Week 4 featured another exciting meeting for the Gatormatix team and coach with Stephen and Ted Belser. The team has decided to pursue a LiDAR-based navigation approach, while also using it as the primary method to generate 3D models of an indoor scenario. In addition to this, cameras will be used to map real images onto a 3D model, making it look real. As the team continues to research, they will continue to look into ways of creating a primarily Made in America design, ensuring safety of critical components in the future platform.

The team completed the Product Design Specifications, which allows us to prioritize needs, set target values, and set technical performance measures that they hope to achieve. The team has begun working on the Project Roadmap and will be organizing tasks on Jira for week 5 to reflect these goals. In addition, the Meet the Team page is ready!

Gatormatix is born! We decided to name our team Gatormatix, combining ‘Gator’ for UF, with ‘Geomatics’, the study of geospatial data. It combines the two primary aspects of our identity as a team and our project. We finally had our first meeting with our liaisons, which was very productive, and we have gained good insight into the project we have ahead of us. In the coming days we are planning to look into the current available approaches to 3D modeling and compare their strategies with our use case and budget. For now, we will spend time brainstorming ideas on how to approach the problem and see what we can come up with for JWME.