Web-based robotic surveillance

• Main Author: Oh, Shao Chong.
• Other Authors: Lau Wai Shing, Michael
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Robots
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/16883
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Robots with vision capabilities have infiltrated into many different industries of the modern world. From military and rescue operations to space explorations, these robots have been omnipresent and constantly evolving in robustness and capabilities. Although many of these robots are already competent in their own fields, there is still room for a great deal of research and developmental work to be performed for many generations to come. In order to breed interest in such robots in the younger generation, this project, Web-Based Robotic Surveillance, was initiated with the primary objective of building a robotic toy suitable for children aged 6 and above. A collaboration with ecPresence Technology Pte Ltd, a NTU spin-off company, this robot was required have video streaming capabilities, ability to be controlled wirelessly and suitable for use in common households. To achieve these objectives, extensive research was carried out on relevant products that are available on the market and the various concepts necessary to build such a robot. These include programming and networking topics such as I2C, TCP/IP and IEEE802.11. Much difficulty was encountered in the research and selection of suitable electronic components like the micro-processor and wireless adapter, as each of these components must be compatible with each other for the final product to function properly. For prototyping purposes, an aluminium chassis was designed and built to fix all components together. A software and GUI were created with TCP and PHP scripts to provide an easy to use and interactive control platform for the user. Through the GUI, the user is able to manoeuvre the vehicle and camera’s movements, and simultaneously view the video streamed from the robot in real-time. An experiment carried out in the Mechatronics and Control Laboratory confirmed that the power status of the camera and/or increase in distance between the robot and wireless router cause the response time of the robot to increase, but the ease of control is not adversely affected significantly. In this project, all basic functions and objectives of the robot were achieved. However, in order to make this product economically viable and well-received, there are still many necessary improvements to be executed.