Week 2 - Testing Components and Attempting to Frankenstein a Shield Board

This week we set about testing the components and making some adjustments to the design based on the results of these tests. Unfortunately we still haven't figured out how to get the OV7670 camera module working, Liam will be attempting to get it working by the end of the winter break. If he is unsuccessful then we will look for alternatives and according adjustments to the design will be made.

I2C Accelerometer and Gyroscope Module (GY-521)

Fabio has tested the analogue accelerometer and he has found that it does not detect any rotation around the pole of gravity, meaning that in order rotation on a horizontal axis (which is required for the basic functionality of the device) we will require another sensor. After some research it was found that a gyroscope can fix this problem and as such an I2C accelerometer and gyroscope module was obtained from Damian Hon, a fellow student in the class that had ordered a large number of the modules and had spares. While the module will be less easy to work with than the analogue accelerometer module, it will be better suited to the purposes of this project.

Frankenstein'd solder board

Liam has tested both the rangefinder and laser modules has confirmed that they are fit for purpose. He has also been attempting to figure out how to extend the solder board further as it currently is not wide enough to reach the appropriate pins to serve as a shield given the fact that the new accelerometer and gyroscope module requires use of the SDA and SCL pins. An attempt was made to Frankenstein two of the existing solder boards together but it was pretty clear that this was inadequate and would not work correctly. The decision was made to instead order a solder board specifically designed for prototyping Arduino shields from Amazon. The new board should arrive next week.

Additionally two changes in the interaction design of the prototype have been made during a group meeting. The first change is that the device will no longer scan 3D points using a point and click system to scan each individual point in 3D space; it will instead use continuous sampling to generate a height-map which can then be used to construct a detailed mesh via tessellation and deformation of a flat plane. This was done to improve the ease of use for novice users and decrease the amount of time taken to perform a 3D scan in most cases, especially when high detail is required. The second change is to the design of the device housing as it has been changed from a laser-pointer style design to compact-camera style design. This was done to increase the ergonomic familiarity to the user.

During the winter holidays Liam will be attempting to get the camera module working. Fabio will be attempting to find a library for and test the I2C accelerometer and gyroscope module.