Generalised Regression Neural Network (GRNN) Architecture-Based Motion Planning and Control of an E-Puck Robot in V-REP Software Platform

This article focuses on the motion planning and control of an automated differential-driven two-wheeled E-puck robot using Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) architecture in the Virtual Robot Experimentation Platform (V-REP) software platform among scattered obstacles. The main advantage of this GRNN over the feedforward neural network is that it provides accurate results in a short period with minimal error. First, the designed GRNN architecture receives real-time obstacle information from the Infra-Red (IR) sensors of an E-puck robot. According to IR sensor data interpretation, this architecture sends the left and right wheel velocities command to the E-puck robot in the V-REP software platform. In the present study, the GRNN architecture includes the MIMO system, i.e., multiple inputs (IR sensors data) and multiple outputs (left and right wheel velocities). The three-dimensional (3D) motion and orientation results of the GRNN architecture-controlled E-puck robot are carried out in the V-REP software platform among scattered and wall-type obstacles. Further on, compared with the feedforward neural network, the proposed GRNN architecture obtains better navigation path length with minimum error results.

Design, Development and Implementation of Real Time Canal and Weather Monitoring Devices

In the present study, canal depth, velocity and weather monitoring sensors are designed and implemented in the field irrigation laboratory, Aditya Engineering College, Surampalem, Andhra Pradesh, India. The depth sensor which is used in this project is HC-SR04 sensor and the velocity sensor is YF-S403. A method of data acquisition and transmission based on ThingSpeak IOT is proposed. To record weather data (i.e., temperature, humidity, rainfall depth and wind speed) DHT11 sensor, ultrasonic sensor and IR sensors are used. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the performance of real time canal and weather monitoring devices. A structure of real time weather monitoring devices based on sensors and ThingSpeak IOT, a design was developed to realize the independent operation of sensors and wireless data transmission can help in minimizing the error in data collection. Arduino UNO is connected with canal depth and velocity sensor to generate the output, similarly NodeMCU is connected with weather monitoring device. The results revealed that observed sensor data showed good results when compared/calibrated with the existing conventional measurement system. In order to decrease the time and to get accurate value, it is recommended to consider the sensors for the proper use and to access weather data easily. The developed device worked satisfactorily with minimum or no errors.

Smart Parking System

Smart Parking System is based on Internet of Things technology and Android Application which enables the customer to view the available parking spaces and also book the parking space.Therefore, the project aimed at designing a system that will enable the customers to book the parking slot at their convenience.The data for functional, non-functional and system requirements were collected. This data was used to prepare the UML diagrams such as the Entity Relationship Diagram. This system was implemented using different IOT tools like IR sensors and also includes mobile application development for creating interfaces for booking parking slots.

The accuracy of Infrared sensor detection in a smart toilet

Background: Infrared (IR) sensors are useful tools for detecting distance and proximity. However, these sensors are not good at detecting edges of an area, therefore when used in a smart toilet it has difficulty in detecting the orientation and position of the user’s body. The aim of this study was to design an IR sensor for a smart toilet with a more accurate and consistent detection. Methods: A total of 12(six men and six women) participants with different body types were involved in this study. IR sensor detection was tested in the sitting and squatting toilets. For the best accuracy, the IR sensor's angle was measured. Red, blue, and red-blue plastic covers were used, as these colors improve precision. The microcontroller was set up to calculate the participant’s distance and presence in the cubicle. Results: Toilet positioning varied greatly depending on whether one is sitting or squatting. For sitting toilet, the red cover was close to the accurate distance at a 172˚ angle. IR detected a man but not a woman's body. The blue cover provided the same best angle of 172˚ with a higher sensor distance. When the red and blue cover combination was applied, the reading of 141cm detected both men and women, at 172˚ angle. The actual distance for squatting toilets was 158cm. The optimal angle for both red and blue covers was 176˚, however the sensor distance was greater for the blue cover. Finally, the red and blue cover combination gave a more accurate distance of up to 163cm from the actual reading, when detecting both genders at a normal angle of 76˚. Conclusion: The combination of red and blue cover gave the most accurate detection for the squatting and sitting toilets. The best angle for sitting was 172˚, and for squatting was 176˚.

Automation in Street Lights

The paper on ‘Automation in street light’ broadly aims to develop an energy efficient system by using automation in street lights which is controlled by an Arduino UNO. The street system widely present consumes more power and requires huge energy supply. To overcome this problem, there is need to create a system which will save energy ,power and also take into consideration safety measures of local ones . No pedestrians or vehicle will face any problem as smart lights will automatic glow before they arrive and will get dim as soon as vehicles leave the place . The moments of light is controlled by sensors, these sensors will execute task by detecting presence of objects as obstacles . Prototype consist of Arduino UNO R3, LEDS, IR sensors, batteries etc. Arduino UNO is an important part of model to code the circuit and to conquer desired outcome.

Execution of a smart street lighting system for energy saving enhancement

In many countries, particularly, third world countries. The common issue is saving energy. That`s why smart systems considered now primary for life requirements. This work aims to solve the energy saving problem. We prepared a street model that contains several lampposts on both sides of the street; we placed three IR sensors between the lampposts alongside the street. The IR sensors are connected to the controller (in this work we used Arduino UNO). The controller takes the signal from the IR sensor, and then it sends the command to the lamppost to turn on or off. Depending on the number of cars passed, (we took a sample of a number of cars that passed on an actual street) and through formulas we calculated the power consumed by the lampposts in two cases, the first case is when the lights is always on. The second case is when the smart system applied. We also applied fuzzy logic to the system to take the intensity of the ambient light (the sun light) under consideration. The results showed that the proposed smart lighting system is efficient and reliable in saving energy. The energy saved for both (smart and fuzzy) systems was enormous.

Improvement of an InfraRed Pyroelectric Detector Performances in THz Range Using the Terajet Effect

An infrared (IR) pyroelectric detector was investigated for terahertz (THz) detection using the principle of the terajet effect, which focuses the beam beyond the diffraction limit. The terahertz beam was coupled to the detector’s optical window through a two-wavelength-dimension dielectric cubic particle-lens based on the terajet effect. We experimentally demonstrate an enhancement of about 6 dB in the sensitivity under excitation of 0.2 THz without degradation of the noise equivalent power value. The results show that the proposed method could be applied to increase the sensitivity of various commercial IR sensors for THz applications that do not require modification of the internal structure, and it may apply also to acoustics and plasmonic detectors.

Modernizing environmental signature physics for target detection

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of environmental phenomonology on the ability to detect buried objects and to provide a predictive capability of when targets are best detectable with IR sensors. Jay Clausen presented this material at the ERDC RD20 Conference.

Design and Implementation of Line Follower Arduino Mobile Robot Using Matlab Simulink Toolbox

The main problem of line follower robot is how to make the mobile robot follows a desired path (which is a line drawn on the floor) smoothly and accurately in shortest time. In this paper, the design and implementation of a complex line follower mission is presented by using Matlab Simulink toolbox. The motion of mobile robot on the complex path is simulated by using the Robot Simulator which is programed in Matlab to design and test the performance of the proposed line follower algorithm and the designed PID controller. Due to the complexity of selection the parameters of PID controller, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm are used to select and tune the parameters of designed PID controller. Five Infrared Ray (IR) sensors are used to collect the information about the location of mobile robot with respect to the desired path (black line). Depending on the collected information, the steering angle of the mobile robot will be controlled to maintain the robot on the desired path by controlling the speed of actuators (two DC motors). The obtained simulation results show that, the motion of mobile robot is still stable even the complex maneuver is performed. The hardware design of the robot system is perform by using the Arduino Mobile Robot (AMR). The Simulink Support Package for Arduino and control system toolbox are used to program the AMR. The practical results show that the performances of real mobile robot are exactly the same of the performances of simulated mobile robot.

IOT Based Smart Parking System

In This project we are designing an IoT based Smart parking system that integrates with mobile Application. It provides a comprehensive parking solution both for the user and owner of the parking space. Features are provided for reserving a parking space, authenticating a reserved user, identifying nearest free space depending on the size of the vehicle, navigating to the parking slot and computes accounts information on daily, weekly and monthly basis. IR sensors are used to identify if a parking spot is free. Availability of a free slot with its location information is transmitted using WIFI module technology, microcontroller and wireless communication technology to the server and is retrieved though a mobile application. RFID tag attached to a vehicle is used to authenticate a user who reserves the parking slot on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. A scheduling algorithm is used to identify the nearest free slot based on the size of a vehicle. The owner of the parking space can get the analytics of the number of free and available slots for a given period, the occupancy rate on week days and weekend and the amount collected for a given period and can use it for fixing variable parking fees. The mobile application is designed to provide rich customer experience.