DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
1.   How would you describe your project to your friends and colleagues?  How would you describe it to a future employer?
  • To a friend or colleague, I would describe it as a Robot that guides visually impaired individuals in an indoor environment and help them avoiding obstacles in the path.
  • To a future employer, I would describe it as robotic guide device programmed using LabVIEW.  This device does two things; the first thing is navigating through a Hallway using color tags and color sensor, and the second thing it avoids any obstacles in the path using ultrasound sensors.  So this device is capable of sensing the environment in order to reach a certain location and avoiding obstacles on the way.
2.   What specific skills and knowledge did you learn from senior biodesign?
  • I learned a lot about LabView and programming language.  It helped me to think to more creatively.  It was challenging at the beginning to apply all the basic science and math that I have learning to make a medical device.  I learned how to work in a group and divide the work among us. I built some new communication skills through our presentations in class and I learned so much about the medical devices market and their business aspects and regulations.  Most importantly, I learned that there are always new ideas and new solutions of any problem you might face in life.
3.   How can you apply what you discovered and learned to other areas of your life?

  • Life is full of problems and difficulties, but one thing I learned from this class is the every problem has many different solutions; you just need to think carefully.  Creativity is the key word of life that I have learned and I have to apply it to all areas of my life.
4.   What was your favorite aspect of your project?
  • My favorite part of this project is programming especially writing the obstacle avoidance code.  When we divided up the work, I was totally afraid that I would not be able to figure out the code, but I started to think of it mathematically and then applied it on LabView written code.  It is my favorite part because I spent time working on it and proud of myself for figuring it out.

5.   What problems or challenges did you encounter?  Did the challenges cause you to discover something new about your field of study?

 

  • I had a problem thinking of how the robot makes turns on different situations.  I was thinking of many things at the same time.  I didn't know how any of the sensors work and these were my biggest challenges.
  • These challenges caused me to discover new things about my field of study, I learned about different types of sensors and how important it is to have a background on what you should be doing before start working on it.  Also, it is complicated to program a robot to perform many tasks, so we divided the tasks into different SubVIs or codes which made things simpler and put them together.  So I have learned how to think simple, and how to divide complicated tasks into different simpler ones for the whole task to be completed.  This is what I experienced in the obstacle avoidance code, I would not figure out the whole program without thinking of how the robot can make the first right turn.  So step by step procedure simplifies any task.
6.   What would you do or change about your project if you could start over again?
  • If I have the opportunity to start over again, I would try to find better types of sensors for more accurate readings.  I would also try to find a different device than working with the NXT device which has limited number of ports, so we could attach all the sensors to it.  I would to change or improve my prototype, so I would think of a better one.
7.   What would you like to learn further about your project if you had the time to continue to work on it?

  • If I have the chance to continue working on my project, I would like to upscale the project into an actual device, and to add new features to it.  I would like my robot to draw a map of the place in its memory, so that we can get rid of the color tags.  Then the robot will be able to navigate as the information is stored already in its memory.  So we can upload a map of any new place to the robot and then it is able to navigate in the new environment.  There are always new ideas and new features that we can add to the robot, so this is one of the projects that you can always modify and upgrade.
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
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