SAR - Search and Rescue

Inspiration

Our inspiration stems from the critical need for efficient search and rescue operations in natural disaster and conflict-related emergencies, motivating us to develop a simple and accessible Robot EV solution.

What it does

Our device aims to utilize advanced sensors and a camera to navigate obstacles and identify humans in distress, serving as a crucial first responder during emergencies.

How we built it

On the hardware side, we used the John Deere kit (including raspberry pi, sensors) to build the autonomous vehicle. For software deployment, we employed VNC Viewer to execute our Python scripts. The system was fortified with an OpenCV-based human recognition module, enhancing the vehicle's ability to identify and navigate around humans. This integration allowed for a cohesive and technically sound implementation, optimizing both hardware and software components.

Challenges we ran into

We ran into challenges mainly in the Raspberry PI IDE. We were not successful in integrating OpenCV capabilities with live data from our camera. Some more time in experimenting with this system will be instrumental in its future development.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of our ideation process - though we ran into issues in actually deploying our solution, we still have a good idea as to how we can continue to further develop this device. With more time, we are confident that SAR can reach our goals. We learned a lot about hardware and developing with a physical goal, and enjoyed connecting our software to it.

What we learned

Throughout the project, we gained invaluable insights into sensor integration, obstacle avoidance algorithms, and the nuances of real-time data processing. Additionally, we honed our skills in hardware-software synergy for robotics applications.

What's next for SAR - Search and Rescue

The next steps for SAR involve refining and finalizing the prototype, enhancing obstacle detection accuracy, and exploring avenues for integrating additional features. We are especially interested in sending pings to first responders' phones for faster reactions and enhanced GPS/coordinate tracking.

Built With

• coco
• opencv
• python
• raspberry-pi
• tensorlite
• vnc
• vscode