ShoreSweep

Logo
Beach
Job Explination
Full view
Garbage storage
Side profile
Rear View

Inspiration

The inspiration for our project came from our passion to support environmental sustainability as well as our interest in robotics

What it does

Our robot is designed to take in its current position and scan the beach's shoreline to determine the area of which it will clean. It will drive over the beach with a Roomba like movement back and forth. It will scoop up garbage in the sand and transfer it into a conveyor belt to carry the trash into a storage compartment. Our goal of this project was to solely use computer vision to allow the robot to navigate with full autonomy. As a compromise, the robot automatically turns around when close enough to the shore line, and the robot can be controlled via a Wii mote or any D-pad interface.

How we built it

We built the prototype using a variety of materials, mainly Lego and cardboard. To hold things together, we used masking tape and hot glue. For our electronics we used two Arduinos, two dc motors, and one stepper motor.

Challenges we ran into

The major challenge of our project was the lack adequate electronic devices. We struggled with the implementation of the drivetrain as we only had the option to use 5v motor to lead our project. The time constraintswas a big problem we faced, as we knew what we had to execute but didn't have the time to do so. Another problem was the electronics not working properly. Many of our electrical appliances either didn't work which made testing very difficult. As a result we had to make a compromise to our full autonomy goal.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

One major accomplishment we made during this project was shoreline detection using OpenCV on android. Our robot is able to sense the boundaries of the beach and stay onto of the sand to prevent human intervention. Another accomplishment which we achieved was the creation of our dual Arduino intercommunication, which allowed us to communicate form android to Arduino via USB, then Arduino to Arduino via Digital comm.

What we learned

We learn much more about the intricacies of Arduino programming as well as how to connect Arduino to Arduino.

What's next for ShoreSweep

Our next step is to create a full prototype for our beach cleaner, with better parts and materials. We will also continue this project to add full autonomous navigation as per our goal. We plan to continue working and developing our skills to help improve our environment.