Be sure to listen to this week's update on CASE Wednesday!

 

The fourth week was another productive one. The project is now nearing its final stages, as the final presentation deadline is fast approaching. This week consisted on improving some existing parts of the project, the beginning of creating the case, and further integration between the hardware and software parts of the project.

 

The Hardware team had managed to get the servo motors and LDRs to work correctly without being mounted on the coffee machine. This week the Hardware team worked on placing the motors and LDRs in such a way for the case to be built to maintain their position. There was added functionality between the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi where the Arduino can now send a signal to the Raspberry Pi indicating the status of the coffee machine. This was done using a 4-bit code which allows for a total of 16 possible signals the Arduino can send to the Raspberry Pi. Although not all the possibilities are used, this allows for future modifications to be made if they are required.

 

The code has also been nicely summarised into a code operation diagram making it easy to follow and understand. The power issue that was found the previous week was solved by using an adaptor connected to mains which now provides the necessary power to move all the motors. The Hardware team is now working on finalising a case design that would ensure that the servo motors are supported and maintained in the required position while they operate.

 

The Software team have also been hard at work. The facial recognition function is being improved to ensure that it can correctly identify people. There are certain limitations with the API’s available which we are working to overcome. The voice recognition aspect is working well. We are now able to transcribe speech as the person is speaking. The team is now working on a way to activate the mic for listening, whether this be a phrase or another method. There has been further progress on the additional features available while using the coffee machine. The Software team have implemented a song selection which can play music while the user is waiting for their coffee. Live news is also available to be presented while waiting for coffee.

 

The main focus for this has been to make progress on the case. The design is still being finalised on AutoCAD, however, certain parts of the case are completed in CAD and have been 3D printed. Although the parts of the case are not too large, when 3D printed they do take time and so the process of printing the parts has started well in advance of the presentation date to allow for any reprints to be completed and ensure that the case is well assembled for the demonstration. The most challenging part for the creation of the case is now to provide the necessary support for the servo motors to be kept in place. This will be done in CAD and then printed and tried.

 

Overall, it has been another successful week of achieving targets that were set. The project has progressed well and is close to completion. The hardware used for the project has been placed on the coffee machine. The case has started being created, with extra care taken to ensure that the hardware is well supported. Further functions have been added on top of voice recognition to enhance the user experience while ordering coffee. The group is now working hard to bring all the loose ends together and have a final product and test it out by the end of the next week.