The Problem
The MARGE device is a prototype being developed with the aim to act as a deployable traffic access manager primarily for driveway use but can also be applied to a cul-de-sac environment. It is expected to allow recognized vehicles to proceed down the driveway while acting as a simple barrier to unrecognized vehicles. This simple barrier is not expected to completely stop the unrecognized vehicles from proceeding down the driveway. The main motivation behind the creation of this device is the lack of an existing automatized system that identifies if vehicles are allowed to pass through a given checkpoint or not, such as a road intersection or a driveway.
The Design
The MARGE device is comprised of two primary units: the Docking Station and the Rover. The Rover will be a motor powered wheeled device that will move along the width of the driveway and will contain the intended barrier that’s deployed when an unauthorized vehicle is attempting to enter and proceed down the driveway path. The device is expected to be capable of climbing small inclines or ledges during its movement process. The overall device was initially going to be charged by a solar panel positioned on the top of the Charging Station which charges a primary battery contained inside, but the team moved away from that design due to time constraints and just used the primary battery by itself. The Rover itself will also contain a battery which gets charged whenever it’s docked within the Charging Station through charging contacts at the back of its entrance. The Rover is expected to run autonomously and will be able to navigate from the Docking Station to a point along the width of the driveway where it’s positioned and back to the Docking Station. The Rover itself will be approximately fifteen pounds in weight. The overall system is designed with as many cuts in power usage as could be afforded to aid in overall energy consumption across the board.
The Rover’s operation is constrained into a division of four operating modes: “Normally Closed,” “Normally Open,” “Scheduled,” and Remote/Manual Override. The “Normally Open” mode means the Rover is on the Docking Station as its default state and will block unauthorized vehicles from entering by driving into the roadway and deploying a visual barrier, while also permitting authorized vehicles passage. The “Normally Closed” mode places the Rover in the middle of the road as its default state and it will move out of the way of vehicles to permit passage through. The “Scheduled” mode allows for a user to create a scheduled protocol for the “Normally Open” and “Normally Closed” modes. The “Remote Control” mode allows the user to directly control the Rover’s movement, superseding commands normally given in the operating state from which it was functioning.
Both top-level and advanced circuit design and analysis, circuit creation on breadboard and through soldering, and programming primarily in C/C++ are the most important general concepts that will need to be applied from previously courses taken at Lafayette College. In more specificity, working with different op amp types, design and creation of circuit topologies and structures, op amp design and analysis, MOSFET analysis, feedback system analysis, and using the LTSpice software for circuit design and simulation testing are some of the more specified concepts that can be applied to this problem from a circuit design perspective. When dealing with coding and programming, the creation of large-scale and intricate multi-level FSMs and code design are required. Additionally, working with timers, D/A and A/D information conversion, different sensors and analysis of their data outputs, working with multiple types of digital interfacing (SPI, I2C, etc.), and communication to microcontrollers and Arduino or Raspberry Pi, or between microcontrollers and the Arduino or Raspberry Pi systems. There will be things our project group will need to learn along the way, not limited to: design and creation of mechanical systems such as the visible barrier or the locomotion of the Rover, solar panel and charging system installation, computer vision and image processing, motor control, and wireless communication among many others.