XYZ Field Mapping Robot

To be able to tune and debug the Ultrasonic Tactile Display that was my undergraduate thesis project, I needed to have a way of mapping the acoustic field in the 3D volume above the device, in order to test whether it was achieving the constructive interference and focal points at the volumetric points expected, and whether the focusing algorithm was working and implemented correctly in the FPGA. However, all aspects of the project had to not exceed the $500 budget available. We didn't have access to any robotic arms, XYZ field mapping, or other similar devices. Nor could we afford anything of that nature with the limited budget. Thus, I came up with a creative and scrappy solution of making my own XYZ field-characterization robot for less than $90. I used three recycled flatbed scanners for each of the three axes of motion, and then created the electronics and embedded software drivers to control the three scanners. Details about the design and implementation are discussed in the thesis document linked below.