HERB UNlocked

Inspiration

The inspiration for HERB UNlocked came from the need to assist individuals who are paralyzed and have limited mobility. The goal was to create a solution that would enable them to interact with their environment and perform everyday tasks by using their voice. We wanted to make a robot that could serve as an aid to help improve the quality of life for these individuals by giving them greater control over their surroundings.

What it does

HERB UNlocked is a robot designed to help paralyzed individuals perform tasks by responding to voice commands. The robot listens to instructions through a website interface and executes actions based on those commands. Whether it's adjusting the environment, performing simple tasks, or aiding in communication, the robot acts as an accessible assistant for those who have difficulty with physical mobility.

How we built it

We built HERB UNlocked using a Raspberry Pi running the QNX operating system, which provided the necessary reliability and real-time performance for controlling the robot. The web application was developed using Gadget, a framework that allowed us to efficiently build and manage the interactive features on the website. The speech-to-text feature enables users to issue commands to the robot simply by speaking, making the system highly accessible.

Challenges we ran into

One of the key challenges we encountered was ensuring smooth communication between the web application and the robot's hardware. Integrating voice recognition and translating it into actionable tasks for the robot was another challenge, as we needed to ensure that the system would respond accurately to different speech patterns and commands. Additionally, setting up the Raspberry Pi to interface properly with the QNX OS and ensuring stability for long-term use required significant effort.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of successfully creating a functional voice-controlled robot that can execute tasks as instructed by users. The integration of the web application and the robot was seamless, and the use of QNX on the Raspberry Pi provided the real-time performance needed for reliability. Moreover, the accessibility of the system for paralyzed individuals is a major accomplishment, making it easier for them to interact with their surroundings.

What we learned

Throughout this project, we learned about the challenges of integrating web applications with physical hardware, especially in terms of real-time performance. We also gained experience working with QNX on a Raspberry Pi, which required us to understand the intricacies of embedded systems. Additionally, developing a voice interface and making sure it worked reliably across different users' voices taught us valuable lessons in natural language processing and speech recognition.

What's next for HERB UNlocked

The next steps for HERB UNlocked involve improving the voice recognition capabilities to handle a broader range of accents and commands. We also plan to expand the functionality of the robot to perform more complex tasks, such as fetching items or assisting with daily activities. Additionally, we aim to refine the web interface for better user experience and further test the robot with individuals who could benefit most from this technology.