SKINPUT (using human skin as touch input surface) controlled robot (self balanced)

Project Title

SKINPUT (using human skin as touch input surface) controlled robot (self balanced)

Project Area of Specialization Wearables and ImplantableProject Summary

• Skinput ,a technology that appropriates the human body for acoustic transmission, allowing the skin to be used as an input surface.
• In particular, we resolve the location of finger taps on the arm and hand by analyzing mechanical vibrations that propagate through the body.
• We collect these signals using an array of sensors worn as an armband. This approach provides an always available, naturally portable, and on-body finger input system.

• Finger Taps on the body generate bio-acoustic signals. For our prototype system, we’ll use our forearm to demonstrate Skinput.

• The signals will be detected using an array of sensors worn as an armband.

• Cantilever piezoelectric sensors shall be used for collecting the signals

• We'll be using characterizing the sensors( cantilevered piezo minisense100) and callibrate them to work for a specific range of frequency and amplitude so that it helps in sensing one of the possible inputs. This is how we will distuingush between different taps we do on our forearm.
• We are using this  technology to control the movement of SELF BALANCING ROBOT.
• We’ll make a two level Self Balancing robot for explaining one of the possible application of Skinput technology.
• we'll use accelerometer and gyroscope to make the self balancing robot as the application of SKINPUT

Project Objectives

• For our application, the purpose of skinput is to work as a remote control for our robot, meaning that we can control out robot or any other device by just tapping on our forearm rather then carrying a physical remote. 
• This also helps in durability as smart devices with glass usually break when drop or any accident, but our forearm is durable as we don't have to be careful about accidently dropping it or putting a screen protector in top of it.
• The pico projector will be use for display. It will project the display, showing the location of virtual buttons to tap on our forearm.
• The self balancing robot is the other half of our project, which is intergrated along with skinput to show the applications of the Skinput technology

Project Implementation Method

Skinput will be implemented as a form of an arm band. Arm band will contain two small acrylic boxes containing arrays of the minisense100 sensors. 

User will wear the arm band on his forearm and he will be able to use the forearm for inputs.
We'll mount a pico projector along with it, to provide display on our forearm which will make the working even more user friendly.

The arm band will have it's own processor and will communicate with projector using bluetooth and with the Self balancing robot using wifi.

The self balancing robot will be used as a application where skinput will work as the remote conrol of the robot to control it's movement (forard backward left right ). 

Robot shall be balanced using gyroscope and accelerometer.

For future, this technology can get advanced and will eventually replace personal portable devices like Mobile Phones when the technology advances and the arm band shrinks in size.
 

Benefits of the Project

• Replace screens of mobile phones/devices with our skin/forearm. We can use our skin as our mobiles and we will not have to carry a physical device. This will make portability even better along with durability. Basically it is a transition from touch screen to skin as we evolved from keyboards to touch screens in 2007
• Gaming, We can use this to play games like tetris on our arm itself.
• WE can use it as a remote control like we are doing it to control our robot from our FOREARM
• An aid to blind people as well.. as they don't have to worry about searching for buttons.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

• When finger taps on our skin (forearm in our case), bio-accoustic signals are produced whcih propogate through the body
• Cantilevered piezoelectric sensor minisense100 are transducers that can detect these minor vibrations and generate electric signal in response.
• Taps on different locations of forearm produces slightly different signal depending upon the amount of flesh/muscle, fat and bone density etc.
• We will use multiple sensors and callibrate them (using multiple techniques including adding small weights and using capacitors) in such way that one pair of sensors will give the required output on a specific range of frequency and amplitude, which will allow us to distuinguish between different taps (locations of taps) and use them for different purposes.
• The output of sensors will be then amplifide and then given to the processor. ADC will convert them to digital and the processor will process them and send the signal to the robot to act according to the the decided functionality of the tap and will also send it to the projector to act accordingly.
• We aim to produce at least 3 to 4 different taps from our forearm and use them to control the movement of our robot.
• The communcation of Skinput with robot will be done using wifi and with picoprojector using bluetooth.
• We'll develop an android app that will help us to generate interactive display.
• Self balancing robot shall be balanced using MPU6050 module of accelerometer and gyroscope.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry TelecommunicationOther Industries IT Core Technology Wearables and ImplantablesOther Technologies 3D/4D Printing, RoboticsSustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	71000
Cantilevered Piezoelectric sensors minisense100	Equipment	10	1500	15000
Pico Projector	Equipment	1	20000	20000
mpu6050	Equipment	1	250	250
Geared motor	Equipment	2	2000	4000
Robot Structure	Equipment	1	2000	2000
microcontrollers ARM	Equipment	2	500	1000
arduino boards for testing	Equipment	2	850	1700
Arm Band structure with projector mount	Equipment	1	2000	2000
wifi module	Equipment	1	250	250
bluetooth module	Equipment	2	500	1000
motor driver circuit for geared motor 600rpm	Equipment	2	1000	2000
Batteries	Equipment	3	500	1500
Signal amplifiers	Equipment	3	500	1500
PCB + circuit printing	Equipment	2	1250	2500
Component Damage	Equipment	4	2000	8000
Transport, stationery, report printing, testing, and misc	Miscellaneous	4	2000	8000
Wires and Small equipment	Equipment	1	300	300