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This thesis proposes a new steering system for agricultural machinery with the aim of improving the automation capabilities of farming robots. Accurate and reliable autonomous machinery has the potential to provide significant benefits to the efficiency of farming operations, but the existing systems for performing one of the most essential automation functions, autonomous steering to keep machinery on the proper course, each have drawbacks that impact their usability in various scenarios. In order to address these issues, a new lidar-based system was developed for automatic steering in a typical farm field. This approach uses a two-dimensional lidar unit to scan the ground in front of the robot to detect and steer based on farm tracks, a common feature in many farm fields. This system was implemented and evaluated, with results demonstrating that the system is capable of providing accurate steering corrections.
The Smart Bike research platform provides a set of sensors and actuators designed to aid in understanding human-bicycle interaction and to provide active balance control to the bicycle. The platform consists of two specially outfitted bicycles, one with force and inertial measurement sensors and the other with robotic steering and a control moment gyroscope, along with the associated software for collecting useful data and running controlled experiments. Each bicycle operates as a self-contained embedded system, which can be used for untethered field testing or can be linked to a remote user interface for real-time monitoring and configuration. Testing with both systems reveals promising capability for applications in human-bicycle interaction and robotics research.
This thesis presents the development of two balance control systems, which utilize actively controlled steering and a control moment gyroscope to stabilize the bicycle at high and low speeds. These systems may also be used to introduce disturbances, which can be useful for studying human reactions. The effectiveness of the steering balance control system is verified through testing with a PID controller in an outdoor environment. Also presented is the development of a force sensitive bicycle seat which provides feedback used to estimate the pose of the rider on the bicycle. The relationship between seat force distribution is demonstrated with a motion capture experiment. A corresponding software system is developed for balance control and sensor integration, with inputs from the rider, the internal balance and steering controller, and a remote operator.
With the recent focus of attention towards remote work and mobile computing, the possibility of taking a powerful workstation wherever needed is enticing. However, even emerging laptops today struggle to compete with desktops in terms of cost, maintenance, and future upgrades. The price point of a powerful laptop is considerably higher compared to an equally powerful desktop computer, and most laptops are manufactured in a way that makes upgrading parts of the machine difficult or impossible, forcing a complete purchase in the event of failure or a component needing an upgrade. In the case where someone already owns a desktop computer and must be mobile, instead of needing to purchase a second device at full price, it may be possible to develop a low-cost computer that has just enough power to connect to the existing desktop and run all processing there, using the mobile device only as a user interface. This thesis will explore the development of a custom PCB that utilizes a Raspberry Pi Computer Module 4, as well as the development of a fork of the Open Source project Moonlight to stream a host machine's screen to a remote client. This implementation will be compared against other existing remote desktop solutions to analyze it's performance and quality.
Speedsolving, the art of solving twisty puzzles like the Rubik's Cube as fast as possible, has recently benefitted from the arrival of smartcubes which have special hardware for tracking the cube's face turns and transmitting them via Bluetooth. However, due to their embedded electronics, existing smartcubes cannot be used in competition, reducing their utility in personal speedcubing practice. This thesis proposes a sound-based design for tracking the face turns of a standard, non-smart speedcube consisting of an audio processing receiver in software and a small physical speaker configured as a transmitter. Special attention has been given to ensuring that installing the transmitter requires only a reversible centercap replacement on the original cube. This allows the cube to benefit from smartcube features during practice, while still maintaining compliance with competition regulations. Within a controlled test environment, the software receiver perfectly detected a variety of transmitted move sequences. Furthermore, all components required for the physical transmitter were demonstrated to fit within the centercap of a Gans 356 speedcube.