Week 9: The Brains of the Operation

As the weeks of Senior Project come to a close, I’ve begun putting finishing touches on Boomerang to get her ready to present to the masses.

This week, I wired and programmed the brains of the operation, the Raspberry Pi computer.

Boomerang knows to drop a package when an onboard camera detects the smallest of a series of three QR codes detected on the ground. Using the Huskylens camera, I trained the device to recognize tag and received data on the Pi regarding its placement in the frame. Using this data, I am able to determine if it is appropriate to drop a package at a given location.

After confirming the functionality of the camera system, I moved to programming the gripper that holds the packages. Last week, I 3D modeled the system and printed it. This week, with only 10 lines of code, I was able to actuate the gripper so that it opens and closes in a span of five seconds.

Now that I had both the camera and the gripper working separately, I created a new program where I combined their functionality. The logic is simple: if the smallest tag is detected in the frame of the camera, open the gripper! I did run into a few issues in terms of running the programs on the Raspberry Pi as it suddenly stopped connecting to my monitor! I’m used to working with Arduino, so I had to learn how to use SSH (Secure Shell) to control the Raspberry Pi remotely.

Once the systems worked in harmony, I finally mounted them onto Boomerang! The gripper is now located at under the battery and the Huskylens camera is located towards the top of “The Sandwich” near the flight controller.

I’ve also begun thinking about how I can display all of the technology I’ve developed as the final presentation date nears. I’m planning to build a stand where viewers can interact with Boomerang using buttons and visual cues.

Over the next few days, I’ll start building this display and also take Boomerang for a few test flights with the new tech equipped so that I can fine-tune her flight and ensure that her features are working as intended.

Hopefully, Boomerang survives her next round of testing! Until next week…