I was thrilled to be a part of a dynamic team working on an ambitious school final project in collaboration with Raytheon, an industry leader in technology and innovation. Our project was developing an autonomous drone and land rover to compete in a competition next summer. The goal of the competition was to demonstrate the capabilities of our technology by navigating the drone through challenging scenarios and utilizing computer vision to locate and disable enemy ground vehicles and spray them with water. This project represents a remarkable fusion of engineering and computer science innovation.
As a pivotal member of our multidisciplinary team, I helped to bridge the gap between the Computer Science (CS) team and the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) team. Drawing from my prior involvement in robotics, I collaborated with both teams to implement software tailored for mechanical applications. In my role within the CS team, I completed essential tasks such as flashing the drone's computer and preparing it for programming. My experience with robotics has afforded me a unique perspective, and understanding the software needed by the ECE team.
One of my biggest responsibilities on this project included the development of computer vision features for the drone. Leveraging insights from my robotics background, I contributed to the integration of software that allowed the drone to identify and enemy ground vehicles. Based on the size of the aruco board placed on the vehicles and the drone's GPS the program was able to calculate the global position of enemies and the velocity. The intersection of computer vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics is an exciting frontier that I navigate with confidence. This technology not only enhanced our drone's capabilities but also showcased the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Our college won first place during the competition, effortlessly outshining all rivals. I'm thrilled to have contributed to a dynamic team effort dedicated to an autonomous drone and ground vehicle project in collaboration with Raytheon. My dedication to integrating computer vision technology is rooted in my extensive experience in robotics, allowing me to grasp intricate software requirements. This project displayed innovation and synergy across diverse engineering domains.