Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
53 Sensor Activated Home Hub Curtains
 Anusha Anumakonda
Daniel Chiu
Rachel Fu
 Bonhyun Ku design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
Daniel Chiu, dschiu2 (ONLINE)
Anusha Anumakonda, aanuma2 (ONCAMPUS)
Rachel Fu, yuhanf22 (ONCAMPUS)

Title: Sensor Activated Home Hub Curtains

Problem: Curtains are a highly underestimated yet cheap and effective method of heating that many ignore. Especially in older homes, windows are the main vector of heat loss in a home and the area with least amount of insulation. Research has shown that simply drawing curtains at dusk can reduce heat loss of 15 percent. However, despite being so effective, curtains and technology for curtains has barely advanced. The most widely available high-tech curtain option on the market currently is a “smart curtain” device that allows curtains to be opened and closed remotely by an app. However, with the constant flux of environmental factors such as time of day, outside lighting, draft from various wind speeds, and temperature of both indoors and outdoors, these smart devices are not making use of the huge amount of data available to further automate curtains for a smart living.

Solution Overview: Create a device that makes use of the wide range of information using sensors to create an automated curtain device that can dynamically make decisions of when to open or close curtains, and even choose from a selection of installed curtains (reflective curtains for sun, heavy curtains for cold, etc). Additionally, the device will act as a sensor device that will feed data to other smart devices in the home (i.e. lighting information to smart bulbs, heating for thermostats, etc).

Solution Components:
Curtain motor: This will be the physical hardware that opens, closes, and switches the curtains when given a signal. This device will consist of motors that can drag heavy curtains, and attach to the curtain hanger rod. It will move laterally, pulling the first ring of the curtains to the other side.

Sensor system: This will be the signal triggers for the automated aspect of the device.
The sensors will take information such as temperature and lighting in order to determine what action to take. The sensors used will be a thermometer and lux sensor for the simple measurements. More advanced sensors to detect drafts from wind and temperature changes from precipitation can be later incorporated.

Power source: The device will require a constant power supply in order to query the server and sensors for data inputs, as well as more intensive power for when the motor needs to be activated. The most reliable source would be a direct connection to A/C power through a wire. Possibilities of battery are also viable.

Network connectivity: This will allow the device to connect to a network in order to receive specific user preferences, such as scheduled actions, temperature preferences, as well as allowing the device to have the potential to talk to not only multiples of the same smart curtain device, but other smart devices in the home as well. The network connection will be based on a wifi system, and as such a wifi chip component will be required.

Central server: This will be where the device communicates for not only sharing the information it gathers, but receiving information on the user. This can be accomplished by creating a simple web hook on a remote (or on site) server.

UI App: In order for users to input their preferences and remotely control the device, a mobile app that sends information to the central server for the device to retrieve will allow users to remotely control the device.

Success Criterion:
Have a curtain device that can open and close through remote control
Have the curtain device open and close based on sensor information
Have the curtain device synchronize with other smart devices by sharing information gathered.

Prosthetic Control Board

Caleb Albers, Daniel Lee

Prosthetic Control Board

Featured Project

Psyonic is a local start-up that has been working on a prosthetic arm with an impressive set of features as well as being affordable. The current iteration of the main hand board is functional, but has limitations in computational power as well as scalability. In lieu of this, Psyonic wishes to switch to a production-ready chip that is an improvement on the current micro controller by utilizing a more modern architecture. During this change a few new features would be added that would improve safety, allow for easier debugging, and fix some issues present in the current implementation. The board is also slated to communicate with several other boards found in the hand. Additionally we are looking at the possibility of improving the longevity of the product with methods such as conformal coating and potting.

Core Functionality:

Replace microcontroller, change connectors, and code software to send control signals to the motor drivers

Tier 1 functions:

Add additional communication interfaces (I2C), and add temperature sensor.

Tier 2 functions:

Setup framework for communication between other boards, and improve board longevity.

Overview of proposed changes by affected area:

Microcontroller/Architecture Change:

Teensy -> Production-ready chip (most likely ARM based, i.e. STM32 family of processors)

Board:

support new microcontroller, adding additional communication interfaces (I2C), change to more robust connector. (will need to design pcb for both main control as well as finger sensors)

Sensor:

Addition of a temperature sensor to provide temperature feedback to the microcontroller.

Software:

change from Arduino IDE to new toolchain. (ARM has various base libraries such as mbed and can be configured for use with eclipse to act as IDE) Lay out framework to allow communication from other boards found in other parts of the arm.