1. Tarun Agarwal, Matthew Deutsch, Madhav Singhania, and Insik Yoon
FollowMe
Tarun Agarwal, Matthew Deutsch, Madhav Singhania, and Insik Yoon

2. Project Concept & Motivation
Concept: The FollowMe device is used in conjunction with mobile objects such as shopping carts to follow around an individual while they are navigating through a grocery store
Motivation: Currently, shoppers generally have their hands on their shopping cart while navigating through grocery store. With the use of FollowMe-equipped carts, users can be hands-free at all times, do not have to worry about lugging their carts around, and will not forget where they’ve left their carts. This product can be especially useful for disabled persons.

3. Competition No competing commercial products
Don the Robot (Junko Isawa of University of Tsukuba, Japan)
Autonomous Navigation of a mobile robot in indoor narrow environments
Robot can follow a human using two laser range sensors, and keep a safe distance between itself and a human
The laser range sensors cost upwards of $4000
B.O.S.S. (Gregory Garcia of University of Florida)
Robotic shopping cart
Uses an ultrasonic range finder
Slow, and often runs into the user
Cost: >$1000

4. Requirements Functional Timing Reliability
Follows a specific user as they move about
Can distinguish between users
Will avoid bumping into obstacles
Maintains same distance from user
Timing
Responds to user’s movement within a second
Reliability
Starts beeping and stops moving if loses track of user

5. Technical Specifications
Hardware:
Multiple Sharp GP2Y0A02YK0F’s (Long Range Infrared Proximity Sensor)
1 Cerebellum (fast, low-cost microcontroller)
Many resistors
2 Battery packs
2 protoboards
Mechanical robot (2 DC Motors with wheels, a board to hold the Cerebellum)
Serial/USB Cable
Software:
Will be coded in C in a text editor, and uploaded to Cerebellum using WinAVR
Protocols:
TBD