Team 31 CART Update (3/20/2020)
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The first (planned) setback was spring break. After a grueling week of midterms and project, we took a break and spent some time recuperating. As a result, productivity was low from 3/9 to 3/13. In addition to taking a break, we had other responsibilities ranging from job interviews to thesis projects. However, we planned to increase the amount of time dedicated to the CART (starting March 16th).
Unfortunately, as you are no doubt aware, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic, and the situation evolved rapidly. Over spring break, the university went from one extreme to the other - at first, we thought no classes would get cancelled. Now, all of our classes are online for the rest of the semester, multiple deadlines have been adjusted, test dates moved, etc. During this chaotic period, there was uncertainty about the level of safety on campus, and some of our families advocated for caution above all else. As such, we were unable to make any major progress on the CART. We were able to accomplish some minor tasks including soldering connections, moving wires and other tasks.
In addition to the hardware tasks, team members are working remotely on software tasks (to the extent possible). Current work items include learning more about promising ROS software packages, going through tutorials, and rudimentary obstacle detection work with the depth camera. Unfortunately, we made less progress than we initially anticipated. We acknowledge that we are now behind schedule, and we hope to rectify that as soon as possible.
We hope to receive the laser rangefinders within the week and we have involved other professors in the effort to contact our sponsor at the NCALM. Upon receiving the scanners, we plan to test and mount them (in combination with the rangefinders) using our software platform on ROS. We hope to finalize the navigation and obstacle detection software in the next few weeks. In the event we are unable to receive the rangefinders before the project deadline, we plan to implement the obstacle detection software using only the depth camera. For the safety of the CART, we will endeavor to address any roadblocks to receiving the rangefinders before the deadline.
Finally, the situation with the Coronavirus is unpredictable but we hope the worst has passed. Barring the enforcement of travel restrictions to curb the further spread of the virus, we plan to complete the project before the end of the semester.
Progress since our last post (March 6 - March 20)
According to our last blog post, we planned to mount all of our sensors onto the CART and have them operational. However, there have been numerous setbacks.The first (planned) setback was spring break. After a grueling week of midterms and project, we took a break and spent some time recuperating. As a result, productivity was low from 3/9 to 3/13. In addition to taking a break, we had other responsibilities ranging from job interviews to thesis projects. However, we planned to increase the amount of time dedicated to the CART (starting March 16th).
Unfortunately, as you are no doubt aware, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic, and the situation evolved rapidly. Over spring break, the university went from one extreme to the other - at first, we thought no classes would get cancelled. Now, all of our classes are online for the rest of the semester, multiple deadlines have been adjusted, test dates moved, etc. During this chaotic period, there was uncertainty about the level of safety on campus, and some of our families advocated for caution above all else. As such, we were unable to make any major progress on the CART. We were able to accomplish some minor tasks including soldering connections, moving wires and other tasks.
In addition to the hardware tasks, team members are working remotely on software tasks (to the extent possible). Current work items include learning more about promising ROS software packages, going through tutorials, and rudimentary obstacle detection work with the depth camera. Unfortunately, we made less progress than we initially anticipated. We acknowledge that we are now behind schedule, and we hope to rectify that as soon as possible.
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| Image representing the COVID-19 pandemic |
Planned work for the near future (March 20 - April 3)
The situation with global pandemic is still developing and there is a slight possibility of large-scale quarantines enforced in the Houston area. Pending any major developments (e.g. self-quarantine of a team member that is working on hardware), we plan to continue working on the CART’s navigation and obstacle detection systems.We hope to receive the laser rangefinders within the week and we have involved other professors in the effort to contact our sponsor at the NCALM. Upon receiving the scanners, we plan to test and mount them (in combination with the rangefinders) using our software platform on ROS. We hope to finalize the navigation and obstacle detection software in the next few weeks. In the event we are unable to receive the rangefinders before the project deadline, we plan to implement the obstacle detection software using only the depth camera. For the safety of the CART, we will endeavor to address any roadblocks to receiving the rangefinders before the deadline.
Finally, the situation with the Coronavirus is unpredictable but we hope the worst has passed. Barring the enforcement of travel restrictions to curb the further spread of the virus, we plan to complete the project before the end of the semester.
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| Robot Operating System (ROS) logo |
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