AVERROES

Project Title

AVERROES

Project Area of Specialization RoboticsProject Summary

Accuracy, efficiency and safety are the basic needs of warehouse management; however these processes are complex and dynamic and give rise to various major problems. Inaccurate inventory causes problems such as maintaining improper stock levels and buildups of obsolete inventory. Picking problems also arise when pickers rely on inaccurate information, leading to inefficient processes. Safety hazards linked to transportation of goods is also a major concern in the warehouse management.

Automated Assistance Systems are the main reasons for today’s efficient and reliable service in industries and warehouses around the world. These systems help reduce human work load and minimize errors which may be caused by workers. Machines such as robotic arms and monitoring bots have excelled industries to manufacture top of the line products and provide a systematic service to its customers.

This intrigued us to come up with AVERROES, an autonomous and tele-presence robot having the functionality of both a robotic arm as well as a robotic body which would navigate its way through a warehouse and monitor inventory restocking. Sensors on the body would assist the robot in navigating its way avoiding any obstacles it may encounter. Camera mounted on the arm would provide us with a live feed of the area it is used at. That live feed would be monitored by workers through a web application available on most devices. Camera would also scan QR codes on packages checking their correct placement. Motors in both the arm and the body would provide a wide angle of freedom for maximum navigation capabilities.

Since our robotic arm will be mounted on the movable robot, it can be used in multiple places without physically moving the arm or having more than one arm in a warehouse. This project may also help prevent injuries to humans as it may replace human labor e.g. lifting and moving packages.

Project Objectives

Our end goals or objectives can be broadly identified as:

1. Design and development of wheeled body that will traverse autonomously.
2. Development of web application to control/monitor.

3. Design and development of arm that will detect & manipulate objects.

Project Implementation Method

The robot will be placed in a warehouse, where it will move around, mapping the environment and optimizing the path as it goes. Once it has the area mapped, it will know exactly where to go to fetch the desired product.

The robot will be controlled and communicated through a user-friendly web application that could be easily used by someone with minimal knowledge.

The user will direct the robot to check/transport a particular object using the web application. Once the robot has reached its destination, the robotic arm mounted on the body will move along the shelves, scanning the QR codes in order to detect and manipulate the required object.

Benefits of the Project

1. AVERROES is the first automated assistance system being developed in Pakistan.

2. It is a cost-efficient and compact solution for warehouse management problems.

3. It is an easy-to-deploy system.

4. It has a wider scope and can be used by medium to large-scale retailers.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

• Control System:

• nVidia Jetson Nano
• Arduino Duo

• Vision:

• Camera (5MP 1080P)
• Sonars (10 m range)
• Lidar (360 degree, 10m range)
   
• Body:
   
• Motors (24V 120rpm 35kgfcm)
• Chassis ( Aluminum and acrylic)
• Wheels (15 cm diameter)

• Arm:

• Structure ( Aluminum)
• Motors ( MG996R 180 degree)

• Integrated Electronics:

• Wi-Fi Module (ESP8266)
• BMS (72 Ah)
• Battery (72 Ah)
• Motor Drivers (30 Amp 24V)

• SolidWorks 2016
• Simscape (MATLAB 2018)
• Linux
• PyCharm 2019.2.2

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry ManufacturingOther Industries Transportation , Others Core Technology RoboticsOther Technologies Artificial Intelligence(AI)Sustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	80000
nVidia Jetson Nano	Equipment	1	12000	12000
Arduino Duo	Equipment	1	2000	2000
Camera	Equipment	2	2000	4000
Sonar sensor	Equipment	2	500	1000
Lidar sensor	Equipment	1	6000	6000
Chassis	Equipment	1	3000	3000
Motors for body	Equipment	4	3000	12000
Wheels	Equipment	4	1000	4000
Motors for arm	Equipment	4	2000	8000
WiFi Module	Equipment	1	3000	3000
BMS	Equipment	1	3000	3000
Battery	Equipment	1	4000	4000
Motor Drivers	Equipment	4	2000	8000
Wiring	Miscellaneous	1	3500	3500
Printing of AVERROES shirts	Miscellaneous	4	500	2000
Printing to standee	Miscellaneous	1	1000	1000
Brochures	Miscellaneous	50	50	2500
Contact cards	Miscellaneous	50	20	1000