The objective of this project is to create a suite of dog care tools that are compatible with an eye gaze copmuter so that a user with spastic quadriplegia can provide direct care to their service dog.
Sponsored by: Matthew Fitzsimons
Team Members
Kevin Cryan Bader Alanzi Amanda Ford Valerie Fu Matt Yoon
Instructor: Sanaz M. Takaghaj
Project Poster
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Project Video
Project Summary
Overview
Matthew Fitzsimons, a 25 year old man with spastic quadriplegia among other physical and medical diagnosis has recieved a new eye gaze controlled computer to enhance his ability to functionally communicate and give him access to control other devices that are bluetooth enabled or radio controlled within his environment such as a television, remote car, phone, etc. This young man has also recently received his first service dog to help him with activities of daily living. The overall goal for Matthew is to give him as much independence as possible and for his new service dog, Ike, to bond with him and not care providers.
The project will involve developing a suite of tools that enable Matthew to control Ike’s feedings, give Ike treats, and toss a ball via his eye gaze computer or other trigger device that accommodates Matthew’s physical capabilities.
Objectives
-Create a food dispenser that holds 14 cups of food and dispenses one or two cups at a time
-Create a treat dispenser that holds one to two cups of food and dispenses one or two treats at a time.
-Create a ball launcher that shoots a tennis ball 8 to 20 feet and has a hopper that the dog can use to replace the ball after fetching it.
-Connect all three devices to an app that can activate each function from an eye gaze computer.
Approach
-The food dispenser consists of a hopper to hold the food, a lower housing to contain the electronics, and a wheel with a 1-cup cutout which rotates when activated via Bluetooth to dispense the food.
-The treat dispenser is operated by a motor connected to a plunger. When the command is given, the motor rotates a gear which move the plunger forward, pushing a treat out of the front of the device.
-The ball launcher functions by passing the ball between two counterrotating wheels, which compress the ball and accelerate it forward from friction. A gating system prevents additional balls from falling into the tube, which is opened through the eye gaze application.
-The GUI (graphical user interface) was coded in Python and appears as a desktop app on the eye gaze computer. Its designed to have large and colorful buttons, which are easy for our user to control using his eyes. There is one button for each device as well as one to close the application.
Outcomes
-We created 3D printed prototypes for each of the three devices which can interact with our eye gaze application. Each device utilizes an Arduino microcontroller connected to a Bluetooth module which recieves commands from the computer to execute each function.
-We successfully tested the food dispenser and the ball launcher with our user’s service dog. The food dispenser functions as expected and the ball launcher can shoot a tennis ball up to 15 feet.
-The desktop app is downloaded to the user’s eye gaze computer and implements text-to-speech features so that the user can give commands to his dog.