project descriptive title - ucf department of eecs · web viewseparate micro-controller is...

GROUP #17: Musical Robot Companion

Developed by:

Charell CodnerRollan (Buddy) Haller

Hazel MadolidMy-Linh Truong

Group 17September 23, 2009

I. Project Descriptive TitleMusical Robot Companion

II. Group Members- Charell Codner - Rollan (Buddy) Haller- Hazel Madolid- My-Linh Truong

III. Sponsors/Significant ContributorsOne of the group members is interning at Lockheed Martin through the University of Central Florida College Work Experience Program (CWEP). Colleagues may provide additional research direction.

This project focuses on robotic technology. The University of Central Florida Robotics Club may provide research direction.

The implementation of solar panels may attract Progress Energy as a potential sponsor. The project can investigate the maximum absorption of sunlight and conversion to solar energy.

IV. Project Narrative DescriptionStereos are too big to haul around and mp3 players simply do not have the personality. The Musical Robot Companion expands on where these technologies have left off. There are times when our hands are full and it would be inconvenient to drop everything to change a song. Our voices can command the robot to change tracks according to artist or genre specifications. The robot could be designed to follow the user around or remain stationary while the user performs tasks such as washing dishes, washing the car, showering, and gardening. The robot is perfect for parties and on-campus tailgating events. It may be modeled after an animal (such as a koala) with the microphone, speakers, display, and wheels as facial and body components.

V. Goals/ObjectivesThe goal is to create a user-friendly, fully functional musical companion. This project will enlighten members on the fundamental and advanced concepts of robotics. Knowledge in such matters provides possible career pursuits in industries reliant on automated aide such as the medical field, space exploration, aquatic exploration, and the automotive industry.

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VI. Specifications/Requirements

A. Required Components

1. VOICE ACTIVATED

The unidirectional microphone for voice input may be wired or wireless.

A separate micro-controller is necessary for voice activation capabilities. The Fourier transform is taken for filtering purposes in order to match waveforms. A passphrase will cue the robot when to listen for commands, otherwise it will continue to disregard outside conversation. For example, the robot will replay the current song when the user says, “Robot, replay.” The passphrase used is “robot.”

The robot will be capable of performing the following commands:

- On- Off- Repeat: The current track is replayed.- Next: The next song in sequence is played.- Random: The next song from the database is selected and played in no

particular order.- Switch tracks: The next track is chosen based on either the genre, band

name, or track title.

There are specific power requirements necessary for certain commands. For the “On” command the circuit will always have to be powered with a relay to toggle between “on” and “off.”

2. DISPLAY

The monitor size is contingent on the amount of information the group desires to display. Small monitors are only capable of displaying the track title and band name of the current song. Larger monitors have the capacity of displaying additional items such as the playlist or equalizer.

Depending on the implementation, if an LCD is used it may be networked. Another microcontroller is necessary. PICs would be programmed with MikroC Pro.

The implementation of a visual equalizer introduces several filtering issues. A software solution includes incorporating an LCD. A possible hardware solution to analog filtering, for graphic equalizers, involves high-end audio equipment with the controls also serving as the display.

The filter requirement for this project is as high as 12 kHz, which gives a sampling rate of 24 kHz. Thus to avoid aliasing, at least ten times the sampling rate is necessary which calculates to approximately 240 k-samples a second.

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3. SPEAKERS

Speakers will need to be incorporated into the robot’s design for audio output of the music. These speakers should probably be low-power so that they do not drain the power source, yet still have a high output for playing the user’s music. The music needs to be loud enough to be heard from some distance as well as over outside noises, such as running water if the user is washing dishes or showering. If necessary we may need to add another device, such as an acoustic horn, to increase the loudness of the audio. A few possible incorporations of the speakers would be for them to serve as the feet, arms, or even the eyes of our exterior bear-like animal design. It may be beneficial to use more than one kind of speaker, for example, in addition to regular speakers we can add tweeters to output higher frequencies, also.

4. MICROPHONE

The robot will feature a single microphone that will be used to capture any voice commands. In an effort to achieve more accurate voice recognition through the microphone, noise cancellation will likely be implemented or already incorporated into the device to block out unwanted background noises. It will also be necessary that the microphone has the ability to adequately pick up the voice commands from a slight distance (perhaps a few feet), as the user will not be speaking directly into it. The voice commands received from the microphone must be filtered and converted from analog waveforms to digital. The signals received will be sent to a microcontroller for pattern comparison to previously trained words.

5. SENSORS

A number of sensors will need to be equipped onto our robot depending on our final design specifications. For example, at least one motion sensor may be necessary to detect movements of the user. This would be necessary in for the robot to be able to follow the user should they move to a new location away from the robot. Additionally, obstacle avoidance is essentially a must when having the robot move autonomously. The robot must be able to detect as well as maneuver around and avoid objects in its path. This can be accomplished by mounting a minimum of four sensors facing opposing directions. In order to integrate both designs at least five sensors will be required.

6. ASTHETIC EXTERIOR

An exterior design will be incorporated in order to promote two goals: give the robot a more appealing, user-friendly design and to hide the inner circuitry from exposure to the outside environment. One potential method to achieve these goals would be to create a framework comprised of chicken wire and cover it using fiber glass. This approach would not only provide strength to the design but have more flexibility than with other materials, such as metals. The finished exterior design will probably be reminiscent of a bear-like animal, for example a koala.

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7. HARD DRIVE:

A hard drive is an important feature to this musical companion. The device capacity must be large enough to store the software in addition to having enough speed to run the software with ease. There are many methods for music storage including making use of the hard drive. If the hard drive option is chosen, then the capacity size of the drive would have to increase to allow for ample music storage.

A possible option for music storage is to utilize SD cards. This option is favorable because SD cards are a standard form of media storage in electronic devices. Additionally there are many SD readers available and integration of the device should be straight forward. IDE and serial ATA standards are less favorable on account of their lack of ease. Music would either be transferred from the SD card to the hard drive, or be played directly from the card itself.

Another option is to integrate a USB port into the robot, which will allow music transfer to occur through this device. As with SD cards, USB data transfers are also standard and common. Using this method would yield the same options when transferring music to the hard drive or allowing music to be played from the USB device. Research would be conducted to weigh the advantages and disadvantages between the two methods if the group decides to use this method.

Most people have their own personal mp3 players; therefore a viable option is to allow for integration between their device and the musical companion robot. A simple approach would be a line in jack to plug in the devices. Setbacks include having to encode the data ourselves rather than having a set standard, as well as determining how the popular mp3 players output either digital or analog data.

The last option the group is considering is allowing the robot to integrate into a wireless network. This would be a matter of implementation and research would be conducted to determine the ideal protocol, such as a Samba connection.

8. POWER CONSIDERATION:

The battery chosen to operate the robot needs to have sufficient power to play music for a continuous 4 hours, ideally, or possibly more. The battery chemistry will also have to be determined. Lithium Ion batteries would require more circuitry design for control. Most Nickel-Cadmium batteries have higher energy densities however. The exact requirements for our final design will reflect on the particular battery type chosen, depending on the needs.

Utilizing an A/C adapter to plug-in and operate the robot would allow for continual usage without any battery power drain. Integrating both an adapter and battery system would give mobility to the robot, as the device can be used when away from a power outlet. The integration between the adapter and the robot is straight forward and is not an issue to design.

A possible solar tracking component may be added to the design to investigate how tracking solar panels work in attempts to find the most power and utilize this to harvest some energy. This feature would only be added if the project is sponsored by Progress Energy.

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B. OPTIONAL COMPONENTS:

1. MOBILITY

An optional feature would be mobility, which allows for a greater diversity in uses. Wheels would be attached to the bottom of the robot would enable a broader range of movement, where the user would not have to manually move the musical companion around. To allow ease of movement for the vehicle, the body of the robot would be upon a platform of sorts and would rotate with a fairly large range of motion. Possible use of two electric motors in conjunction with three or four wheels would aid in movement.

The implementation of sensors would also be an asset for mobility. Much like the robotic vacuum, sensors located near the bottom of the device would help to avoid obstacles such as stairs, large objects, and walls. Sensors could also be used to allow the robot to follow its user, thus bringing the music wherever the user goes. Methods for tracking would be using an infrared, optical, or receiver signal attached to some part of the user for locating. This addition is fairly complex in regards to obstacle detection. Research would be conducted for these types of signals and if the group decides to include this in the final design, the most efficient option will be used.

2. Stream Radio

Another possible extra feature would be to implement an AM/FM Radio Tuner into the musical companion. This would further broaden the robot’s capabilities and appeal. If the group decides to include this feature, then the radio stations will be set manually rather than by voice.

VII. Project Budget and FinancingThe average Senior Design project is estimated to cost $1000. This bill divided among the four members is about $250 a person. If no sponsors are found, the project will solely be funded by the students.

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VIII. Block Diagram

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IX. Project MilestonesFALL 2009

SEPTEMBERWeek of 21 ResearchWeek of 28 Confirm features and capabilities

OCTOBER

Week of 5

PlanningWeek of 12Week of 19Week of 26

NOVEMBERWeek of 2 Order PartsWeek of 9

Wait for PartsWeek of 16

SPRING 2010

JANUARYWeek of 11 Build

Week of 18Week of 25

FEBRUARY

Week of 1

BuildWeek of 8

Week of 15Week of 22

MARCH

Week of 1 BuildWeek of 15

TestingWeek of 22Week of 29

APRILWeek of 5 Testing

Week of 12Presentations

Week of 19

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X. Exterior Design

A. Front View

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B. Rear View

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project descriptive title - ucf department of eecs · web viewseparate micro-controller is...

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