Graphical user interface of a mobile tunnel inspection robot

• Main Author: Dey, Sayan
• Other Authors: Seet Gim Lee, Gerald
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67240
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The report is to summarise the author’s work in his Final Year Project, which is to develop a web based graphical user interface for a tunnel inspecting crawler robot, to be utilised by Public Utilities Board, Singapore. The first critical step was to identify the functional requirements of such a robot, and to create a draft to have an overview of what was to be achieved. Commercial UIs were studied extensively to identify the main requirements, while having a reference for the UI to be created. User interfaces could be created with multiple languages, supporting multiple platforms. Two of these are Native UIs, and Web based UIs. The main advantages and disadvantages of both were studied, and a decision was taken on utilising Web based UIs. A user interface (the MAVEN), was used as reference for further customisation and improvement. Once the draft was created, the UI basis chosen, and the reference UI made available, each individual element was looked into, and created through repeated iterations to achieve the functional necessities. It was necessary to get familiarised with the system, the required elements, and the coding structure for the user interface. Based on the availability of resources and time, the following elements were aimed to be implemented within the duration of the Final Year Project: Map, Motion Control, Cameras, Artificial Horizon, Light Switch, Laser, and Sonar. Each element had been worked on separately, to identify critical areas and scope of improvement. Once an acceptable result was achieved, it was integrated into the main user interface, and further modifications were done. Some elements, such as Map, Cameras, Laser and Sonar, had undergone several iterations to achieve the current design. Once the elements had been integrated into the main interface, it was critical for these to function as expected, without interfering with the remaining elements. The user interface had undergone several tests to ensure non-interference with the other functions. In case an element interfered with the working of another, necessary changes were made. Based on the timeframe and objectives laid out in the beginning of the project, most of the objectives were successfully met. However, a few of these do require additional work, as mentioned under ‘Recommendations’. To conclude, the author had identified critical functions, studied coding structures, and added creativity to achieve the present structure of the user interface. His work has been extensively discussed in the report.