scholarly journals PiBot: An Open Low-Cost Robotic Platform with Camera for STEM Education

Electronics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio Vega ◽  
José Cañas
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Students ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Learning Outcome ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Robotic Platform ◽  
Software Infrastructure ◽  
Python Language ◽  
Controller Board

This paper presents a robotic platform, PiBot, which was developed to improve the teaching of robotics with vision to secondary students. Its computational core is the Raspberry Pi 3 controller board, and the greatest novelty of this prototype is the support developed for the powerful camera mounted on board, the PiCamera. An open software infrastructure written in Python language was implemented so that the student may use this camera as the main sensor of the robotic platform. Furthermore, higher-level commands were provided to enhance the learning outcome for beginners. In addition, a PiBot 3D printable model and the counterpart for the Gazebo simulator were also developed and fully supported. They are publicly available so that students and schools without the physical robot or that cannot afford to obtain one, can nevertheless practice, learn and teach Robotics using these open platforms: DIY-PiBot and/or simulated-PiBot.

scholarly journals PiBot: An Open Low-Cost Robotic Platform With Camera for STEM Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio Vega ◽  
José M. Cañas
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Students ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Learning Outcome ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Robotic Platform ◽  
Software Infrastructure ◽  
Python Language ◽  
Controller Board

This paper presents the robotic platform, PiBot, that has been developed and that is aimed at improving the teaching of Robotics with vision to secondary students. Its computational core is the Raspberry Pi 3 controller board, and the greatest novelty of this prototype is the support developed for the powerful camera mounted on board, the PiCamera. An open software infrastructure written in Python language was implemented so that the student may use this camera, or even a WebCam, as the main sensor of this robotic platform. Also, higher level commands have been provided to enhance the learning outcome for beginners. In addition, a PiBot 3D printable model and the counterpart for the Gazebo simulator were also developed and fully supported. They are publicly available so that students and educational centers that do not have the physical robot or can not afford the costs of these, can nevertheless practice and learn or teach Robotics using these open platforms: DIY-PiBot and/or simulated-PiBot.

FireNot – An IoT based Fire Alerting System: Design and Implementation

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 475-489
Author(s):  
Bahman A. Sassani ◽  
Noreen Jamil ◽  
Maria Villapol ◽  
M. Abbas Malik ◽  
Sreenivas Sremath Tirumala
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Daily Monitoring ◽  
Python Language ◽  
Alerting System ◽  
Location Detection ◽  
Android App ◽  
The Cost

Internet of Things (IoT) based systems have revolutionised the way real world systems are inter-connected through internet. At present the application of IoT based systems is extend to real time detection and warning system. However, cost has been a major factor for development and implementation of IoT systems. Considering the cost, ease of implementation, this paper proposes a low cost yet efficient IoT system called FireNot for warning and alerting fire incidents. FireNot is a cloud based system that uses sensors (hardware) to detect fire and alert the user through internet and is maintained and monitored using a simple Android app. The FireNot system uses Raspberry Pi programmed through Python language and utilises Google API for location detection. The FireNot system is also intended to provide an expandable platform for additional daily monitoring tasks and more importunately, resiliency against most cyber-attacks and hi-jacking that targets IoT-based system lacked in most of similar IoT-based designs. This paper practically demonstrates the FireNot system through extensive testing on various operations and the FireNot system is proven to be efficient.

scholarly journals PrintrLab incubator: A portable and low-cost CO2 incubator based on an open-source 3D printer architecture

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0251812
Author(s):  
Arunkumar Arumugam ◽  
Cole Markham ◽  
Saurabh S. Aykar ◽  
Barbara Van Der Pol ◽  
Paula Dixon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
3D Printer ◽  
Software Application ◽  
G Code ◽  
Temperature Levels ◽  
Controller Board ◽  
Open Source Hardware ◽  
Hardware Designs

Growth in open-source hardware designs combined with the decreasing cost of high-quality 3D printers have supported a resurgence of in-house custom lab equipment development. Herein, we describe a low-cost (< $400), open-source CO2 incubator. The system is comprised of a Raspberry Pi computer connected to a 3D printer controller board that has controls for a CO2 sensor, solenoid valve, heater, and thermistors. CO2 is supplied through the sublimation of dry ice stored inside a thermos to create a sustained 5% CO2 supply. The unit is controlled via G-Code commands sent by the Raspberry Pi to the controller board. In addition, we built a custom software application for remote control and used the open-source Grafana dashboard for remote monitoring. Our data show that we can maintain consistent CO2 and temperature levels for over three days without manual interruption. The results from our culture plates and real-time PCR indicate that our incubator performed equally well when compared to a much more expensive commercial CO2 incubator. We have also demonstrated that the antibiotic susceptibility assay can be performed in this low-cost CO2 incubator. Our work also indicates that the system can be connected to incubator chambers of various chamber volumes.

scholarly journals Action Research Implementation in Developing an Open Source and Low Cost Robotic Platform for STEM Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 178 (24) ◽  
pp. 33-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avraam Chatzopoulos ◽  
Michail Papoutsidakis ◽  
Michail Kalogiannakis ◽  
Sarantos Psycharis
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Robotic Platform ◽  
Research Implementation

scholarly journals Open and Flexible Li-ion Battery Tester Based on Python Language and Raspberry Pi

Electronics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Andrea Carloni ◽  
Federico Baronti ◽  
Roberto Di Rienzo ◽  
Roberto Roncella ◽  
Roberto Saletti
Keyword(s):  
Personal Computer ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lithium Ion ◽  
Battery Pack ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Control Block ◽  
Software Application ◽  
Commercial Laboratory ◽  
Python Language ◽  
Li Ion

Technology improvements and cost reduction allow electrochemical energy storage systems based on Lithium-ion cells to massively be used in medium-power applications, where the low system cost is the major constraint. Battery pack maintenance services are expected to be required more often in the future. For this reason, a low-cost instrumentation able to characterize the cells of a battery pack is needed. Several works use low-cost programmable units as Li-ion cell tester, but they are generally based on proprietary-software running on a personal computer. This work introduces an open-source software architecture based on Python language to control common low-cost commercial laboratory instruments. The Python software application is executed on a Raspberry Pi board, which represents the control block of the hardware architecture, instead of a personal computer. The good results obtained during the validation process demonstrate that the proposed cell station tester features measurement accuracy and precision suitable for the characterization of Li-ion cells. Finally, as a simple example of application, the state of health of twenty 40 Ah LiFePO4 cells belonging to a battery pack used in an E-scooter was successfully determined.

scholarly journals Designing of an Advanced Compression Bioreactor with an Implementation of a Low-Cost Controlling System Connected to a Mobile Application

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 915
Author(s):  
Gözde Dursun ◽  
Muhammad Umer ◽  
Bernd Markert ◽  
Marcus Stoffel
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Application ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Experimental Information ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Tissue Constructs ◽  
Cost Controlling ◽  
Controlling System ◽  
And Control ◽  
Tissue Models

(1) Background: Bioreactors mimic the natural environment of cells and tissues by providing a controlled micro-environment. However, their design is often expensive and complex. Herein, we have introduced the development of a low-cost compression bioreactor which enables the application of different mechanical stimulation regimes to in vitro tissue models and provides the information of applied stress and strain in real-time. (2) Methods: The compression bioreactor is designed using a mini-computer called Raspberry Pi, which is programmed to apply compressive deformation at various strains and frequencies, as well as to measure the force applied to the tissue constructs. Besides this, we have developed a mobile application connected to the bioreactor software to monitor, command, and control experiments via mobile devices. (3) Results: Cell viability results indicate that the newly designed compression bioreactor supports cell cultivation in a sterile environment without any contamination. The developed bioreactor software plots the experimental data of dynamic mechanical loading in a long-term manner, as well as stores them for further data processing. Following in vitro uniaxial compression conditioning of 3D in vitro cartilage models, chondrocyte cell migration was altered positively compared to static cultures. (4) Conclusion: The developed compression bioreactor can support the in vitro tissue model cultivation and monitor the experimental information with a low-cost controlling system and via mobile application. The highly customizable mold inside the cultivation chamber is a significant approach to solve the limited customization capability of the traditional bioreactors. Most importantly, the compression bioreactor prevents operator- and system-dependent variability between experiments by enabling a dynamic culture in a large volume for multiple numbers of in vitro tissue constructs.

scholarly journals A Low-Cost Assistive Robot for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders to Aid in Daily Living Activities

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3974
Author(s):  
Roberto J. López-Sastre ◽  
Marcos Baptista-Ríos ◽  
Francisco Javier Acevedo-Rodríguez ◽  
Soraya Pacheco-da-Costa ◽  
Saturnino Maldonado-Bascón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Robotic Platform ◽  
Assistive Robot ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Everyday Living

In this paper, we present a new low-cost robotic platform that has been explicitly developed to increase children with neurodevelopmental disorders’ involvement in the environment during everyday living activities. In order to support the children and youth with both the sequencing and learning of everyday living tasks, our robotic platform incorporates a sophisticated online action detection module that is capable of monitoring the acts performed by users. We explain all the technical details that allow many applications to be introduced to support individuals with functional diversity. We present this work as a proof of concept, which will enable an assessment of the impact that the developed technology may have on the collective of children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders in the near future.

scholarly journals Development of a Smartphone-Based University Library Navigation and Information Service Employing Wi-Fi Location Fingerprinting

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 432
Author(s):  
Guenther Retscher ◽  
Alexander Leb
Keyword(s):  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Information Service ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
University Library ◽  
Stop And Go ◽  
Promising Solution ◽  
Localization Performance ◽  
The University ◽  
Suitable Location

A guidance and information service for a University library based on Wi-Fi signals using fingerprinting as chosen localization method is under development at TU Wien. After a thorough survey of suitable location technologies for the application it was decided to employ mainly Wi-Fi for localization. For that purpose, the availability, performance, and usability of Wi-Fi in selected areas of the library are analyzed in a first step. These tasks include the measurement of Wi-Fi received signal strengths (RSS) of the visible access points (APs) in different areas. The measurements were carried out in different modes, such as static, kinematic and in stop-and-go mode, with six different smartphones. A dependence on the positioning and tracking modes is seen in the tests. Kinematic measurements pose much greater challenges and depend significantly on the duration of a single Wi-Fi scan. For the smartphones, the scan durations differed in the range of 2.4 to 4.1 s resulting in different accuracies for kinematic positioning, as fewer measurements along the trajectories are available for a device with longer scan duration. The investigations indicated also that the achievable localization performance is only on the few meter level due to the small number of APs of the University own Wi-Fi network deployed in the library. A promising solution for performance improvement is the foreseen usage of low-cost Raspberry Pi units serving as Wi-Fi transmitter and receiver.

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