Overview

• Conducted a significant amount of research to ensure the idea was viable, attainable, and to understand the requirements needed to take the project from an idea into something real

• Selected as a finalist for The Big Ideas Challenge hosted by Minnesota State University Mankato (MNSU-wide event)

  • Placed third in this school-wide event (scoring based on the idea, business plan, sales projections, and live pitch)

• Met with individuals and organizations to showcase the idea and the project

  • Organizations include Region 9, MNSU faculty, Mankato's Small Business Development Center, and Thrivent Financial

• Created a business plan, sales projections (which included an outline of our cost management strategies), and presented the pitch for the project in front of a live audience as part of the Big Ideas Challenge

• Created a statement of work & software design document to guide development

• Learned and worked with OpenCV, TensorFlow, ImageAI, RoboFlow, and numerous other tools used to develop the object identification & image classification programs

• Created a multiple triggers and responses to object identification:

  • Controls the position of the servo motor to open/close the claw as indicated by the user

  • Relays the coordinates of objects positively identified as trash back to the 'home base' (the server making decisions for the drone)

• Created a GitHub repository to streamline collaboration with others on the project

• Set up the communication channels, documentation storage areas, and the shared information pages for effective collaboration on this project

• Assigned clearly defined roles and expectations to those willing to make contributions to the project