We received the parts this week! Seeing everything in our hands makes for a very exciting week ahead. It's like Christmas opening up all our gadgets and toys!
Once we received the parts Taylor immediately began discussing ideas for the build of the robot with his neighbor (who is in construction). I took home the Arduino and unpackaged my Raspberry Pi. The Pi is now setup to work on my TV, so the next steps for me will be to start getting some test scenarios setup with Python.
First test case: getting a connection between the Arduino and the Pi. I hope to string a small ethernet cord between the two mini-computers and use a LAN connection for getting messages sent to each other.
For example:
1. The Raspberyy Pi will see that there is a new drink order. It grabs the details.
2. It will send a command to the Arduino indicating what motor to spin and for how long. I.e. - if it needs to get to the bottom 180 degrees from the 'home' position, it would tell it to spin the motor for that long.
3. The Arduino will send a command back saying that it has moved there and has dispensed the liquid.
4. Raspberry Pi will send the next item (next liquid to be dispensed) in the queue to the Arduino.
5. Repeat.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Post #3 - Initial Design Started
More formal sketches were hand-drawn this week. Other than that, we're just waiting for our parts to come in and doing more research on the best possible way to make it as efficient as possible.
One thing we came to the conclusion of is that we will have to rotate the bottom base, rather than the bottles up top. Two reasons:
1. Future considerations - if we ever refrigerate the top part, then the coils would twist
2. Solenoid Valves - The wires for the valves (that are attached to the opening of the bottles) would twist up since all our electrical will be sitting at the base.
One thing we came to the conclusion of is that we will have to rotate the bottom base, rather than the bottles up top. Two reasons:
1. Future considerations - if we ever refrigerate the top part, then the coils would twist
2. Solenoid Valves - The wires for the valves (that are attached to the opening of the bottles) would twist up since all our electrical will be sitting at the base.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Post #2 - Materials Ordered
The link below details all the hardware we ordered from using our student fees for this class:
http://banditim.com/Supply%20list.xlsx
We will be purchasing the materials (the entire stand to hold everything and such) from our own pockets so that we can keep it after this semester. Everything will be trial and error, so having the student fees as a cushion really helps the wallet.
All items are expected to be in by October 31. Taylor and I have agreed to split up our two tasks to be completed by that date into:
Taylor: Build the entire functional stand
Neil (me) : Program Raspberry Pi and Arduino to work together and send 'theoretical' commands to make 'theoretical' motors move
http://banditim.com/Supply%20list.xlsx
We will be purchasing the materials (the entire stand to hold everything and such) from our own pockets so that we can keep it after this semester. Everything will be trial and error, so having the student fees as a cushion really helps the wallet.
All items are expected to be in by October 31. Taylor and I have agreed to split up our two tasks to be completed by that date into:
Taylor: Build the entire functional stand
Neil (me) : Program Raspberry Pi and Arduino to work together and send 'theoretical' commands to make 'theoretical' motors move
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Post #1 - Change In Plans
We spent the first couple weeks going over ideas for our house automation idea that we previously wanted to do. After coming to the sad realization that we wouldn't be able to accomplish that without proper electrical knowledge, we began brainstorming other ideas. The conclusion is to go with a robotic drink mixer (explained in my first blog post).
Tentative required items:
- Raspberry Pi (will control all the programming aspects)
- Arduino (will control the hardware)
- Sheet of plywood for the base and top portions to hold the bottles
- Motor to spin the middle axis
- Some kind of bracing to hold the bottles upright
- Solenoid valves to hold the liquid in the bottles. Will open when the Arduino calls their motors to release the valve.
- Screws and misc. to build the station
- Metal pole (axis)
- Wiring
Tentative required items:
- Raspberry Pi (will control all the programming aspects)
- Arduino (will control the hardware)
- Sheet of plywood for the base and top portions to hold the bottles
- Motor to spin the middle axis
- Some kind of bracing to hold the bottles upright
- Solenoid valves to hold the liquid in the bottles. Will open when the Arduino calls their motors to release the valve.
- Screws and misc. to build the station
- Metal pole (axis)
- Wiring
Initial Post - Robotic Drink Mixer
Team Members: Neil Emeigh (me) and Taylor Fleeman
Client: none
Semester Completed: Fall 2014
Our project originally was going to be some sort of house automation that utilized a Raspberry Pi to turn on/off lights and other appliances. However, after looking into the technical details of messing with wiring, it became clear that we would need a licensed electrician to accomplish what we wanted to do. So, we came up with a new, and in my opinion better, project: a robotic drink mixer!
This drink mixer will allow the user to set bottles of whatever drinks above the pouring station. The bottles will be inverted so the only force needed to pour the liquid out will be to open the valve. We plan on using solenoid valves to hold the contents inside, and through the programming of a Raspberry Pi and Arduino, we will open them up accordingly.
Below is an image of the prototype we invision. On the Side View picture, the pink box will be the cup that sits idle, the middle bar will be what moves the station on the top around, the orange is where all the hardware will sit, and the red lines represent the bottles.
The idea behind the pouring will be to move the top circle plate in circles and stop at the correct time when the correct bottle is over the cup. To order your drinks we hope to be able to make a server side web page that will allow you to order from your phones or computer. The Pi will constantly be checking the database for new orders, and when one is placed, it'll get the right ingredients and start its routine.
Client: none
Semester Completed: Fall 2014
Our project originally was going to be some sort of house automation that utilized a Raspberry Pi to turn on/off lights and other appliances. However, after looking into the technical details of messing with wiring, it became clear that we would need a licensed electrician to accomplish what we wanted to do. So, we came up with a new, and in my opinion better, project: a robotic drink mixer!
This drink mixer will allow the user to set bottles of whatever drinks above the pouring station. The bottles will be inverted so the only force needed to pour the liquid out will be to open the valve. We plan on using solenoid valves to hold the contents inside, and through the programming of a Raspberry Pi and Arduino, we will open them up accordingly.
Below is an image of the prototype we invision. On the Side View picture, the pink box will be the cup that sits idle, the middle bar will be what moves the station on the top around, the orange is where all the hardware will sit, and the red lines represent the bottles.
The idea behind the pouring will be to move the top circle plate in circles and stop at the correct time when the correct bottle is over the cup. To order your drinks we hope to be able to make a server side web page that will allow you to order from your phones or computer. The Pi will constantly be checking the database for new orders, and when one is placed, it'll get the right ingredients and start its routine.
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