Inspiration
The idea started through some plain ideation about what my groups interests were and what we were looking to get out of it. We all wanted a physical component this year, but didn't really know what it wanted to be. Seeing the list of sensors available, I started on the though of echolocation and how we could explore that, which was then amplified by someone else's desire to work for assisted living. So, we decided to try and write a program that would allow individuals to avoid obstacles and map commonly traveled locations.
What it does
Using a sonic wave distance module, servo, and Arduino base, the device is able to get values relating to objects around the Arduino. The addition of an accelerometer allowed us to introduce location to that and actually formulate rough maps of locations. We also have a prototype app that attempts to offer a mobile interface for the idea.
How I built it
Through trial and error we were able to come up with an initial working hardware device, who's effectiveness was than amplified by our learning and discovery of how to effectively process the Arduino data.
Challenges I ran into
The main challenge the group ran into was the fact that we didn't know how to process the Arduino output, which proved very difficult for a long time, and would have registered the idea mute without its success. Eventually through loads of debugging and tutorials one of the group members cracked the code allowing us to push forward.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
We are extremely proud to have created a working model prototype of device at hand. In no way did we expect to get as much of the hardware done along with so much of the processing, in order to develop an ultimately well rounded, and presentable project.
What I learned
We learned a variety of skills from wiring, to processing data, to trying to involve app response from collected data. We also learned the effectiveness of splitting up some of the workload can be helpful, but the translating in between the work being done became very difficult to pull off towards the end and required all of us to work together on (referring to the issues we had with processing).
What's next for Echolo-See
Unfortunately due to hardware limitations, we were unable to hookup an app with Echolo-See, so our next step would be developing that functionality as a user friendly interface for the visually impaired.
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