AWESOME-O ROBOTIC INTERFACE
a bi-directional linear-rail-operated camera system
BACKGROUND
Dr. Richard Barker is a research scientist working at the Gilroy Lab at UW-Madison. In 2014, his lab began a NASA project to improve the capability of growing plants in the micro-gravity of space. To assess the parameters to improve growth, the lab set up an array of petri dishes with varying test conditions applied to the subjects and used a camera system on a two-dimensional pivot to record and compare their success.
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A look at the astrobotany project taken on by the Gilroy Lab at UW-Madison.
WHERE INSIGHT STEPS IN
In 2021, Dr. Richard Barker came to the Insight Engineering Club seeking the club creative input to implement a more intuitive software to control the camera system, design a more robust and capable linear rail system, implement an automatic lens switcher for the camera and make updates and upgrades to the control system of the interface.
Design REVIEW 04/07/22
THE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT
-Improved wiring quality and organization
-Implemented status lights to circuit
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THE USER INTERFACE
-Created more intuitive UI to control the linear rail
-Implemented better system of documentation to allow for expandable UI
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THE FILTER SWITCHER
-Designed a battery-powered automatic lens switcher to replace clunky manually-switched filters
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THE LINEAR RAIL
-Implemented new cable pulley system -> increased speed/efficiency
-Rewrote motor firmware to be more compatible w/ microcontroller
THE INTERFACE ENCLSOURE
-Designed a touchscreen interface implementing UI to control linear rail system
-Enclosure for microcontroller, PCB and system power switch
