Electro-Magnetic Manual/Autonomous Controlled Launching System (EMMA CLS)

1. Electro-Magnetic Manual/Autonomous Controlled Launching System (EMMA CLS) Design Review • Thomas Jacobson • Max Macri • Paul Sadaukas

2. What is EMMA CLS? • EMMA CLS is a turret that can autonomously track moving objects using image processing. • The device is also capable of user-control via a manual override mode. • The turret provides the user with the ability to launch a projectile from the turret utilizing the onboard electromagnetic launcher.

3. Customer Needs • A device that can perform surveillance work to track moving targets • Can launch a projectile to deter threats • Can rotate or pan to stay fixed on a moving target

4. Marketing Requirements • Must accurately find moving targets, and track them continuously • Must provide video feedback to the user • User must be able to override the autonomous mode and manually control the device • User must be able to fire a projectile by means of a user interface

5. Engineering Requirements

6. Design • EMMA can be broken down into three main sections: The Software, the Turret, and the Launcher, as can be seen on the next slide.

7. System Architecture

8. Concept Selection • Previous designs used pneumatics, which are large and difficult to transport • Using an electromagnetic launcher allows for the same amount of force to be used, while maintaining a higher level of mobility • The only moving parts are the servos, which also reduces the wear and tear, and increases the lifespan of the device

9. Launcher Design Concept • Capacitors were chosen as the power source for the launcher because of their ability to hold a large amount of energy and dispel the energy rapidly • Two stage coil design was used to provide a varying amount of power for the launcher, while avoiding the complexity of larger power control circuits • SCR was chosen over other switching mechanisms because it allowed for digital control, triggers faster then relays, and because of its low activation energy requirement

10. Turret Design Concept Design 1 • Design 2 was selected for the project • Design 1 requires Servo 1 to support a large amount of weight • Design 2 has the center of mass directly in the middle of the turret, which makes it sturdier • Design 2 provides a better supported platform for the launcher and webcam Design 2

11. Tracking Design Concept • Optical was used over other types of sensors because humans are familiar with vision. Also webcams are cheap, and easy to interface with. • Lucas-Kanadealgorithm was used over others, because it provides good balance between resource intensity, and details to track. It can be fine tuned to provide more details, if the computer can handle it.

12. Launcher Subsystem Launcher Design Circuit

13. The Launcher Subsystem

14. Launcher Subsystem Sensor circuit

15. The Turret Subsystem The turret receives new positions from the software subsystem (from either the user, or the tracking software) and updates both servos

16. Software Subsystem Steps: 1)Acquire Image 2)Compare to next image 3)Get the offset between images 4)Send difference to driver in (x,y) format 5)Driver sends new position commands to MCU 6)MCU sends new position to servos 7)Servos are updated to new position, go to 1

17. The Software Subsystem The User Interface

18. Required Materials All of these parts are standard andhave lead times of roughly 1 week (Standard shipping)

19. Launcher Risks • The launcher uses large voltages (~400V), which can be dangerous to handle • The final design will have a casing around all high voltage components to prevent accidental shock • The launcher needs to be light enough to that the turret can move it • Non-critical launching components will be placed in the base of the turret to minimize the amount of weight needed to be moved by the turret’s servos. • The launcher has the potential of breaking if fired with no ferromagnetic projectile in the barrel. • Sensors are used not only to accurately fire the projectile, but to ensure that the system actually contains a projectile.

20. Turret Risks • Speed: The turret needs to be able to keep up with moving targets. This requires using high speed servos • Torque: The turret needs to be able to bear the weight of the components located on the launching platform

21. Software Risks • The tracking algorithm needs to balance between computing resources consumed, and accuracy of tracking. • Software needs to switch between tracking a target, and moving to the new position (alternating between the two) • Both of these risks can be avoided through early testing.

22. System Testing • Testing will be a cumulative effort to ensure any bugs, or design flaws can be caught early, to minimize downtime. • Each Component will undergo separate testing to ensure the components operate as defined in the design documentation, followed by a suite of integration tests to ensure that the pieces all function together properly.

23. Testing the launcher • The launcher’s sensor system must be tested to ensure the critical projectile sensing features operate properly and in a timely manner. • The charging circuit of the launcher must be extensively tested to ensure that the circuit can handle multiple recharges without damaging components from overwork. • The launcher must be tested to ensure not only that the SCR’s trigger the EM coils and launch a projectile, but that the launching capabilities are repeatable.

24. Testing the turret • The turret will be tested to see how fast the servos can turn, while under a variety of loads. • The servo controller will need to be tested to ensure that based on a set of predefined control inputs, that the servos orient in the proper direction. • Tests will also be performed to make sure the servos can maintain continuous movement without breaking down.

25. Testing the software • Initial testing of the control software will just verify that control via the UI/automation software will produce sets of outputs that can appropriately control the turret. • Following the completion of these test, the turret (or servos at least) will be integrated with the software for the remainder of the testing. • Test such as tracking a target and moving the servos “simultaneously” will need to be performed. • The tracking software will be tested to see how well it works in a variety of conditions • Variances in lighting, indoor vs. outdoor, against different backdrops, using different targets.

26. Final testing • Following the completion of all the individual system tests, the systems will be fully integrated. At this time a series of integration tests will be performed to verify that the pieces function as expected when interacting with each other. • The system will need to hit a moving RC car driving in circles of 2,5,7, and 10 feet from the turret. While the turret is tracking the car, it will need to accurately hit the car upon user input.

27. Questions? We got answers!