I presented my project to the team and it went off without a hitch, Finally done (I can breathe). I struggle with getting the code to work with the Movit nodes to eventually use the Xsens suit we planned on using but I can move the robot. It has been a really fun summer, I learned a lot and I hope I can come back next summer.

I received a new hard drive and got everything installed. I was able to get Linux, ROS, and Movit installed and I have been learning how to use them. Everything went well at Hinsdale with seafloor and CID, I am ecstatic. I have been focusing mostly on getting my final report and presentation finished as I present it on Monday. One more week, yay!

This week I handed off the CID (I hope it works out) and focused on the robot teleoperation part of my research. Everyone on my team is busy at Hinsdale (the wave pool) testing the robot this week so I get a break. The hard drive offered in the PC I was given doesn’t seem to work and I need to install Linux on a separate drive. I am having a lot of problems due to my inexperience with Linux; I am having trouble even getting it installed at this point (I’ve installed everything 3 times now and my mentor isn’t helping much.

This week has been spent testing the CID and tweaking the code to work right, I received some feedback from the member of my team who will be using it and made it to fit his needs. I had to modify my housing model to be thicker and printed a final copy this week, hopefully, this is the final print. I put the final coat of epoxy on the seabed floor and it’s now out of my hands, what a relief. I spent a lot of time this week working on my final report and presentation coming up in a few weeks.

I have finished building the seafloor bottom and I have encased it with fiberglass, the final coat goes on next week. I ended up just creating my own model for the continuous input device housing and printed it out but had to print both the top and bottom twice due to printer problems. I received the new microprocessor and everything works. I’ve been working all week on writing code to convert the values from the Arduino from 0 - 1023 into values from -100 to 100 and then saving the values to a file 8 times a second. I’ve also completed and presented my mid-year presentation.

We received parts for the seabed floor and I have cut them out to specification, I have also glued everything together with epoxy; the fiberglass should start next week. I am having trouble learning how to use Fusion 360 to get the model I found to work for what I need it to do. I may have to create my own model for the continuous input device. I can’t get the microprocessor I ordered to work, I ordered a new one, and it should be here next week. I have an Arduino Uno working fine with the slide potentiometer and I have created code that works to send the signals to the COM port. I am having all kinds of trouble getting Linux and ROS installed. I am going to have to install it on another hard drive I think. I also worked on my mid-year presentation that is next Monday.

This week I have been entrenched in the continuous input device design/build. I found an STL file where I can change the proportion to use as a housing for the device I am creating. I ordered an AtomS3U microprocessor to catch the input from a 120mm slide potentiometer. I ordered all the parts this week and should get them next week. I have been working out the specifications for the seabed floor and the parts were ordered and should be here next week as well.

There has been a lot happening; I have been given 3 tasks. I am first creating an artificial seafloor that will be submerged in a wave pool. It needs to represent the bottom of the ocean with spaces for multiple objects to be placed and then an underwater robotic arm can try different grasps to learn which ones are feasible. Second, I am designing and building a continuous input device where the subject testing the grasp can give a real-time confidence value to each grasp. The third part of my summer internship is to use motion capture technology with a suit to gather data on how to program a Bravo 7 robotic arm to grasp objects underwater. I’ve completed the cutting of foam and plywood for the seabed along with the hardware fasteners. I’ve had access to a full metal/3D printing lab. I have all the parts for the sliding potentiometer that I will connect to a microprocessor via a Grove connection which connects to the PC via USB. I am also printing the housing that will fit the potentiometer.

This week I set up and installed ROS and Moveit using a virtual machine, I hope it works. I completed an online course necessary to gain access to the fabrication room with all the 3D printers and materials to fabricate what we are creating. I created a drawing of the seafloor bottom I will be creating. I worked on the first draft of my project pitch I will present soon. I also researched ways to make a continuous input device.

We have just started and are still getting things set up. I will know more and have more to post after next week. It seems we may not be working with the robotic arm next week as yesterday it broke and needs to go back to Australia to get fixed. Washington State University has the exact arm but needs to use it so we may be driving up there to get data. In the meantime, I will be coding swarm robots to play “Blob Tag” and learning Robot Operating System.