Richard LandauSarah PattenJacob Stewart

BROBOTTHE STUDY COMPANIONGROUP 25

BroBot assists in easing the minds of students longing for a worry-free break.

Watches study materials while the user is away from the table.

Sends updated images and alerts to user through an

Android app on user’s phone.

Will provide real-time updates and will notify user if something is stolen.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Detect theft of an object.

Alert user when a theft

occurs.

Be reliable and simple to

use.

Rechargeable or easily

replaceable battery

Be lightweight, portable,

and aff ordable.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Specification

Weight Less than 3 lbs

Dimensions Less than 6inX6inX6in when closed

Communication Range At least 250 ft

Battery Life while in operation

At least 2 hours

Image Comparison Rate 2/sec

Refresh App Picture Every 15 seconds

DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

OVERALL BLOCK DIAGRAM

All of the computations are on the microcontroller side

A good amount of serial communication protocols (SPI, I2C, UART)

Low power modes including sleep modeSpecial features with digital cameras (?)Good community backingCheap development board with all the pin

outs on the microcontroller

PROCESSOR CONSIDERATIONS

TM4C123GH6PM STM32F407VG ATSAM4S

Flash Memory 256 KB 1 MB 1 MB

SRAM 32 KB 192KB 128 KB

GPIOs 43 72 47

Max Speed 80 MHz 168 MHz 120 MHz

Package 64 LQFP 100 LQFP 64 LQFP

Dev Price (USD) 12.99 14.90 39.00

Board pluses Not too many output pins but has good community behind it

Comes with many MEMS sensors and all output pins

Comes with 2GB external flash and all output pins

ARM MICROCONTROLLERS

3.3V VoltageLow power modesDigital Camera

Interface(DCMI)Can take 8 bit parallel

data from a cameraGood amount of SRAMFast operation speedA lot of serial

communication linesGood community backing

it with pre-written libraries for most features

STM32F407VG

MT9D111 LinkSprite JPEG Color Camera

Control Communication

Own protocol UART

Data Lines 8 Bit Parallel UART

Voltage 3.1V 5V

Current (Max Operation)

350 mA 100mA

Max Resolution 1600x1200 640x480

Cost 20.00 44.95

CAMERAS

Cheap and smallAdjustable outputAdjustable resolutionAdjustable quality on

the JPEGsParallel dataControl on shutter

speed, and auto focusSleep modesHas own serial protocol Interfacing parallel data

might be tricky

MT9D111

Local shippingHigher voltage neededData is serial making it

easier to interface but slower overall

Smaller resolutionWill be used mostly for

testing, or used if we have troubles with the MT9D111

Bought since we are under budget

LINKSPRITE JPEG COLOR CAMERA

Wi-Fi direct and Bluetooth are comparable

Wi-Fi direct has longer range than Bluetooth

However, Bluetooth has more support and is easier to implement

Bluetooth is also more common in everyday life so we wanted experience with it

BLUETOOTH VS WIFI-DIRECT

Chose RN41 due to low cost, high range, and black box functionality

WT41 strong contender but expensive and drains battery quickly

Bluetooth Module Comparison

Name TI LMX9830

BC04 RN41 BLE112 WT41

Connection Type

UART UART UART UART UART

Range 2 – 10m 1-15m 1 – 100m 2-10m 1-800m

Low Power

Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Price $13.46 $9.96 $21.70 $21.00 $33.00

All components need 3.3V

Around 500mA when everything is going

Power source needs to be small and lightweight

Rechargeable or easily replicable power source

One switching regulator3 AA Batteries held in a

battery holder

POWER SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Exact platform hasn’t

been determined

Bluetooth antenna needs

to be protruding

Small and lightweight

Expandable/ Contractible

casing for easy traveling

BROBOT’S PLATFORM

Use computer vision techniques.Compare 2 images from diff erent points in timeDetermine if there has been a significant amount of

change

ITEM WATCHING OVERVIEW

≠

Store an “original” image

Every ½ a second, take a new picture

Compare new picture with “original”

If the images differ by too much, sound alarm

Every 15 seconds replace “original” with the

newest picture taken

ALGORITHM EXPLANATION

PSEUDOCODE

Android application’s main focus is to alert

the user if something has been stolen

Picture of BroBot’s current view will be

refreshed for the user to view at any time

App will vibrate to alert the user if something

is taken

APP SUMMARY

Android represents a bigger market shareDoes not require a Mac to codeGood APIs to interface with Bluetooth

ANDROID VS IOS

VS

APP DESIGN

Initial screen shown upon startup

If connection fails, user will see an error

If it succeeds…

User will be taken to screen showing BroBot’s field of vision

When his sight is aligned properly, press the button to start the item watching software

This button will be replaced with a “Stop Watching” button, or a “Silence Alarm” button if it is tripped falsely.

BLUETOOTH CONNECTION

Once Bluetooth connection is established, app opens an input thread and output thread

Output thread stays idle and waits for signals to be sent to BroBot

Input thread constantly looks for new pictures or information from BroBot

Bluetooth’s input stream buff er reads in an array of bytes

Combine these bytes and restore the original picture

Bluetooth module to terminal communication

Items are bought

Item watching algorithm done

App GUI is done

SUCCESSES!

Camera shipping

App Bluetooth Connection

Converting byte array into viewable JPEG

Enough time for testing for Item Watching

Finalize power

DIFFICULTIES

Item PricePlatform $20.00STM Discovery Development Board

$14.90

RN-41 Bluetooth Module $21.702 Megapixel camera $18.99Printed Circuit Boards $75.00Report Binding $15.00Batteries $20PVC supplies $20.00 Total $205.59

ORIGINAL BUDGET

Item PriceSTM Discovery Development Board

$0.00(Previously Owned)

RN-41 Bluetooth Module $29.89MT9D111 Camera $18.99Backup Camera $44.95Report Binding $5 Total $98.83

CURRENT SPENDING

Still $106.76 in our budget

Need: Platform Battery PCB

App communicating with module by fi rst week of February

Bluetooth Module communicating with ARM processor by mid February

Camera communications finished by end of February Item watching program tested and working on a

desktop by end of FebruaryPCB designed and finished by early MarchFull app development finished by mid March Item watching program testing during March, finished

by end of MarchFull prototype testing during mid March and finished

by early April

PLANS FOR SUCCESS

PROGRESS CHART

Total

Testing

Prototype

Design

Research

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

48

20

20

78

72

Total Progress

Siren implementation

Video stream

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

QUESTIONS?