proposal for smart cart - simon fraser universitywhitmore/courses/ensc305/projects/2015/...proposal...

Proposal for Smart Cart

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Copyright © 2015 FOYO Technology Inc.

September 28, 2015 Dr. Andrew Rawicz School of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6

Re: ENSC 440 Project Proposal for Tesigo: Smart cart Dear Dr. Rawicz: The attached document, Proposal for Tesigo: Smart shopping cart, exhibits the outline of FOYO

Technology Inc.’ s project for ENSC 440 (Capstone Engineering Science Project). Our objective

is to design, implement and program a smart shopping cart which is able to follow shoppers and

be controlled by the shoppers via mobile application during their shopping experiences. The propose of this proposal is to demonstrate an overview of Tesigo, risks and benefits, market

and competition, research rationale, budget and funding and schedule. This document also

provides team organization and company profile. FOYO Technology Inc. was founded by five innovative, creative, analytic and motivated

engineering students: Worawee Janpongsri, Mengyao Li, Zheng Chang, Yizhang Xu and Jose

Arboleda. If you have any questions or concerns about our proposal, please feel free to contact

me by phone at (778) 895-9945 or by email at [email protected]. Sincerely,

Worawee Janpongsri

Worawee Janpongsri, CEO FOYO Technology Inc.

Enclosure: Proposal for Tesigo: Smart cart

mailto:[email protected]


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Proposal for a Smart Cart Project Team: Worawee (Fai) Janpongsri

Mengyao (Lily) Li

Yizhang (Michael) Xu

Zheng (Matt) Chang

Jose Arboleda

Contact Person: Worawee (Fai) Janpongsri

[email protected]

(778)-895-9945

Submitted to: Dr. Andrew Rawicz (ENSC 440)

Steve Whitmore (ENSC 305)

School of Engineering Science

Simon Fraser University

Submission Date: September 28, 2015

Version: 1.2


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Executive Summary

Carrying heavy load comes with a risk for back pain and more. It is found that lifting and

carrying weighty objects can lead to mental and physical sickness. Many shoppers end up

carrying really heavy load for many hours. During their long shopping experiences with a

bunch of plastic grocery bags or a heavy basket, shoppers feel like the load are cutting off

their circulation. As the result, they suffer back pain and are not able to straighten their

arms and lift them properly. Their finger tips are completely numb which can lead to

nerve damage. Furthermore, disabled people are unable to carry shopping bags, baskets

or ordinary shopping cart, so they go through many problems and difficulties during their

shopping time. Therefore, it is time to introduce a smart device which can help shoppers

and disabled people to have a wonderful and comfortable shopping experience.

FOYO Technology Inc. is passionate about introducing a smart shopping cart called

Tesigo. Not only Tesigo can help shoppers reducing their carried load but also can

automatically follow shoppers via sensors and be controlled using mobile application.

Tesigo can be operated in four different modes. The most basic mode is manual mode,

Tesigo acts as the ordinary shopping cart. Assist mode is when the dynamic system is on

but tracking system is off. Following mode is when the sensors of Tesigo are on to detect

and follow the targeted shopper. The last mode is remote mode which shoppers can

control Tesigo to be in motion through mobile application.

FOYO Technology Inc. consists of five third to fifth year engineering students in

computer, biomedical and electronic fields. Our designing of hardware as well as

software in different concentration in engineering studies will bring this project to

completion.

We propose this project cycle including research, design, implement and test to be

completed in thirteen weeks. The estimated budget for this project is $624.99.


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Contents

1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

2.0 System Overview .......................................................................................................... 2

3.0 Risks and Benefits ......................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Risk ............................................................................................................................... 4

3.2 Benefits ......................................................................................................................... 4

4.0 Market and Competition ............................................................................................... 5

4.1 Market ........................................................................................................................... 5

4.2 Competition ................................................................................................................... 5

5.0 Cost and Funding .......................................................................................................... 5

5.1 Cost ............................................................................................................................... 5

5.2 Funding ......................................................................................................................... 6

6.0 Research Rationale ........................................................................................................ 6

7.0 Company Profile ........................................................................................................... 7

8.0 Team Organization ........................................................................................................ 8

9.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 10

10.0 Reference .................................................................................................................. 11


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List of Figures

Figure 1 : System Block Diagram ........................................................................................................... 3

Figure 2 : Milestone Chart ..................................................................................................................... 9

Figure 3 : Gantt Chart ............................................................................................................................ 9


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1.0 Introduction

Did you ever meet the situation that you cannot find a shopping cart when you go into a

shopping mall? Did you ever meet the situation that someone’s shopping cart plug up the

whole aisle? Do you want have a smart shopping cart that can release your hand and give

everyone a better shopping environment?

FOYO Technology Inc. designs and manufactures an automated and multi-purpose cart,

which can assist customers carrying goods. The design is based on normal shopping cart

that we used in shopping mall. We design to use four wheels cart, which contain two

transmission wheels and two assistant wheels. We will also install distance sensors and

camera for navigation.

Our product can be customizable for different applications. Based on the different

purposes, we can adjust the size, the maximum power, and the shape of the cart. For

example, our original purpose is designed for shopping mall. Our product also can apply

to library, hospital, airport, and etc.

Our aim is to sell the best performance and smartest cart to the market. FOYO Technology

Inc. focuses on developing a safe, stable and intelligent cart. We believe the reliable

functions of the cart will be the reason why market chooses us.

This proposal provides an overview of our products. The content will include system

overview, risk and benefits, proposed design solution, sources of information, budget and

funding, schedule, team organization and the company profile.


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2.0 System Overview

Figure 1 shows the basic functions of Tesigo: Smart Cart

Tesigo has four operating modes:

Follow – The cart follows the user automatically with its dynamic and tracking

systems.

Assist – The cart turns off the tracking system and assist user to use its dynamic

system.

Manual – The power of the cart is off, and user uses the cart manually.

Remote – The tracking system of the cart is off, and user uses an android

application to control the cart.

Our system includes four major parts: tracking system, dynamic system, microprocessor

and user interface system.

With the tracking system, the shopping cart can follow the specific target.

Microprocessor receives information about the distance between the cart and the target to

control the cart’s movement. The dynamic system allows the cart to be powered by the

motors. Finally, the user interface system allows users to control the cart with mobile

application.


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Figure 1 : System Block Diagram


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3.0 Risks and Benefits

3.1 Risk

There are few risks about our product. Our product is used in the shopping mall so the

components might break down since they are non-water resistance. To overcome this

problem, we must think of a way to protect the electronic components properly. Since our

product is designed to be user friendly, our company recommends the cart to be used with

care.

3.2 Benefits

Our product has many benefits which can improve the way when people shop in the

shopping mall. For the disabled, the shopping carts can follow them automatically with

the follow mode. Even when there are any obstacles, under the remote mode they can use

the application on their mobile phone to control the cart. With the benefit of the follow

mode, the cart also provides some convenience to people who shop with their baby.

Tesigo’s assist mode will be beneficial for people who buy the heavy objects. Our cart is

also designed to relief the physical effort which includes the lifting, pushing and pulling.

It is easier to move the cart with heavy objects inside.

Generally, our cart provides many benefits to the shoppers.


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4.0 Market and Competition

4.1 Market

Based on our research, there is no corresponding product on the market. All shopping

malls are using the ordinary shopping cart. We interviewed the manager of T&T

supermarket at Metrotown; he showed a great interest in Tesigo. He said he would

consider in purchasing them if Tesigo could let their customers get a better shopping

experience. He also mentioned that we would need to consider about the manufacturing

cost. If Tesigo was very expensive, he preferred to use the ordinary cart [1]. In addition,

Tesigo can also be used in library, airport and etc. We do not want to target only elder

people and people with disability, but also the ordinary people.

4.2 Competition

Tesigo is mainly used in shopping mall. Therefore, we consider our main competition to

be with other ordinary shopping carts, which do not have any technology features. The

biggest difference between Tesigo and current competition is Tesigo can follow its user

(shopper) automatically, so there is no need to push the cart.

5.0 Cost and Funding

5.1 Cost

The table below shows the speculated cost of building a Tesigo. Due to the taxes and

shipping costs, the overall cost can be overestimated by 15 percent.

Product Amount Cost (CAD)

Raspberry Pi 1 60

Xbox360 Kinect Sensor 1 159.99

Motor 2 100

Cart Frame 1 60

Battery 2 120

Sensor 5 80

Glass Fuse 4 20

Fuse Holder Cap 1 5

Wires & others 1 20

Total 624.99

Table 1: Project Budget Breakdown [2]


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5.2 Funding

The primary source of our project is being provided by our group members. We will

share equally for all expenses of the project

6.0 Research Rationale

After finishing some market researches, we believe Tesigo can be applied in many areas

besides shopping malls. For example, we can apply Tesigo in the library, hospital, and

airport.

The most challenging work for us is to balance the cost and quality. In order to be

competitive, we need to save the cost, but meanwhile, we cannot sacrifice the quality.

Since now we are designing, so we use Raspberry Pi and Kinect Sensor. These hardware

have strong functionality and many APIs we can find online. If Tesigo gets an investment,

and needs to be manufactured through assembly lines. We will design our own Micro-

Computer and Micro-Controller, and we will use other cheap camera instead of Kinect

Sensor, We also plan to manufacture or wholesale the other kits. After this improvement,

we believe that the total manufacturing cost of a Tesigo will be less than 100 dollars.

Since Tesigo will work in a complicated environment, the upgrade about safety will be

the main reason that increases the cost. But we believe our reasonable price and high

quality will have the market.


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7.0 Company Profile

Worawee (Fai) Janpongsri – Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

I am a third year computer engineering student at Simon Fraser University with previous

co-op term experience at Thomson Reuters. During my work term, I implemented the

NuGet Package which built by CruiseControl.Net. I have learned and gained strong

programming knowledge in C, C# and C++, .Net Build tools in NAnt and MsBuild and

database in MySQL. Moreover, I am familiar with HTML, JavaScript, JQuery, CSS,

Python, Java, assembly language, Node.js, and VHDL. I also have undertaken self-

projects using .Net framework.

Mengyao (Lily) Li - Vice President of Operations (VPO)

I am a fourth year biomedical engineering student at Simon Fraser University, and had

four months co-op experience at SAE Magnetics Limited. During my coop term, I

programmed and debugged equipment and machines. I have learned and gained

programming knowledge in C++, Python and PLC. Moreover, I am familiar with

operations of electronic equipment in the lab such as oscilloscope, power supply, function

generator and digital multi-meters.

Yizhang (Michael) Xu – Vice President of Marketing (VPM)

As a fifth year computing engineering student, I have four months research co-op

experience in Simon Fraser University. I learned several computer languages, which

include C++, Java and Python. I have experience about how to use Raspberry Pi and

Arduino. I also have experience about image processing. I hope my knowledge can help

the team to build our product. I have faith that our team can handle this challenging

works.

Jose Arboleda - Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

I am a third year computer engineering student who has gained extensive experience in

programming. I have advanced object-oriented programming skills, mainly with C++,

also in Swift for app development and in HTML and CSS for web designing. In addition,

I am familiar with networking applications such as VPNs, web servers, FTP servers and

TCP/IP protocol.


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Zheng (Matt) Chang – Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

I am a fourth year electronic engineering student at Simon Fraser University with

previously co-op term at Blackberry. As a senior student, I am experienced in circuit

design, digital and analog system, communication network and feedback control system.

During 4 month co-op at Blackberry, I have gained more experience in designing,

constructing and testing circuit. In the meantime, I also have learned several skills of

hardware modification and troubleshooting.

8.0 Team Organization

Five skillful engineers who are currently between the third and fifth year of engineering

undergrad program compose FOYO TECHNOLOGY INC., each of them has different

areas of expertise and interest which bring to the company an interesting and useful

diversity. This will allow a better development of the project and thanks to that each

member will contribute with her/his specific expertise in the different modules of the

project.

The responsibilities and different fields of operation in this corporation have been

delegated in different position which take into account the strengths and weaknesses of

each member; Worawee (Fai) Janpongsri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is responsible

for solving conflicts with the team organization and is in charge of leading and guiding

the progress of the project. Yizhang (Michael) Xu, Vice President of Marketing (VPM),

is responsible of the aspect of the project as a market product and also is in charge of the

research of possible target markets. Zheng (Matt) Chang, Chief Financial Officer (CFO),

is responsible for financial planning and budget management. Mengyao (Lily) Li, Vice

President of Operations (VPO), is in charge of solving technical issues that might appear

during the process and coordinate operations. Jose Arboleda, Chief Technology Officer

(CTO), is in charge of research and development of the project and technical support.

In order to keep efficiency and efficacy during the project, the company has decided to

have at least one formal meeting per week. This allows all members to have a clear view

of the overall progress of the project and also identify possible future issues that could

cause a change in the design or/and requirements of the project. The priority of these

meetings will be the update of the actual situation of the project and its different modules.

The members also use the meeting to discuss possible solutions of different problems that

might arise during the developing phase.


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Due to the different technical fields that the project carries, we have decided to divide the

tasks in different modules in where the members will be assigned according to their fields

of expertise and level of interests. This will allow each member to focus in a specific part

of the project and have a better use of the time. These modules will allow us to create a

fair distribution of different tasks and will permit each task to develop independently with

the other until the integration phase. Therefore if one of the modules is done before the

others, the members of this module will be able to help in the progress of other

modules.

Each module will have at least two members working in it which allows the members to

have an easier team communication and a better time management that will easy the

charge and allow more time for other responsibilities.

Schedule:

Figure 2 : Milestone Chart

Figure 3 : Gantt Chart


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9.0 Conclusion

Today we live in technological era where the technology provides us more comfortable

and convenient lifestyles. Everything seems to be accessible with the help of technology

across almost all sectors. Technology has become an important role in not only reducing

work load but also helping disabled people to live easier in the society. The major

problem for many people including disabled people is to carry heavy goods and products

during their shopping time.

FOYO Technology Inc. introduces Tesigo with the high technology that the shoppers can

choose their preferences in using our smart shopping cart in different modes. Disabled

people can definitely use following mode and remote mode whereas other shoppers can

use all the four modes. We really hope that our Tesigo will provide a better, easier and

wonderful shopping experience to the shoppers.

Our Gantt and milestone charts in the schedule are also realistic according to our

intelligent members’ skills. Not only our hardware and software skills but also our

professional experiences will ultimately bring our project into completion on time. We

also demonstrate the budget for this project which will result in useful, helpful and high-

technological product in society.


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10.0 Reference

[1] Bob Xu. (2015, Sep. 16). "Re: “Smart Following Cart".

Available e-mail:[email protected].

[2] Leeselectronic.com, 'Lee's Electronic Components - Lee's Electronic', 2015. [Online].

Available: http://leeselectronic.com/. [Accessed: 28- Sep- 2015].

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