Winter Break To DO list

My plan for winter break is to start collecting all the components for the server (and find a dedicated server) to create our first prototype of our online ROV.

Need to buy/find:
Server - will check on borrowing a box from my office
Web Cam - previous posted about
computer controlled switches - still researching

Need to make:
Interface program for website/switching box.

I'll need to borrow some of the motors from Greg over break so I can create a good setup, but this should be complete feasible in three weeks.

Presentations

Presentations were this week, both mine and Greg's, and they went pretty well. General feedback included planning on classroom tests of our education program as soon as possible, and making sure to plan on connection issues with our server for the online ROV.

Network Camera

http://salestores.com/axis0199.html

After doing some research into web cameras and looking at how to interface them into the website. A network camera has it's own on-board web server that can be interfaced via an ethernet cable and streamed from the camera very simply.

Axis seems to be the most bang for the buck in networked cameras. http://www.axis.com/products/video/camera/

To Do

Story-boards:
Video for the classroom structure.
Online interaction flow
Flow-diagram for users (Kids/Teachers/Aquariums)

Presentation:
Create a powerpoint for capstone presentation
Create a beta ROV for presentation.

Create outline based on previous proposal guidelines for presentation.

Prototype shopping list.

motors / tether

-pvc glue (greg - buying)
-flat plastic (pvc?) (greg - buying)
-velcro strapping
-waterproof electrical cable (Alex will get)
-props (greg - ordering)
-metal shaft adaptor (greg - ordering)
-heat shrink wire housing
-power plugs (water resistant)
5 amp fuses (Alex has)
battery clamps / rings

control box

-DP/DT switches (water resistant) (Alex will get)
-control box (Alex has a one for the prototype)

lights

- 4 hi intensity LEDs (Alex will find)
- maglight (alex has)

Mounting Brackets

I spoke with Greg Jones and he said he managed to create a new mounting system based on design ideas we had discussed before. He also crafted a motor housing to ensure that the motor blades are sectioned off from kids hands.

Capstone Presentation

The purpose of ROV Labs is to create an outreach program that uses collaborative learning in person and digitally to facilitate hands on learning, science, and exploration through the medium of marine science and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Children will have the ability to build their own ROVs and operate an ROV online remotely in an an actual aquarium.


Presentation is next Monday, December 10th in 420 Chadbourne. So much to do before then.

The Other Group

and one for "Other". We haven't determined a simply naming classification of this group yet.

What the "other" group will contain is a much more overriding view of the entire project. This includes more detailed schematics of design, overview of interface, and information from both the children and teacher views of the proposal.

The "Other" group would probably be other aquariums looking to adapot this system for their own facility. That group would benefit the most from understanding the entire scope of the project for all participating members.

This Weekend's Meeting

Since I've failed to mention it here before, Greg and I have been meeting every weekend at the same time to go over progress and iron out ideas.

This week we discussed our website design and developing our proposal to be able to be received by multiple parties.

In order to appropriately communicate what ROVLabs is, and can do for an individual we are dividing up the proposal into three forms. One for children, one for teachers, and one for "Other". We haven't determined a simply naming classification of this group yet.

What the "other" group will contain is a much more overriding view of the entire project. This includes more detailed schematics of design, overview of interface, and information from both the children and teacher views of the proposal.

The children's proposal is much more focused on the process of what is being learned. We will be presenting ROV Labs in this form by displaying to children what is fun to be learned, and how we'll go about doing it. This path will lead them to the online gallery of ROVs built by visiting classes and ultimately the online ROV where they'll be given missions and have the ability to save what they do, and talk about it in the forums.

The teacher's section of ROV Labs will focus much more heavily on the learning involved with the program. We plan to emphasize the key elements that a child will benefit from during their experience, and the skills they'll be improving. These skills will range from the obvious learning of marine science, and oceanography, but also critical thinking skills, social interaction, observation and reaction, and writing.

This weekend we also discussed feedback provided to us in regards to the interactivity and self-preservation of the program, as well as the motivational interests.

We've decided to adapt the in class process to a more group building dynamic. Initially, students will be presented with a power point that educated them on the history of ROVs and how they operate. The students will then break into smaller groups to design their own ROVs with the mindset to create something that is manuverable both left/right and up/down and allows for some fine motor control. Those initial designs will be allowed to be tested by performed a predetermined set of tests. They will then be able to go back and refine and test again.

Once all the students have tested their final design, they will come back together and based on their own groups designs will put together a NEW rov. That class ROV will go through the same tests. This ROV will be photographed and the children will be asked to then sit down and write a small report about what they learned in the process (Waht worked/what didn't). This feedback will go up on the site for others to see that class' process.

The clas will come together again to compare their class ROV and the online ROV to suggest modifications. This new rov will then become the online ROV.

This weekend we also discussed a new addition to the basic ROV: a controllable ballast.

The design we discussed and will need to test is with an enclosed PVC pipe with a single air hose and two pressure release valves. The placement of the valves, opposite to that of the air intake will allow for either water out, or air out. The top valve in the pipe will open and allow for air to escape and water in. The bottom valve will be a pressure release valve so when air is pumped into the chamber the bottom valve will open and the water, which is resting on the bottom, will be the first to be evacuated. This will allow for a level of control of buoyancy by children.

Alex's To Do This week
Build prototype smartbox with switching. Initial power setup will use a 12vdc battery. Future designs will use a step down converter to allow for the ROVs to be plugged into a standard 110v outlet.

Temp space

Working on enhancing our proposal via a website.

Temp Space until I can migrate the information over to rovlabs.com.

Site stuff

Greg got the domain www.rovlabs.com. Media based proposal is going up here. We'll be modifying it for a more general audience.

Control boxes

To ensure customizability in design we are looking for a way to create a universal central control box, mountable clamps for full control over placement of devices on the skeleton.

Mountable attachments
Control Box
Motors
ballast boxes

Diagrams soon to follow.

Powered by ScribeFire.

To Do

To Do: Oct 21-28 (Materials to gather)
Find Skeleton materials(pipes)
Find new Motors
Clamp System for components
Test Box for component layout
Waterproof Plugs

Powered by ScribeFire.

Initial software design ideas

Basic Program layout





















Slightly more structured program flow (Grouped by control system and responsibilities)

Breakdown To-do

Website
 Wireframes
 Forums
 Pilot Page
  Java Interface
  Webcam Feed
 Evolution Page
 Project Page
 Products Page 
 
ROV
 Research & Components
  PVC Pipes
  Bilge Pump Motors
  Floats
  Weights
  Control Board (Onboard Computer)
  Wiring
  Onboard Circuit Breaker
  Watertight Tubing (Tether)
  Cameras
  Lights
  Waterproof Enclosure
  Sealants
 Purchase Components
 Design ROV Kit
 Design Onboard Electronic Interface
  Autonomous Movement
 Tank Work

In the process of working with Greg to create a production schedule for these needs.

Potential new controllor board...

This puppy comes with an ARM9 200Mhz, 32 MB flash memory, and Linux already installed :) This will allow for me to run a standard control program on the OS itself for the ROV. More research still necessary obviously, but I've ordered one and I should have it in a week.

Here is the Manual for Linux for ARM

Cooking sites...

So, in an effort to possibly make OpenSource cooking in conjunction to ROVLabs I have been looking for sites that fall somewhat in the range of what i want to make...

Here is a list:

http://allrecipes.com/
Has Reviews
Voting system
Pantry system (saves what you have in your kitchen)
Shopping List creator (Though not the generator I had in mind)
Community forum
Comment system for custom recipes

http://www.recipeinsider.com/
Has Voting System

http://www.recipezaar.com/
Has search feature for recipes
Organized by ingredients, meal, categories...
Featured "Chefs" section for contributing members
Ability to upload pictures of meals. (Example, Banana Bread had 7 pictures from 7 different people so you can see how results vary)

Two features in all of these that I find different from what I had in mind:
Automatic Shopping list generator: Made to refill the normal stuff you buy or based on recipes you have marked for meals. This has the potential to get sponsorship from grocery stores so that store's advertisements can be listed and their sale prices for items.

Recipe creator/community builder: I want to create an interactive application to put in recipes that others can edit. The author can set these recipes to "complete" or "make suggestions" and in a wiki style of community energy individuals can alter the recipes to make something that tastes a little better with a comment.

I'm tempted to work on those components as it stands, but I'll continue to look for other sites.

Resources!

I've acquired the following items:
HC11 processor board - Testing board for controls and electrons
PIC robots guide - PIC is a programmable microcontroller so it is possible to create firmware for onboard controls and operation. It will also control the onboard interface back to the main computer.
Digital Logic text - Academic guide to designing circuitry for specific functions.

I will be researching where to order a PIC chip. Supplies for a breadboard and wiring components are available either through the ECE department or at Radioshack.

I am currently researching common programming languages for robotics interaction. Potentially I will be creating a C++ CGI in order to have access to certain low-level programming functions.

Questions pondered...

- Cost to participate may be too high
The cost to enter this program is he participation of a school program in the training program AT the aquarium in Boothbay harbor, OR an internet connection in the classroom where someone can browse the ROVLabs site, look at the information and pilot the onlineROV.

Allow for both registered and anonymous accounts to pilot and participate with the device, but have a forums available for discussion and postings of potential changes for the next iteration. I think a real strength of this interaction and group learning is there are multiple sources. Class at the Aquarium participating in the full program, class in the classroom participating just in the online tutorial and interaction, and the online discussion about the ROV itself and the technical aspects of the exploration.

- Consider higher levels of automation
Automation can be achieved in the online ROV by creating a program that moves the vehicle around the tank in a predetermined path, taking predetermined actions. Going up/down/left/right hovering and such. This would allow a viewer's alternative to something just sitting there so they can SEE the ROV in action without having to interact directly (if they dno't want to) and it makes it more interesting to see when someone isn't piloting it in real-time.

- Consider the result of cross-age group participation and the effects on the project
The real point of the Aquarium and this program is to educate as many people as possible. It's by coincidence that the age groups participating in this program have been around middle school age. Since the entire project takes a short amount of time, and requires critical thinking, it is applicable for all learning ages. Individuals who come across the site can offer their expertise, if they have any, are welcome because they too can help answer questions students could have.

- Consider how to really get 12 year olds interested in this. What is motivating them?
This whole project is a learning environment, especially as a classroom structure, but the online interaction with the ROV and the exploration of the site/forums will peak the interest of those interested, and even those who want to play. The intent is to grab attention of those kids who have never even considered marine science, having them interacting with others and learning as a group. The benefit of this online application is that this message and group learning atmosphere is extended to anyone who can get to the website.

Education for educations sake...

After presenting both OpenSourceCooking and the ROVLabs to the capstone course I have some feedback to chew on. Little was said about the recipe site except that it "had some elements that were good", and Pattie provided me with a link to a similar cooking site that has much of the same components, but not necessarily in the way I would implement them. The general impression from Jon, since only he and one other reacted to the project idea was mixed. Here are a list of concerns that I was able to grasp from class.

- Cost to participate may be too high
- Consider higher levels of automation
- Consider the result of cross-age group participation and the effects on the project
- Consider how to really get 12 year olds interested in this. What is motivating them?

I am also waiting for feedback in the pool, but these are the points I will be thinking about, and posting about over the next week. The recipe site I might just do for fun anyway.

Recipe for New Media...

...or at least for some fine food.

Another idea for capstone that I wanted to present would be to create a cooking site, OpenSourceCooking.

This would be a fully functional locale for interested individuals to come and store, search, and find recipes that coincide with their tastes, and their pantry. There will also be a recipe engine and forum for visitors to discuss, create and review their own creations. People can be connected via the forums, via their own initiative, but also by the recipes they are using so the site can recommend other delicacies.

Let's talk underwater...

Greg Jones has asked me to assist him on his capstone idea ROV Labs. This is an interesting idea with a lot of promise.

The draw to this project comes on two fronts. The entire intent for the project is an educational outreach for field trips, and classes wanting to understand about underwater life and the use of submersibles in research. Once groups get an understanding of how the technology works they are allowed to work in groups to assemble their own submersible out of a provided kit. They will put together a working ROV that they will then get to test. The ideas behind how the ROVs work will be discussed and groups can take those ideas online too an ROV at the aquarium in Boothbay Harbor, ME. This ROV will be accessible online where students can queue up and control it real time. After they have experienced building their own ROV and controlling the aquariums, students will have the opportunity to provide feedback and alter the design of the online ROV. Iterations will be presented on the website to see how the community of students have adapted the design to try to improve upon what's been done before.

Development of the control system for the ROV and the integration of that system online will be a great technical achievement personally. A working prototype of the ROV and the computer control system is the goal for the end of the fall semester.

Breakin' off

James would like to take Divvy solo, so that is where we are. I will begin research today on new ideas.

Intents are fun.

1, 2, 3 little projects

So, in speaking with James about what exactly he needs my help in for the capstone he wants me to work on server communications. I finally snagged a login for our development server and will be parsing through the code he has up now. I've been doing research on session handling in ajax/java/perl/ruby/C to find something that will be efficient for us. A large snag that we were hitting last year in divvy initial iteration was the use of javascript timers to handling maintenance of an active session while still handling all the data calls needed by Ajax. Already I've found a few ways to re-implement the session handling plus offer additional features to turn divvy into more application than web in the "web-application" world.

Links to some of my readings can be found on my del.icio.us site.

As a tag on, I'm going to be researching a side project for the divvy team to work on after divvy gets its initial fleshing out.

divvy reborn

James and I spoke about divvy again, and after looking at the work James had already done this summer I got quite a few sparks of ideas to make divvy a real catch. Jon said in class that Divvy doesn't have a real catch to differentiate itself from other sites (facebook.com/myspace.com), but James' group concept for divvy is already a differentiating factor.

There are many groups and organizations looking for a way to easily facilitate discussion/communication online. For example, gaming communities often have a large group of people online or just may not have a simple way to communicate with each other regularly, and often times those groups lack an individual with the experience to facilitate an online presence.
Another example would be a community college or regional center that is holding a training seminar (much like a class) that wants to keep tasks, calendars, and important information in a central online location that will allow discussion outside of the class/meeting.

The custom SHARED applications built on an API structure to allow users to customize their own sections of their group. RSS feeds, news accountments, movie times, sale information from web sites. Even integrating those news posts to other services like twitter for broadcast blogging.

At the very least, divvy would be a fun project to get working on a full scale.

a-e-i-o-uTrainer

The idea from James about a digital logging system for physical training is very interesting. Doing some searching around I found a site called OpenFitness.net that has an entire system to allow people to enter food, exercise cycles, and even suggests routines depending on certain individual goals.

The direction I'd like to take James' idea is as sort of a business model for groups and clubs that allows feedback from clients and an easy online way to track progress. Instead of the traditional clipboard and paper and filing cabinets to track client progress I would like to develop a system that provides hand-held PDA-like devices that trainers can enter in data and it would store this information. This would provide easier access to information for the trainer, and to the client by taking that data and linking it to a web-interface that is available (with an account) to see the charting of someone progress with tips and reminders from trainers.

An individual adaptation of this would be to create a site that can integrate with SMS and messaging so that people with cellphones can message in their reps/workouts/meals and have those integrated into their progress that again would be available to them via a web interface or even a message requesting status with a simple table of percentage of progress based on the individuals programmed goals.

Lots to think about and still more to research. I'd personally love to create some hand-held apps though.

What to do...

I wrote james this week about what concepts we have left since my DIY themed site idea had already been created. I'm more inclined to stick with our group-centric divvy site. The focus will need to heavily be into interest based groups to organize the networks. In talking to James, this group organization theme could turn into a few different things. Classrooms could create groups to organize their students/assignments/events, bands could create groups to announce news/concerts/promos, etc. There seems to be more to this than I had origanally intended.

I'm going to try to find a consistent time with James that we can sit down together to work on this project, at least until we're 100% certain who's creating what aspects.

Capstone Begins

Spoke with James during our capstone in regards to our divvy manipulations and machinations. I discovered the DIY (do it yourself) site Instructables. This is VERY close to the direction I wanted to take Divvy in, so we may be left finding a new route.

James already has a few other ideas on the back burner, and I'm going to do some research as well in hopes to having a new solid idea this week.