The Automated Life Preserver Launcher Curtis Sand & Zach Byrne
Overview Automatic System for launching life preservers when someone falls off a boat. In a real system: thermal cameras, an actual pneumatic life preserver launcher, victim would carry a panic beacon In our system: regular cameras, Nerf launcher, flashlight
Inspiration Incorporate many interesting subsystems: Serial Communication Stepper motor/servo control Image processing Binocular range finding What’s cooler than a Nerf turret?
The ALPL
Finding Bright Spots Find the average location of bright pixels. Effective for single light sources. Fails for images with many lights or high overall brightness.
Calculating Distance Second camera finds angle θ. Fixed width w. Limitations: Camera FoV Image resolution 57° Theoretical Range Min: 0.78 meters Max: 32.6 meters
Aiming Control range by adjusting launcher elevation. Experimentally determined ranges. Fit a parabola to the data.
Setbacks Mechanical Issues Moment of Inertia on the elevation motor. Firing servo missing trigger. Difficulty squaring cameras Computer Issues Instability of external RAM. Unreliable connection to cameras. Floating point bugs.
Results Success!...Mostly. Finds targets...sometimes. Calculates distance...reasonably. Calculates correct elevation...almost. Acceptable Proximity to target...usually.
Questions?