Purpose

The goal of our project was to turn a red wagon into a mobile following transport. The scope of our current design is for use as a personal assistant, as it can follow a person wearing a brightly colored shirt and provide a place for storing their belongings. Our prototype could be useful for many applications were a person needs to have access to heavy items and be mobile at the same time. Possible examples include: gardeners who need to carry tools and supplies through their garden, librarians while restocking books, costumers at home improvement stores, etc.

Scaling Our Prototype

Our current prototype operates at a slow walking speed and has one-axel turning with a fifteen degree radius. It uses a USB camera to track a person wearing a bright shirt and follows within a couple feet. Foreseeable improvements in the future include faster speeds, as well as reverse, tighter, two axel steering, smarter tracking mechanisms that don't confine the user with clothing requirements, and more sophisticated controls that allow for complicated navigation through tight areas and corners.