Week 7 Update

This week the team's progress continued steadily. We made our first great batch of gels and we have taken note of the exact procedure we used so we may repeat it again. We are still waiting for our 3D printed components, and until we get them there is not much more progress we can make. The image processing scripts and motor control scripts are finished and now must be tweaked to fit the system parameters once we start testing. Unfortunately, we are unable to start testing our system as a whole due to the delay in our 3D printed components. This makes further progress difficult, so we are staying patient. Until then, we will continue to make fine adjustments to our individual parts.

Week 6 Update

During week 6, the team made more strides towards their eventual goal. The team's motor control and image processing script were successfully integrated and can communicate with one another. The motor can now reliably spin at different speeds depending on the position of the magnet. This system now needs to be cleaned up and optimized for the best performance possible. The 3-D printed components are still waiting in queue to be printed. Full system integration and testing will begin during week 7. The team also made more batches of gel, which have yet to sit properly. Looking ahead, the team now has to polish and perfect the pieces as they come together in week 7. 

Week 5 Update

This week, the team made the first batch of the agarose gel. The gel was tested with the magnets. It was observed that the first batch was not good. There was big inconsistency in the gel which caused the small magnet to move fast in some areas of the gel and slow in other areas. Another batch of gel will be prepared in week 6. The 3-D models were sent for printing and the team is waiting for them to be approved.

Week 4 Update

The team is making solid progress towards their goal. All the separate components like the image processing script, 3-D CAD components, and motor control scripts are nearing their final versions. This allows them to fall into place for the final project. The image processing and motor control scripts were combined together in a single script. The goal was to have the motor spin at different speeds depending on the position of the magnet. The team improvised a moving magnet with a dark circle drawn on a piece of paper. We then moved it in front of the camera and watched as the motor moved at different speeds. A great success! Now we can move to tweak the parameters so that the motor can spin at the best speeds to accomplish the task at hand. Finally, the team received the materials to make the gel. We will need to conduct additional research in order to determine how to make our gel. Looking ahead, we have our solid framework for us to conduct tests on. From our tests, we can edit our framework a bit to get our desired final result.     

Week 3 Update

Week 3 was very successful for the team. On the coding side of things, the first draft of the image recognition software was completed, then finalized by the end of the week. There was some trouble finding the correct parameters in order to maintain accuracy and efficiency, but a working copy has now been established. The next step for the coding will be revising this program and integrating it into the motor control script. The motor script was designed this week and now accepts commands to move the motor forward or backward for a given amount of time. Some calculations will be needed to mate the two scripts including how longs each command should last and the motor speed. Also this week, we received our shipment of magnets so we will start experimenting with them Week 4, hopefully with some agarose gel. Finally, on the mechanical side, 3D designing has begun and will continue this week and next. Laxmi also received her Tier 2 and 3 training in order to begin machining parts of the frame following their design phase.

Week 2 Update

During the second week, the team has accomplished many tasks. They drew rough sketches of all the mechanical components such as the magnet mount, camera mount, dish mount and etc. Below, there are pictures of the drawn sketches. Also, they have decided that they will be using python for the entire project. This can be accomplished through Open CV which is an open source computer and machine learning software library. Open CV runs in python which reduces the learning curve. It has also been decided that the Arduino will be replaced with Raspberry Pi. This is because it is an easier integration with Open CV and there will be no need for an extra computer. After deciding that they are going to use Raspberry Pi, they ordered the desired magnets and the Raspberry Pi.

                                         

Week 1 Update

Week 1

During the first week, the team took time to familiarize themselves with the equipment and ironed out their approach to the problem. They decided that rotating the dish with the motor would be the most straightforward solution to the challenge at hand. They also were given their Arduino micro-computer along with a DC motor. After figuring out some of the built-in functions of the Arduino, they moved to simple circuit assembly on the breadboard. They programmed an LED to blink at a certain frequency, then eventually moved to programm a motor to spin at different speeds. These tools are integral to solving the problem, so the team seeks to gain absolute mastery over them. The team concluded their lab session by outlining their goals for the week to come.