Summer Internship Project - May 2024

Summer Internship Project - May 2024

Custom ADAS For
Material Handling Vehicles

Custom ADAS For
Material Handling Vehicles

At ford, I developed, tested and deployed a custom ADAS that enhanced safety.

Problem Statement

Accidents involving Material Handling Vehicles cause significant damage to life and property, and yet they continue to remain an indispensable part of the logistics chain.

This project aimed to solve the problem by developing a custom Driver Assistance System that could retro-fit onto any MHV with an aggressive price target of 300$/unit.

My Contribution

  • Detailed driver behavior research analysis via interviews.

  • Developed a novel sensor-fusion logic, integrating RADARs and SONARs.

  • Conducted over 40hrs of HIL testing.

  • Created detailed wiki to accelerate future development cycle.

Impact

  • Deployed MVP in just 11 weeks.

  • Enhanced driver awareness, ergonomics & safety.

  • Concept was adopted for further development and larger pilot.

The Process

A deeper dive into the broad steps that were taken to successfully develop the project

A deeper dive into the broad steps that were taken to successfully develop the project

Problem Analysis

Conducted on-site interviews to understand driver behavior and root cause of errors. Co-designed feedback mechanisms to enable seamless integration into their existing workflow.

User Analysis | Co-Designing

Sensor - Fusion

Conducted in-depth research on various sensors and processors, evaluating their computational requirements.

Developed a novel sensor-fusion approach integrating RADAR, SONAR, and accelerometers for advanced vehicle state estimation, enabling optimized sensing patterns for enhanced performance

FMCW RADARs | SONARs | Component Research

Prototyping

Prototyped the entire system in a shoe-box on a mobile hand-cart, testing and collecting indoor data for optimization and calibration.

Developed C++ based firmware to enable intra-processor communication using USB as the central communication protocol and UART/IIC/SPI on the edge.

C++ | Python | Embedded Systems | Sensor Calibration

Feedback Mechanism

User research highlighted a need for a new feedback mechanism which the the drivers "can view off of the corner of their eye".

Taking inspiration from blind-spot monitors and studying human peripheral vision processing capabilities, I developed a custom LED matrix display.

Information Architecture | Embedded Firmware | UI Design

Final MVP

I delivered an MVP in a remarkable time of 11 weeks with over 40 hours of pilot tests

I delivered an MVP in a remarkable time of 11 weeks with over 40 hours of pilot tests

Mounting

Designed a magnet-based enclosure enabling versatile and customizable mounting.

Smart Monitoring

Used a multi-colored status bulb to monitor key sensor and processor status.

Comm-Network

Developed a custom communication architecture to enable high-speed lossless data transfer.

Smarter. Safer.

Smarter. Safer.

A complete system that enhances driver and pedestrian safety at a cost that makes it exponentially scalable.

"The system tells you what to expect before you see it. It was a good addition" - Forklift Operator @ Ford

A complete system that enhances driver and pedestrian safety at a cost that makes it exponentially scalable.

"The system tells you what to expect before you see it. It was a good addition" - Forklift Operator @ Ford

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