They will use simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) technology to construct a map of the environment.

Key Words: Autonomous, Exploration, ROS, Navigation, SLAM

RoboCon – Collaborative Gaming Robot

Faisal Fazal-Ur-RehmanBEng (Hons) Robotics

Proof of concept for a collaborative gaming robotic manipulator that is designed to play board games against human opponents. For this project the board game Connect 4 was selected. The idea is to create a robotic manipulator that can be used for other board games with very little to no change in the hardware. The robotic arm was specifically designed to be easily replicable using a 3D printer, some off the shelf items and a Raspberry Pi.

Key Words: Robotic Arm, Deep Q Learning, OpenCV, Python, C++

Generating Electricity Using Nanotechnology

Bonnie ChanBEng (Hons) Robotics

As electronics reduce in size and the market requests smaller components, there has been a vast rise in the interest of the capabilities on nanotechnology. To align with this, the aim of the project is to research the possible energy that can be harvested and stored from nanomaterials through using an electrospinner to generate nanofibers. Different nanofibers will be generated and tested through developing bespoke circuits to compare the amount of energy that each nanofiber can produce.

Key Words: Piezoelectric, Nanogenerator, Power, Sensor

Automatic Visual Inspection of PCB Assemblies

Nicholas Frederick-PreeceBEng (Hons) Robotics

This projects aim is to investigate using modern computer vision techniques to detect faults in printed circuit board assemblies and reduce issues with image alignment, scale and lighting. This system uses homography techniques with ORB feature detection to correct these issues and calculate the error with relation to the reference image to detect where missing components are most likely. Using these techniques allows for visual inspection setups to reduce in complexity and be easily integrated.

Key Words: Vision, PCBa, Inspection, Manufacturing, Quality



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Landslide Data Monitoring

Marcus William GarnhamBEng (Hons) Robotics

My chosen project is to create a small, low power device that can record data from its various sensors that can later be used to deduce the trajectory of device. The device is intended to be imbedded into rocks/boulders in landslide prone areas and stay in low power mode until a landslide occurs then record the data. With this data on the trajectory taken by the rock/boulder it is hoped we will understand more about landslides. The device will be powered by a small watch battery and fit into the palm of your hand.

Key Words: Low Power, Trajectory Plotting, Miniaturisation

Multi-Robot Coordination and Cooperation

Harry JacobsBEng (Hons) Robotics

This project involves developing a framework using the Robot Operating System (ROS) enabling a fleet of robots to patrol a set of user-defined locations of interest. The robots will coordinate amongst themselves in order to efficiently cover the chosen locations. A human-robot interface will be developed to allow the user to define locations of interest on a generated map and have the robots patrol these waypoints. The framework will be tested in a mock-up maze-like scenario using TurtleBots.

Key Words: Coordination, Cooperation, ROS, Multi-Robot, Patrolling

Smart Mirror with Facial Recognition

Dean HuntBEng (Hons) Robotics

This project is a smart mirror using a two-way mirror with an electronic display behind the glass. The display can show the viewer different kinds of information in the form of widgets such as weather, time and news updates. The smart mirror also improves upon similar products by including machine vision, embedded electronics and various API’s like Google Assistant and Spotify. Using machine vision this mirror can be trained to recognise the user and change the display to fit that specific user’s requirements. It also includes an LED square for makeup application or ambient lighting. Consideration has been taken to ensure the mirror has extensive functionality while looking stylish and great in any home.

Key Words: Smart Mirror, Smart Home, Open CV, Raspberry Pi, Facial Recognition, LED

Balancing Waiter Robot

David KezaalaBEng (Hons) Robotics

The aim of this project is to design and construct a two wheeled robot capable of carrying vulnerable items, such as drinks or food, and with the help of a MPU6050 accelerometer/gyroscope maintaining its posture. Through Arduino transceiver modules, the user will be able to send a designated course to the robot or freely control its movement.

Key Words: Arduino, Accelerometer, Control Engineering



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Low Cost Multi-Purpose Novel Gripper

Ziad KhalilBEng (Hons) Robotics

To design and create one or more multi-purpose grippers that can be used in various ways to hold things of different shapes and sizes. The gripper can be attached to a robotic arm or might be connected to a micro-controller unit to give it extra usability advantages.

Key Words: 3D Design, Robotics

3D-Printed Search and Rescue Drone

Deeta PallentBEng (Hons) Robotics

The aim of this project is to design and build a search and rescue robot by utilising 3D-printing technology. It comprises of a drone and a tracked base used to transport the drone to the specified search area. The drone allows the user to search large and potentially dangerous environments from a remote location, reducing the risk of injury. 3D-printing was used to reduce the cost and make it more accessible to potential clients as well as allowing for quick and easy repairs.

Key Words: 3D-Printed, Search and Rescue, Drone

Mount for Auto-Tuning a Guitar

Alexander McClellanBEng (Hons) Robotics

The aim of this project is to create a mount that can fit over a guitar and tune the guitar automatically after each string is played. By automating the tuning process of an already existing guitar, musicians will be able to save time tuning their instruments and maintain a consistent tuning throughout their performance. A microcontroller can be used to interpret the frequency of a plucked string and control motors accordingly to turn the tuning pegs of the guitar.

Key Words: Motor Control, Frequency Detection, Microcontroller

Robot Arm Gripper for Fruit Picking

Timothy RaisonBEng (Hons) Robotics

In this project I am going to be making a raspberry picking robot arm. To do this I am going to use an Arduino board to control the multiple motors, and sensors that will be needed to accomplish this task. Using control engineering, I will have to control the force being applied on the fruit being picked and design and manufacture an end effector that will work in a farm environment using CAD/CAM.

Key Words: Fruit Picking, Robot Gripper, Automation, Farming Robotics



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Programmable Moving Guitar Pickup

William John RedheadBEng (Hons) Robotics

While there are a huge number of electric guitars on the market today, most guitar brands follow a similar formula in the production of electric guitars. This project will subvert the formula by allowing the user the freedom to control the position and rotation of the guitar pickup underneath the string (which will give a variable frequency response) to find the sound/tone they desire. The system will be controlled by an STM board with considerations to low power consumption and fast response time, as it will be battery powered for the sake of portability.

Key Words: Pickup, Tone, STM, Low Power, Portability

Q Learning Snake Game AI

Eliot StewartBEng (Hons) Robotics

In my project I have created a machine learning algorithm that uses Q Learning so that the AI will be able to play and complete a game of snake. It incorporates a Hamiltonian Cycle with short cuts thus that the game is played as human-like as possible.

Key Words: Q Learning, Machine Learning, AI, Hamiltonian Cycle

Scalable Compliance Module for Rotary Systems

Charles SpellerBEng (Hons) Robotics

Non-back-drivable motors are used to improve the energy efficiency of systems, however they can be damaged through impacts and are potentially hazardous to work around, thus compliance is desirable to absorb impacts and reduce shock. A module has been designed that can add compliance to a pre-existing rotary system. It is scalable for different loads and economic to produce. It is envisioned the module will be used for robotics within the fruit harvesting industry.

Key Words: Compliant, Module, Economic, Scalable

Low Cost Passively Compliant Robotic Manipulator

Csaba VassBEng (Hons) Robotics

This project deals with safely using robotic manipulators around humans. To do that we can use compliance. A compliant manipulator can reach several positions and exert different forces. This project uses incremental encoders to sense collision and slow down the servos to reduce the chance of injuries. The manipulator used in this project is an arm with two revolute joints. The arm can be built to be passively compliant with the use of cheap servos, incremental encoders and micro controller.

Key Words: Passive, Compliance, Cheap, Robotics, Manipulator



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Autonomous Swarm Research and Educational Platform

Anthony WilsonBEng (Hons) Robotics

Academic institutions often use separate robotic research and teaching equipment, my goal was to design a single mobile autonomous platform meeting both requirements. The design is based around an ARM Cortex M4 CPU interfacing in real-time with low-level sensors and actuators using I2C, SPI, and GPIO to provide autonomous operation. A Rosserial connection to a Raspberry Pi running Linux provides a wireless ROS node. Additional custom modules tailored to teaching goals can be fitted to the top.

Key Words: Swarm, ARM, RPi, ROS, URDF, C/C++, Fusion, Eagle



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Electric Air Sensor Guitar

Ziad AhmedMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The aim of this project is to create a guitar that operates by playing different sounds and notes by interrupting PIR sensors. A copper wire is used to implement some resistance which can be used to have different pitches depending on the distance away from the sensor. LabVIEW and C+ are used to create this embedded system and based on the data recorded from the sensors, sound output is produced and heard from an audio jack.

Key Words: Sensors, Microcontroller, Output Waveforms, Arduino, Embedded System

4-20mA Process Simulator

Zacc CuttingMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The 4-20mA process simulator has been designed to monitor and log the real time input of standard field devices used in control systems. Key features of this system include allowing the recorded data to be exported, manipulated, read and output in real and reduced time frames, producing optimal test simulations to exercise external control systems. An on-board LCD will allow the system to be portable, facilitating paperless display and additional user defined process control functions.

Key Words: MCU, Sampling, 4-20mA, PLC, Portable, Multi-Threaded

Flow Injection Micro Analysis System

William Ross AndrewarthaMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Monitoring the state of the environment is increasingly important in today’s changing world. Flow Injection Analysis techniques are useful for measuring a wide range of chemicals in a cost-effective and controlled manner. During the analysis, a wide variety of devices need to be controlled at precise times to ensure accurate and repeatable results. By using an STM32 ARM microcontroller with a web-based interface, the system allows users to analyse chemicals with minimal effort.

Key Words: Automation, Analysis, ARM, Embedded Systems

Modular Domestic Automation Control System

Benjamin JasperMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

A home automation project is nothing new, but what this project aims to achieve is to make the system as low cost and flexible as possible while being very easy to configure and use. A central controller with an LCD to display information and configuration controls will be used with wirelessly connected controllers, each having optional sensor modules and control output options. The system will detect sensors and choose basic output accordingly or allow the user to choose the desired action.

Key Words: Embedded Systems, ARM, Wireless, Home Automation

MEng (Hons) Projects


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RemoteBMS

Thomas MarshMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The RemoteBMS reduces battery maintenance cost by monitoring characteristics such as power usage, state of health (SoH), temperature and many more remotely. Through Microsoft Azure and the mobile network, battery information can be accessed anywhere on the planet allowing engineers to carry out predictive maintenance when required, compared to a costly maintenance schedule that requires engineering hours and downtime. The RemoteBMS also facilitates fast corrective maintenance by notifying engineers of non-nominal conditions reducing downtime and increasing the life of the battery.

Key Words: Battery, Monitoring, Cloud, Azure, GSM, GPRS, Predictive, Corrective

Road Monitoring and Intelligent Feedback System

Stephen WoodcockMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Within the automotive industry, innovative safety features are starting to be implemented into vehicles to assist drivers on the roads. The market is still scarce in this area, so the aim of my project is to build a low-cost driver assist which will provide feedback to the driver through an LCD and LED display. This is achieved by proximity, reflectivity, and ultrasonic sensors to detect obstructions around the vehicle and the MCU calculates the correct action to take, notifying the driver.

Key Words: Proximity Sensing, Decision Making, Time of Flight

Security Access Control System

Jack RandallMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

As concerns over data and information protection increase, so does the requirement for improved high level access control. The aim of the Security Access Control System is to deliver tiered verification providing selective access to data or facilities. Three tiers of security are offered in any combination utilising RFID tagging, PIN Identification, and Facial Recognition, managed via a Web Based Application, designed and interfaced using a combination of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C++ and Python.

Key Words: Multi-Lingual Coding, Integrated Software, Web App

Reinforcement Learning Game Solver

Nicholas CoiroMEng (Hons) Robotics

The goal of this project was to explore reinforcement learning techniques to develop an algorithm capable of solving a perfect information game with no prior knowledge. The main algorithm that will be used is a Monte Carlo Tree Search. The first game this algorithm will be applied to is Tic-Tac-Toe, once the algorithm is proven, the player will be adapted to Checkers. Once this is achieved, a means of human interaction will be developed, allowing the game to better interact with a human player.

Key Words: Reinforcement Learning, Monte Carlo Tree Search



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ECG Health Monitoring Device

Muhammed Azizul Haque (Shahin)MEng (Hons) Robotics

Hospital ECG machines sample data up to 150Hz with specialised equipment ranging at 1 KHz. This ECG machine will be sampling up to a maximum of 1 MHz with a 24 bitrate, capturing a higher volume of data to be logged via cloud and physical storage for research. This power efficient portable device can be connected to certain patients such as those suffering anxieties to measure the heart wave form to alert a carer via GSM of any anomalies as well as for research to further our understanding.

Key Words: ECG, Embedded System, GSM, Data Logging, Wi-Fi

Teleoperation Control of 6-Axis Robot Manipulator

Ijaas ImtajaliMEng (Hons) Robotics

A pre-built 6 axis robot arm is gesture controlled and this is done by using a Microsoft Kinect sensor to get the skeletal data which is then processed in Visual Studio in C++ to get the joint angles. The servo motor position is calculated and then sent to Arduino microcontroller to control the servo motors. The application of this project can be used for precision or teleoperation control of robots, for example - in space, underwater, surgery robots, etc.

Key Words: Teleoperation, Gesture Control, Robot Arm, C++, Kinect, Arduino

Companion Robot for the Elderly

Estilla HefterMEng (Hons) Robotics

The older generation is known to be vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation which can lead to depression and a decline in general wellbeing in the long term. The goal of this project is to create a companion robot to combat these effects and to substitute the qualities-of-life a traditional pet offers. The robot will use embedded systems and machine vision to create 'animal-like' behaviour, and a design that's visually acceptable to the target audience.

Key Words: Social, Embedded Systems, Machine Vision, Python

Data Acquisition System for Switch Bounce Investigation

Obriel Mariga MEng (Hons) Robotics

Physical switches have mechanical contacts which shift positions from one state to the other when toggled. The main purpose of a switch is to change or observe the state of an electrical signal. The mechanical contacts of a switch cause noise to the voltage signal during the transition phase before they firmly settle. In order to detect this noise in the signal waveform, sampling at high frequencies is required in order to capture most of the changes in the signal.

Key Words: DAQ, NAS, Linux, Data Processing



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A Low-Cost Remote Surveillance Platform

Brendan MillerMEng (Hons) Robotics

A pan and tilt platform stabilised utilising parallel processing of a FPGA and IMU using modern control theory. Using real time computer vision on a Raspberry Pi object tracking is achieved with the footage able to be monitored on a remote terminal with the image transmitted over RF. The platform can be controlled manually or automatically track an object by selecting an object for it on the terminal.

Key Words: Pan and Tilt, Object Tracking, Remote Video

Automated Reptile Vivarium

Harold James ParsonsMEng (Hons) Robotics

My device will use a real time embedded system to monitor and control the environment within the vivarium, as well as monitoring the health of the inhabitant. It will be possible to set parameters such as the temperature and light level of the vivarium via mobile phone, as well as sending notifications if any potential issues should appear, such as the inhabitant appearing underweight or if there is a malfunction within the device.

Key Words: Controlled Environment, Sensors, Actuators

Autonomous Fruit Picker Vision System

Glynn MoodyMEng (Hons) Robotics

Autonomous farming can tackle many of the rising issues to farmers, allowing for long working hours without breaks. This project aims to resolve the problem of how to handle the vision system for autonomous systems in order to locate produce and ensure it is at the correct ripeness for harvesting. After researching various methods, it was decided that the best way to implement this system would be using a CNN implemented with TensorFlow. This required acquiring appropriate datasets to train a network allowing raspberry detection in real time and assess whether they are ready to be picked.

Key Words: Autonomous Farming, Image Classification, Object Detection, CNN

PAINTIC

Charlotte J PerryMEng (Hons) Robotics

The goal of this project is the development of a robotic arm for use in education. It will allow students to design their own circuits and see them brought to life by using a conductive paint. The research will be focused on the learning tools currently used in schools and the benefits of using a robotic arm in a classroom environment. The system will map trajectories and use machine vision systems to take inputs from hand-drawn images.

Key Words: Paint, Robotic Arm, Machine Vision, C++, Education



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Archery Coaching Software

Amy RobertsMEng (Hons) Robotics

Software designed to analyse the shot process of archers for coaching and training purposes.

Key Words: Archery, Coaching

Sign Language Capable Prosthetic Hand

Alice TuffenMEng (Hons) Robotics

The aim of this project is to modify an existing prosthetic hand to be able to fingerspell in American Sign Language and perform the components for British Sign Language. This would be able to be used in an educational setting to allow the signs to be displayed in a more tactile format without the need for a trained teacher, or to allow those with upper limb differences to communicate using sign language. The hand itself is 3D printed and controlled by an Arduino board.

Key Words: Prosthetic Hand, Sign Language, Arduino, Servo Control

Visualising Robotics within Game Engines

Jonathan SmithMEng (Hons) Robotics

Game engine technology has advanced rapidly over recent years. This technology has many features that are advantageous within a robotics context. Using a mobile robot platform, the project streams sensor data in near real-time to a game engine. Using this data, the system maps and works within virtual environments to achieve a variety of complex tasks. This project has a range of applications including but not limited to remote operation, virtual reality and environment mapping.

Key Words: Mobile Robot, Game Engine, VR, Path Planning



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Independent Swarm Localisation Platform

Nikolaos BartzeliotisMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Samuel DuffieldMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Ahmed MousaMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Mathew Swabey MEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Independent swarm localisation platform is a research and development project that aims to build upon the exciting field of swarm robotics. This field of study investigates the coordination of multiple robots to behave as a system with collective behaviour and common goals. The key feature of these robots which allows them to function effectively as a swarm is their localisation system used to determine accurate positional data of each robot within the surrounding environment. Traditionally, this functionality is provided by a static external reference, such as satellite or node beacons. Independent swarm localisation platform aims to develop novel and efficient methods of deploying positioning and identification sensors for scalable localisation without the need for external references or recalibration in new environments.

Range and bearing of surrounding objects are collected using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology in combination with magnetometer sensor data to provide an oriented point cloud mapping of the surrounding environment. Robots are identified within the surroundings using an arrangement of cameras that provide 360-degree visual acuity, and computer vision techniques allow the identification of unique markers on each robot, differentiating them from other objects in the surroundings. The data from both the LiDAR and

camera sensors are combined using a process of sensor fusion which uses data processing techniques to converge onto a more accurate position of surrounding robots.

Robot communication takes advantage of the 802.14.5 mesh network standard. This provides a range of benefits, including automatic client/repeater switching for expanding coverage areas, seamless message repeating between nodes without affecting running code, support for unlimited nodes on the mesh, and Wi-Fi/4G capabilities to provide over the air (OTA) firmware upgrade functionalities.

Data gathered from the mesh is pushed to a cloud-computing server, which uses swarm data to dynamically generate a map of the environment in which the robots are operating. This feature offloads intensive computing demand from the swarm and allows remote access to the data from any device connected to the server from any location.

This project aims to improve the existing swarm localisation technology such that deployment of swarm robots into areas without external references is achievable. These potential applications include exploration of remote or inaccessible locations, search and rescue operations, or autonomous vehicles for military purposes.



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Radio Frequency Signal Classifier

Peter Beck MEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Adam Bentley MEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Michael Stubbings MEng (Hons) Robotics

Christopher Hayes MEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Daniel Wallis MEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

OFCOM estimates that there will be 156M IoT devices operating in the UK by 2024, indicating a growing trend in the use of wireless technology. Whilst most wireless devices are not a threat to the public, there are a small number which are. For example, in December 2018 hundreds of flights at Gatwick airport had to be cancelled due to reports of drone activity. This highlights a gap in law enforcement capabilities to fully understand the RF environment.

This project aims to bridge the gap by creating a device which can detect and classify signals in the RF environment. It enables the user to identify devices that they consider malicious, allowing for appropriate action to be taken. We liaised with Dstl, our industry partner, who specified specific frequencies and communication protocols to be monitored. These were 434MHz, 868MHz, ZigBee and Sigfox.

The system has been designed to be man-portable so it can be deployed at many locations in diverse weather conditions. It contains three constituent parts: a wideband RF receiver, data management unit (DMU) and signal classifier.

The wideband RF receiver utilises multiple RF transceiver chips, working in a receive-only configuration, each with a dedicated antenna to receive signals of interest. Each wideband receiver focuses on a segment of the RF spectrum identified by Dstl. The receiver converts high frequency RF to baseband and demodulates the signal into I and Q data. These signals are digitised and passed to the DMU. The system utilises:

• Lime Microsystems LMS6002D transceiver

• A wideband frequency range 0.3 - 3.8GHz

• Omnidirectional antennas

The data management unit uses an FPGA to identify valid signals from background noise and packet the information in a format that can be read by the signal classifier. The DMU communicates over SPI between multiple devices simultaneously, fully utilising the parallel architecture of FPGA’s. The DMU comprises of:

• EP4CE10E22C8 Cyclone IV FPGA(s) programmed in VHDL

• W25N01GVZEIG TR External Flash Memory chips

The signal classifier uses multiple machine learning algorithms to identify RF emitters and their commands. Computation is resolved in parallel using an NVIDIA graphics card for high speed processing. Classified signals are displayed to the operator via a graphical user interface, which allows for specific bands of interest to be selected. It utilises:

• An Nvidia Jetson Nano developer kit

• 128-core Maxwell GPU running neural networks on the TensorFlow platform in Python

• Quad-core Arm A57 processor running a graphical user interface

This project utilises an extensive range of emerging technologies and has a large variety of business applications, such as: monitoring public use domains, military applications and amateur hobbyists.



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Graphene Power Amplifier

Thomas BloomMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

James CrawfordMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Graphene, a 2-dimensional material made from a single layer of carbon atoms, has great potential to transform the next generation of electronic devices. Examples of already existing research are high efficiency solar cells, biosensing of chronic conditions such as dementia, as well as flexible and foldable electronics.

With the amount of knowledge of this material, and related 2D materials (G2DM), increasing at an exponential rate currently, it will be important to begin attempting to utilise G2DM-based devices for applications that can lead to real-world applications.

This Masters project is an investigation into the RF properties of graphene, and its use as a transistor, primarily for Radio Frequency/Microwave power amplification. The project will cover the building of an RF power amplifier (PA) using a University of Plymouth

designed, cutting edge Graphene field effect transistor (GFET), as well as corresponding testing and simulations performed on the device.

Currently, there are no commercial RF power amplifiers that utilise graphene transistors, and research into the physical application is limited. Instead, companies are focusing on Silicon, Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) based technology in order to create PA chips used for military, mobile phones, and other contexts.

Although not directly comparable to silicon-based technology that has been perfected over the last 30 years, a functional device would be an innovative step towards the wider application of Graphene and related 2D materials in the future, particularly in RF and microwave electronics.



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HUSKY++

Samuel CarterMEng (Hons) Robotics

Quentin Gogay (Formally Courtney Gogay)MEng (Hons) Robotics

Ben GordonMEng (Hons) Robotics

Joel PallentMEng (Hons) Robotics

To enhance automation, mobile navigation and situational awareness for remotely operated ground vehicles, Husky++ implements three-dimensional autonomous mobile navigation on the CLEARPATH ROBOTICSTM Husky unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).

Remotely operated unmanned ground vehicles must be able to traverse and explore harsh hazardous environments such as mines, conflict zones and rescue scenarios. In these time-critical situations, it is essential for the UGV to provide as much assistance as possible for the operator to be able to improve the chances of a successful mission.

The Husky has been equipped with additional sensors which include an XSENS MTi-G-710 (inertial measurement unit, GPS), a STEREOLABS ZED stereoscopic camera with FLIR PTU E46 pan-tilt unit and a SICK LMS511-20100 PRO outdoor two-dimensional lidar. The orientation of the two-dimensional lidar has been rotated to create a vertical scan plane. After being mounted to a turntable, the lidar makes 180° horizontal sweeps. The two-dimensional scans obtained are then assembled to produce three-dimensional point clouds. The robot combines sensor data from the onboard motor hall sensors, the IMU and GPS in an extended Kalman filter to perform accurate localisation. Once the localisation has been established, the Husky can produce a three-dimensional map of its environment whilst either stationary or travelling.

The augmented reality map, produced by the combination of the stereoscopic camera and the lidar, is updated regularly with dynamic obstacle detection. This allows the robot to avoid moving obstacles. Once the map has been updated, the Husky uses it for traversability analysis, autonomous three-dimensional path planning and motion planning.

An operator on a remote computer/laptop can remotely view streamed images from the stereoscopic camera and can control the pan tilt mount to choose the cameras direction. The operator can also interact with the Husky by drawing a three-dimensional path along its augmented reality map. After checking whether the path is feasible, the Husky will follow the path, as drawn, in the real world. To recover the robot and ensure safety of the Husky and those around it, such as in the case of a malfunction, the operator can directly override control of the robot’s wheels using a joystick controller connected on the same network.

The software and control of the robot has been designed to be installed on a robot quickly and be easy to use so anyone can operate it without a large amount of training. By allowing an operator to monitor the robot from a safe location, the domain applications can be extended for: search and rescue, agriculture, nuclear decommissioning, mining, explosive ordinance, disposal or self-driving.



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Smart Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Hangar

Niall KentishMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Alexander ShawcroftMEng (Hons) Robotics

Emily TrembethMEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Jonathan WheadonMEng (Hons) Robotics

Over the past few years, there has been a major increase in the use of airborne unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in many different applications, brought on by the increased availability, lower costs and maturity of the technology. UAVs equipped with video cameras are now frequently deployed to carry out patrols for surveillance operations in a variety of locations across the world. For example, in the agricultural industry, UAVs are being used to survey crops, providing detailed information such as the locations of crops that are either ready to harvest or need work. Once the UAV has flown around the region and collected the desired information, it will then begin to return to its hangar/base station where it will send data back to a database over a wireless link before then being recharged.

Although some hangar designs are already commercially available, many are currently overpriced. Several such current designs make use of sliding doors that open and close to let the UAV in and out, and use contact-based changing points, requiring electrical contact with the UAV to charge its batteries. Thus, to fill the gap in the market, the aim of this project, with our Industrial partner from InstaDeep Ltd, was to build a low-cost UAV hangar that incorporates integral wireless induction charging as well as all necessary control and communication systems.

The designed and constructed hangar protects the UAV from the elements during time of charging and

when storage is required. The hangar automatically opens and closes when the UAV is due to enter or leave the hanger. Paired with the UAV, it includes a landing assistance program to ensure it lands in a certain spot. This system uses four visual markers around the landing zone as well as computer visions to localise the position of the UAV with respect to the landing area.

Additionally, the hangar system includes a wireless power transmitter that aligns with a wireless power receiver on the UAV when it lands into the hanger. The landing assistance ensures that they are placed in as close proximately as possible to allow for efficient charging. The charging system senses the alignment and if the battery is low the charging process starts. From a low battery to full battery charging takes approximately 2 hours which allows the UAV to quickly take flight again.

Finally, communications with the UAV while inflight and during storage are handled by the hangar over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi for long ranges. Although the UAV will already have a pre-programmed flight plan, the communications allow the data collected to be transferred to a server and the programming for any immediate emergency procedures right away.

All these systems combined allow for a fully autonomous operations of a UAV in an area of interest whilst removing the need for constant human interaction.



Thank you to our supporters

We thank you for taking the time to support the SECaM Project Showcase 2020 and hope that this has shown the difference that industrial partner participation and engagement is making in the preparation of our University of Plymouth students as the next generation of industry professionals.

The School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics wish to thank the sponsors of the Student Projects, the External Examiners and all who continue to support our students and staff.

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ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING AND ROBOTICS

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Courses for 2020

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