Design and Build a Warehouse Drone
Design, build, fly, and automate an indoor drone to count inventory in a warehouse.
Project description
In this project, two students will work to develop a drone-based system for tracking inventory inside a warehouse. In the first phase of the project ("Design"), one student will focus on hardware development (primarily the design of the drone), while the other student will focus on software development (primarily the algorithms for identifying products using the drone's onboard cameras). Both students will need to coordinate their efforts to ensure that the system works properly. In the second phase, "Integration", the students will work together to combine the hardware and software components and test the system inside our mock warehouse (the ISE manufacturing lab in 427 Bell). The system should be able to track barcode-marked items in the warehouse.
Project outcome
The key deliverable from the project will be a demonstration of the drone counting products in the mock warehouse. Other important products include documentation of the system, a brief conference paper, and a video showing the demo, which the students can use to promote their work to future employers and graduate schools.
Project details
| Length of commitment | About a Semester (3-5 months) |
| Start time | Spring (January/February) |
| In-person, remote, or hybrid? | In-Person Project |
| Level of collaboration | Small group project (2-3 students) |
| Benefits | Potential Academic Credit Potential Stipend |
| Who is eligible | All undergraduate students For the hardware-focused portion: Experience with 3D CAD software package (e.g., Fusion, SolidWorks, or FreeCAD), 3D printing software, competency in electrical circuits and/or power systems would be a bonus.
For the software-focused portion, proficiency in Python is required, experience with Linux, computer vision packages (e.g., OpenCV), JavaScript and Robot Operating System (ROS) is desirable. |
Core partners
- UB's Optimator Lab: https://optimatorlab.org
Project mentor
Chase Murray
Associate Professor
Industrial & Systems Engineering
Phone: (716) 645-4716
Email: cmurray3@buffalo.edu
Start the project
- Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
- After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.)
Preparation activities
Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. After you’re approved to begin the project, your mentor will send the relevant materials. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase.
- Documentation is an important part of this project.
We use GitHub to manage our code, maintaining documentation, and track issues. Please complete the Intro to GitHub exercise (https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/start-your-journey/hello-world) and be prepared to discuss the repo you created. - Explore the companies that are using warehouse drones. What benefits are they seeking? What challenges have they encountered? Write a concise summary on this topic and be prepared to discuss prior to starting the project.
- Explore the companies that are making warehouse drones. What are some of the key technologies that enable the drones to count inventory and to localize themselves in the warehouse? What are some implementation challenges that remain unsolved? Write a concise summary on this topic and be prepared to discuss prior to starting the project.
Keywords
drone, computer vision, python, 3D printing, engineering, industrial engineering