Design Competition 2019

Design

Your device will most likely consist of 3 components:

• An single part extractor
• A part examiner
• A part sorter

In the industrial world many small parts need to be sorted.

Usually a snake feeder is used to extract individual parts:

• https://bytechlab.com/2018/07/smd-parts-bowl-feeder-prototype/

It can be seen in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkSPxxsz-j8

For examining the parts usually a conveyor belt is used with a camera and machine vision with OpenCV.

An example conveyor belt with sorter is shown here:

• https://youtu.be/y_S9Xsn-p0I

For sorting one can use mechanical flaps or compressed air or a robotic arm:

• Compressed air: https://youtu.be/vbSww5SBqN4
• Robotic arm: https://youtu.be/ClXfa4stfJM
• Cross Belt Sorter: https://youtu.be/kfi3LS0V-18

Software

I recommend using GRIP and USB camera to identify the objects. GRIP can be obtained here: https://github.com/WPIRoboticsProjects/GRIP/releases

Develop a pipeline as explained in class. You will want a pipeline that detects one object only. Then develop a pipeline for the other object and so on.

You can run GRIP on your notebook computer and use the same USB camera as you will use on RasPi

In GRIP generate code and select python. Save the file and name it for the object it can detect.

Each file will have a class called GripPipeline. You will want to merge the files for all the objects into one file grip.py. You can rename the class GripPipeline in the file to GripPiplineSmallScrew for example. You will have as many pipelines as you have objects to detect.

In your main program:

from grip.py import GripPipelineSmallScrew

from grip.py import GripPipelineBigScrew

from grip.py import GripPipelineNut

gpSmallScrew = GripePipelineSmallScrew()

..

While loop

img = read camera

gpSmallScrew.process(img)

gpBigScrew.process(img)

results are in

gpSmallScrew.countours.... # check your python file what they were named

# Contours Found

decide which contours were found

# No matching contour

Grabage

# No contour

Garbage

Alternatively you can follow these instructions:

https://www.pyimagesearch.com/2016/03/28/measuring-size-of-objects-in-an-image-with-opencv/

Getting Ready for Design Competition, Schedule:

Lecture

• May 2nd Tu 11-12:30 Lab clean up, Quiz

Competition

• May 3rd We 15-17 Lab session helps setup
• May 3rd We 17-19 Lab session helps to tear down

Design Evaluation

Demo of subsystems that work:

• First Attempt: Monday Laboratory, May 1st
• Other Attempts: Extra Lab Hour on Wednesday

Extra Laboratory Hours

Second to last week of class

Last week of class