DeLacy, Kenimer, LePori, & Parnell
BIWEEKLY PROGRESS MEMO
To: From: cc: Date: Subject: Team Leader Ron Delacy Dr. Brummett, Dr. Lacey, Team Taco 2/11/2009 Senior Design Project – Automated Taco Maker
_____________________________________________________________________________ During the last two weeks, I have made substantial progress toward completing the first, second, and fourth sub-objectives for my primary objective of designing a robotic arm to pickup, handle, and position the taco shells as outlined in the project schedule. I have searched the engineering literature and the U.S. Patent Database for documents related to the use of robotics in automated foodservice equipment (sub-objectives 1 and 2), completed approximately 70% of the initial design of the taco shell handling mechanism (sub-objective 4), completed the development of the pseudocode (sub-objective 5), and interviewed two restaurant managers to establish the “typical” environment in a food preparation area (a personal objective). Resources used against budget during this reporting period include $840 in engineering time, $45.00 travel costs, and $12.50 in printing/copy costs. In the next two weeks, I intend to complete the design of the taco shell handling system (sub-objective 4), identify the vendors for the robotics hardware (sub-objective 3), and place orders for all components. Becoming familiar with the state of the art for robotics in foodservice equipment involved utilization of the resources at Evans Library (sub-objective 1) and the on-line Patent and Trademark database (sub-objective 2). Through the library interface to Current Contents I determined that the use of robotics has been reported in at least 15 journal articles over the last five years. Most of these applications (11) dealt with development and testing of an automated cashier and were not relevant to this problem. Two articles described an automated soft drink dispenser which may provide some insight into material handling for the taco shells based on the cup handling mechanism and two described automated equipment to dispense pizza toppings which could apply to the portioning and application of the taco meat, lettuce, and cheese. Two patents were identified; one for an automated press for use in a kitchen. The other patent (Pat # 4,922,435) is more closely related and covers a fully automated robotized system for use in a quick service or fast food restaurant. “In one embodiment, the system includes a robot, a bulk uncooked food dispensing station, a cooking station and a cooked food storage station. The system can be controlled by a computer operating and control station that controls and directs the robot to obtain bulk food from the dispensing station, place it in cooking position at the cooking station and when cooked, remove the food and deliver it to the storage station, at a rate required to fill anticipated customer orders.” This patent makes some broad claims, but it is focused on the frying of meat and other products. Since our concept utilizes precooked and prefried material, there is little chance of an infringement. However, I will forward copies of the patent to all team members for their reference and to the companies legal counsel. A partial sketch for the initial design of the taco shell handling mechanism is attached (subobjective 4). There are several constraints to the design; the prefried shells are fragile and must be handled carefully but gripped firmly, all surfaces must meet National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) -1-
Biweekly Progress Memo – Ron DeLacy
2/11/2009
requirements for food handling surfaces and cleaning, the unit must be easily disassembled for cleaning, and the shell must maintain a vertical orientation to prevent the taco meat and garnish from slipping out of the shell. As shown in the sketch, this will be accomplished via a six-position robotic arm with stainless grippers that will remove the shell from an inverted stack and hold it through all filling operations. Optical proximity sensors will be used to determine the position of the shell and put the correct location for dispensing the fillings, without any contact to the food product. All food contact surfaces are fabricated from 316 Stainless Steel with NSF approved joints and fillets The pseudocode for the system controller has also been completed (sub-objective 5). This document captures all the necessary logic, actions, and sequences for the process of grasping the shell, rotating and moving the shell into position, and maintaining the shell orientation during filling. The pseudocode will serve as an outline for writing the microcontroller (MCU) program. One of my personal goals was better understand the food service environment. To do this I visited with Mr. Al Carbon, the manager of the El Pollo Loco on University Drive and Ms. Salsa Verde, the manager of the Casa Caliente restaurant in Bryan. Both individuals were very helpful in providing insight to the typical food service environment. In short, any equipment put into service in a restaurant is exposed to brutal and harsh treatment. Most employees and shift managers have limited knowledge of technology and little time to spend on learning to use complicated equipment. Sales and customer service are of primary concern, with sanitation and employee safety following closely behind. Our final design solution must take these factors into account. I observed one piece of equipment, an automated fry station that was not being used because apparently no one had been trained to operate it. I also noted that the ongoing cleaning meant that water and cleanser was often sprayed through various parts of the kitchen. There were several restaurant managers, who did not return my calls, but I informally observed at these restaurants and conditions were similar to those described above. During the next two weeks, my primary activities will be to complete the preliminary design for the taco shell handling mechanism (sub-objective 4), identify supplies for the robotic parts, identify the MCU, write the first version of the program, and order all components. My goal is to fabricate a prototype for demonstration to the client at the proposal presentation. The biggest challenge will be writing the program without having the prototype available for testing. However, there is a robotics simulator available in the BAEN department and that will be used for the initial debugging of the program. Overall, I feel that progress during the past two weeks has been good. My contribution to the objectives for which I am responsible has been substantially accomplished. I anticipate that there well be some difficulty in fabricating the prototype, as we do not have the capability to weld stainless steel in our shop but I have located a local welder who can do the work for minimal cost. This individual will need to be approved as a certified vendor but baring any delays with purchasing, that should not affect the schedule. I am on track to make the next milestone on the timeline and expenditures are in line with the budget.
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