to mark as completed Progress so far...
Our first prototype is a motor-driven car with a processor, battery, a tilt/pan mount for a smart tablet (the photo here shows a cellphone being used), an Echo Dot (for voice control, we will be replacing the Dot with our own mic and software later), and ultrasound and Hall sensors (for motion control and positioning). The car's function is controlled by apps running on the smart device; the onboard processor provides basic management of the motor, encoder, servos, sensors, and power with control features to prevent the app from damaging the car or property.
The track is 1-1/2 inch aluminum T beam, which as fairly light and easy to install onto a ceiling with either a screw-mount or clips (for hanging ceiling systems). We have designed a track switching unit (basically an inverted railroad-style turntable) so that the cars can use more than one track. One end of the track has a coupler where the car can autonomously connect for battery charging (both the car and the smart device) when its power is low.
All of the parts are off-the-shelf stuff except for the body, the ceiling brackets and the charge coupler (which are 3D printed PLA). We are using a Raspberry PI for system control and the team is currently working on writing the operating system and designing the charging port connection. The connected smart device controls the car (including the pan/swivel servos and sensors/actuators) via commands to the processor. The motor has an encoder so we can determine the car’s position by the recorded movement and we also have hall sensors on the car to detect magnets positioned on the track to act as position markers. The car will have ultrasound transducers at each end for collision avoidance. We will be posting the operating system and its commands so that others can write apps to run on the ERAD.
I will keep updating this as we move along so please check back. Thanks