EECS/BioE C106A Final Project: Group 6
Inspired by previous labs involving vision and raw image generation and visualization, our group wanted to incorporate the use of a camera into our project. Our initial ideas included puzzle reconstruction using suction force, maze navigation using a marker and AR tags, and ball launching using a custom air pressurized launcher. Ultimately, our group chose to implement the ball launching mechanism using air pressure and common household materials.
Our project took inspiration from the game Cup Pong, a popular game offered on Apple devices through the GamePigeon app. In this game, a set of 10 cups are arranged in a 1-2-3-4 pattern, creating four layers of a gradually increasing number of cups. The arrangement of the cups is very similar to that of bowling pins in a typical 10 pin game. The goal of the game is to throw a ping pong ball into each of the cups, removing the cups one by one until the final cup is removed. This game is generally played with two people in a turn-based competition-style format, where each team tries to remove all their cups from the table before the other group.
Because of the imprecise nature of the air-pressurized launcher, as well as the small size of the cup, we chose to make our target container a box, with further iterations of the device being able to launch the ping pong ball into a smaller container.
The ultimate goal of our project was to enable a Sawyer robot to locate, aim at, and launch a ping pong ball into a target container, placed a distance away from the robot. We wanted to incorporate the use of a vision tool, specifically the Sawyer right arm camera, to identify an AR tag attached to the target container, as well as calculate the ideal launch angle for the arm to launch the ping pong ball into the container.
This project as well as its background and design elements provide many elements that set it apart from others and make its implementation overall more interesting. First, our project not only incorporates elements of computer science and electrical engineering, but also that of mechanical engineering and physics. Our project depends a lot on calculations and mathematics as well as structural components with the launcher and air pressurized gauge used to launch the ping pong ball.
There are various real-world applications to our launcher, one of which is that of sports training. The world of sports training is a dynamic field which is constantly changing and being improved with new technologies and scientific advances. Our device could be used to help professional athletes with their training regimens, with the implementation of a more powerful launcher and the ability to track moving targets.