BarrowTech

Inspiration

One of our team is a full-time landscaper who moves ~10 tons of raw materials with a wheelbarrow weekly. He is constantly told that placing the materials forwards in the wheelbarrow is more efficient and saves effort, but wants to know the optimal placement to maximize the center of mass manipulation and minimize effort in each wheelbarrow push - saving a lot of energy over the course of his work.

What it does

By providing some information about your height and required stone load, you'll be able to move masses (using a wheelbarrow) more optimally than ever before! This program finds and visualizes where to place mass in meters ahead of the wheel. With some MATLAB file tweaking, the wheelbarrow simulation can be changed to match your tools to find a precise optimal location for you.

How we built it

With a MATLAB executable as the backbone of the project, this React website takes in the wheelbarrow pickup height displacement and expected load as input parameters and sends them via an API call to the backend where Python Flask is hosting a MATLAB executable calculating the most optimal location in the wheelbarrow for rock placement. Taking the calculated output from the MATLAB executable, the backend returns an API response which the React front-end receives and displays the information to the user.

Challenges we ran into

One of the primary issues we faced was figuring out how to export the information calculated using a MATLAB program as the programs couldn't directly communicate with the front-end via the usual straightforward techniques. Dynamically calling the variables in the backend would not work unless we found specific packages to install. Large packages and languages could not be installed in a timely manner due to the slow internet of SFU-guest.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We discovered a method to export MATLAB calculations and functions to other languages, diversifying where it could be used. We accurately modelled the nuances of balancing a wheelbarrow - hoisting causes the center of mass to move backwards, requiring a further stone placement. Hoisting too far lets the tray front and back to balance out the center of wheelbarrow mass, requiring a lightly fluctuating, but not strictly increasing or decreasing stone placement. In terms of program application, landscapers and contractors know how to measure their tools and height displacement, which means that our results can help working people in our communities.

What we learned

How to export information/functions from MATLAB through conversion to executable files usable in Python.
How to modify and specify API calls through our React front-end and Python.
How to time-manage and multitask due to extensive downloading downtimes.

What's next for BarrowTech

Create simulations in Simulink that calculate the torque of each individual part of a wheelbarrow as it is hoisted, resulting in more accurate information and reducing assumptions required.