Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Active Bike Light System |
Brian Wolhaupter Jeremy Quinteros Neeraj Kumar |
Zhicong Fan | design_document1.pdf design_document2.pdf design_document3.pdf design_document4.pdf final_paper1.pdf photo1.jpg presentation1.pdf proposal1.pdf |
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| # Active Bike Light System Team Members: - Jeremy Quinteros (jeremyq2) - Brian Wolhaupter (brianaw2) - Neeraj Kumar (nskumar2) # Problem: Bike lights are one of the easiest ways to increase bicyclist visibility while riding at night, but manually having to turn them on and off is easy to forget. The requirements for the lighting system also change depending on the environment. When the sun is out, there is no need to have the lights on, but when the sun goes down, the lights should turn on to alert motorists and pedestrians of the cyclist's presence. The rear light should always flash red to improve visibility for vehicles approaching from the rear, but the front needs to be able to switch between flashing to alert oncoming vehicles, and a constant beam to allow the rider to see the road. Riders often have to manually switch between these two modes, which involves taking their hands off the handlebar which poses a safety hazard. Finally, the lights should turn off when the bike is parked so the cyclist does not need to manually turn them off to preserve the battery. # Solution: A set of lights that handle the different operating modes and a control system that can take input from sensors to determine the correct mode of operation, and correctly activate or deactivate the lights. The product can be manually turned off and on by a non-intrusive switch on the left handlebar. Meanwhile, a switch on the right handlebar will allow the user to switch between the 2 main active modes of operation, which are “smart” mode and all lights on. While in smart mode, the system can set the lights to either blink to alert motorists of the cyclist's presence, or to turn the front light on a constant high setting to allow the rider to see the road in front of them. The blinking position will have the back light be on and blinking, as well as the other front light be blinking and aimed straight ahead so that motorists and pedestrians can more easily recognize the cyclist. The product will use light sensors located on the rear and front of the bicycle to check for motor vehicle traffic. If traffic is detected, the system will automatically switch to the blinking setting. If vehicle traffic has not been detected for a given amount of time, the system will revert to the constant front light. Furthermore, while on smart or all-on mode, the system will use an accelerometer to determine if the bicycle is stationary for an extended period of time. If a predetermined amount of time has lapsed without motion, the system will enter stand-by mode, saving power. Finally, the system will keep track of the time to serve as a check to make sure the system does needlessly turn on, further extending battery life. The user will be instructed to set the times in which they want the system to be active upon purchase. This can be changed in the future to allow for changing sunrise and sunset times. Our system will address all of the above problems by shifting the operational responsibility from the rider to the system. # Solution Components: **Light Sensors** - Measure oncoming light sources and passes that information on to the microprocessor **Accelerometer** - Used to determine when the bike is in motion in order to switch the system from ”stand-by” to “on” **Microprocessor** - Responsible for overall operation of the system. Takes data from the light sensor and accelerometer, and then determines the correct mode of operation **Power system** - Powers the microprocessor and all peripherals, as well as the lights. This will be split into two systems: a main battery module that handles the main power demands, and a smaller backup battery to continue to power the microprocessor if the main power supply fails. This avoids needing to reset the onboard clock every time the main battery is replaced or recharged. **Lights** - There will be 2 front light modules and 1 rear light module. One front light and the rear light will be flashing any time they are on to improve visibility of the cyclist. The second front only turns on to illuminate the road in front of the cyclist, and as such, needs to be much brighter than the flashing lights, as well as sustaining the output for longer periods of time. # Criteria for Success: Our system should at the very least, be able to detect an oncoming vehicle and use that information to turn on the correct lights. Additionally, it should use the data from the accelerometer to put the system into standby when the bike is not being used. Finally, the power system should be able to smoothly transition between the main battery and the backup battery to maintain a constant power supply to the microprocessor. |
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