Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
39 Auto cat snack dispenser and exercise machine
 Natalie Xu
Yuhan Bi
Zutai Chen
 Jeff Chang design_document3.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
other1.pdf
photo1.JPG
photo2.JPG
photo3.JPG
photo4.JPG
presentation1.pdf
proposal2.pdf
proposal1.pdf
# Team Members:
- Zutai Chen (zutaic2)
- Yuhan Bi (yuhanbi2)
- Natalie Xu (hanzexu2)
# Problem
When people are not at home, pet cats may get bored and
hungry. Although there are many types of auto feeders on the
market, most of them are designed to dispense food based
simply on the remote command of the owner or the request of
the cat itself. There are several problems related to such designs.
Feeders that are based solely on the cats’ demands may cause
cats to overeat and have unhealthy diet habits. Other feeders,
which require owners to grant permission every time, can be
inconvenient and useless when owners are not able to stay
active. In addition, both two types of feeders mentioned above
fail to keep track of the amount of exercise cats have done,
especially when the owners are not there to play with their cats.
Therefore, how to cheer cats up, feed them automatically, and
ensure enough exercise of them have all become problems.
# Solution
To solve the three problems mentioned above, we are planning
to design an auto cat snack dispenser and exercise machine. This
cat feeder toy project involves two crucial parts: a movement
detection unit, an entertainment unit, and a snack dispenser. It
can attract cats’ attention and lead them to do exercise, and it
can also detect cats’ movements and record how many exercises
cats have done. After the cats have done enough exercises, this
device will start to drop food for them.
# Solution Components
## Subsystem 1: The entertainment unit
We plan to use a red laser pointer to attract cats’ attention. This
red laser pointer will be attached to the ceiling, which can be
turned on once the infrared sensor detects cats’ approaching.
Once the laser pointer is turned on, the system starts to record
cats’ movements.
## Subsystem 2: The movement detection unit
We will use four types of sensors to detect cats’ movement.
Three sensors will be placed in a special cat collar except for the
infrared sensor, which will be placed on the dispenser.
Gyroscope: This sensor is to measure the angular rotational
velocity and acceleration of cats.
Gravity sensors: This sensor measures cats’ movement in a
vertical direction. When cats jump up on the table, their
movements can also be recorded.
Accelerometers: This sensor is to ensure that cats are physically
doing exercises. It can measure the acceleration of our cats.
Infrared sensors: This sensor is used to detect if cats approach
the machine. It turns on the machine when the cat is seeking
snacks under it.
## Subsystem 3: The snacks dispenser
After enough exercises are recorded, snacks will be dispensed.
This subsystem ensures a fixed amount of snacks is dispensed
each time. The system then halts for a period of time until the
next activation becomes available.
# Criterion For Success
● The machine turns itself on and activates the entertainment
subsystem when a cat is seeking food under the dispenser.

● If the cat does not react to the entertainment system after a
a short period of time, the machine turns off automatically
and waits for the next activation.

● Cats’ movements are recorded, and the machine will
dispense snacks after a certain amount of exercise are
reached.

● Once snacks are dispensed, the system will turn off and rest
for a period of time before the next activation is available
to limit the total amount of snacks offered.


(We stayed after the class and got permission to move to RFA.)

Cloud-controlled quadcopter

Anuraag Vankayala, Amrutha Vasili

Cloud-controlled quadcopter

Featured Project

Idea:

To build a GPS-assisted, cloud-controlled quadcopter, for consumer-friendly aerial photography.

Design/Build:

We will be building a quad from the frame up. The four motors will each have electronic speed controllers,to balance and handle control inputs received from an 8-bit microcontroller(AP),required for its flight. The firmware will be tweaked slightly to allow flight modes that our project specifically requires. A companion computer such as the Erle Brain will be connected to the AP and to the cloud(EC2). We will build a codebase for the flight controller to navigate the quad. This would involve sending messages as per the MAVLink spec for sUAS between the companion computer and the AP to poll sensor data , voltage information , etc. The companion computer will also talk to the cloud via a UDP port to receive requests and process them via our code. Users make requests for media capture via a phone app that talks to the cloud via an internet connection.

Why is it worth doing:

There is currently no consumer-friendly solution that provides or lets anyone capture aerial photographs of them/their family/a nearby event via a simple tap on a phone. In fact, present day off-the-shelf alternatives offer relatively expensive solutions that require owning and carrying bulky equipment such as the quads/remotes. Our idea allows for safe and responsible use of drones as our proposed solution is autonomous, has several safety features, is context aware(terrain information , no fly zones , NOTAMs , etc.) and integrates with the federal airspace seamlessly.

End Product:

Quads that are ready for the connected world and are capable to fly autonomously, from the user standpoint, and can perform maneuvers safely with a very simplistic UI for the common user. Specifically, quads which are deployed on user's demand, without the hassle of ownership.

Similar products and comparison:

Current solutions include RTF (ready to fly) quads such as the DJI Phantom and the Kickstarter project, Lily,that are heavily user-dependent or user-centric.The Phantom requires you to carry a bulky remote with multiple antennas. Moreover,the flight radius could be reduced by interference from nearby conditions.Lily requires the user to carry a tracking device on them. You can not have Lily shoot a subject that is not you. Lily can have a maximum altitude of 15 m above you and that is below the tree line,prone to crashes.

Our solution differs in several ways.Our solution intends to be location and/or event-centric. We propose that the users need not own quads and user can capture a moment with a phone.As long as any of the users are in the service area and the weather conditions are permissible, safety and knowledge of controlling the quad are all abstracted. The only question left to the user is what should be in the picture at a given time.

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