Project

This project is about combining a traditional whiteboard with a new type of smart whiteboard that pushes the physical boundaries of a traditional whiteboard and gives it many digital whiteboard features, which can keep track of what is on the board, erase content and add notes. The Smart Board team is working to push this project forward. As the Electrical engineering team, we have to provide a solution to this project by designing an electrical control system to operate the stent for the motor.

Demand Analysis

Statement of Needs

Many professors have a need for whiteboards in their offices, however, keeping track of what is on the board, erasing content and adding notes can be difficult. This project is about combining a traditional whiteboard with a new type of smart whiteboard that pushes the physical boundaries of a traditional whiteboard and gives it many digital whiteboard features.

Statement of Objectives

Digitally record what is currently on the white board in a private and non-invasive manner.(meaning, a camera on the other side of the room will not do the job)
Erase parts of the white board as directed through a hardware and software interface.
"Write" new notes or drawings on the white board through a remote, internet enabled interface.
Something like an app, or a website that could be loaded on a tablet, or maybe even a "send a picture and have it sketch" feature.

Functional Analysis

Our project is a whiteboard robot with many functions. We use three stepper motors to control the polar plotter so that the marker can move, rise and fall to draw and write on the whiteboard.The position of the marker on the whiteboard is controlled by a servo, the position of the eraser is controlled by a solenoid embedded in the eraser, and the three stepper motors are operated by a Ramps 1.4 motor control board controlled by a Raspberry Pi. A polar plotter software is installed on the Raspberry Pi so that commands can be sent to the polar plotter for drawing operations. A webcam is placed on top of the whiteboard and activated when needed. We conclude with the following functions:

Write on whiteboard
Draw on whiteboard
Erase on whiteboard
Operate remotely on whiteboard
View whiteboard remotely
Scan the whiteboard

System design

Architecture

The system architecture diagram of our smart board:

Requirements

General Requirements: we are going to use

#	Components	Pictures
1	Arduino uno rev3
2	Pololu corporation
3	Raspbe
4	Power supply
5	Hikvision 2k Hd webcam
6	Ramps 1.4 motor control board

Prototypes of the project

Prototype 1: App for remote control: We designed a website and a mobile app to enable remote control so that users can use their mobile devices to connect to the whiteboard and complete the writing function
Prototype 2: Camera system for recording: We use a camera to record user actions such as writing, deleting, scribbling, etc., and also to position the user's actions on the whiteboard to be able to write more accurately on the whiteboard.
Prototype 3: Brush system for painting: We drive the brush through the motor, position the user's actions on the whiteboard through the algorithm, and finally transmit it to the remote whiteboard

Literature Research

Some websites about the project

Some references for the project

[1]. J. Wan, Z. Wang, B. Zi, D. Wang and Z. Cao, "Kinematics Modeling and Analysis of a Novel Five-DoF Spraying Robot," 2019 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA), 2019, pp. 524-529, doi: 10.1109/ICMA.2019.8816253.

[2]. Z. Pei, M. Zhao and D. Liu, "Spraying robot kinematics analysis based on BP neural network," 2015 IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation, 2015, pp. 2744-2748, doi: 10.1109/ICInfA.2015.7279751.

[3]. S. Pieskä, J. Kaarela and J. Mäkelä, "Simulation and programming experiences of collaborative robots for small-scale manufacturing" 2018 2nd International Symposium on Small-scale Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (SIMS), 2018, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/SIMS.2018.8355303.