Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
10 Remotely Adjustable Cast
 Alice Getmanchuk
Jack Burns
Saloni Garg
 Stasiu Chyczewski design_document2.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
photo1.jpg
photo2.PNG
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video
# Remotely Adjustable Cast

Team Members:
- Alice Getmanchuk (aliceg3)
- Jack Burns (jackjb2)
- Saloni Garg (sgarg27)

# Problem

For broken limbs, there are a couple types of casts: plaster, fiberglass, splint, AirCast. And while they all have their own benefits, they also have drawbacks. The non-AirCast types are durable but also heavy, can get mold, and require doctor visits. The AirCast is lighter, but can be expensive and hard to properly put back on by the patient. Currently, patients with AirCasts have no method of setting exact levels of strap tightness by themselves as originally done by the Doctor.

# Solution

The solution to the above problem is to modify an AirCast so that it can be tightened remotely. The doctor would help install the cast once and save the position of the strap tightness. Then, when patients remove their cast to bathe (which prevents mold), they can press a button in the app to correctly tighten their cast again. Additionally, there is the opportunity to have further tele-health visits with the doctor which they can use to remotely adjust the cast and help the patient regain strength. This way, the cast doesn't just act as a stabilizer for broken limbs but can further help as a rehabilitation device. No current auto-adjusting casts exist on the market.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1

Pressure Adjustment/Gauge Subsystem maintains and manipulates the air cells in the cast which may be hard for the user to self-inflate (especially if the cast is on the arm)
- Sensor to detect pressure of air cell: [http://eshop.ece.illinois.edu/parts/Parts_List.htm](http://eshop.ece.illinois.edu/parts/Parts_List.htm) (Pressure sensors from ECE shop?)
- [Stretch goal] Motor to fill and deflate air cell based on current pressure: [https://www.hackster.io/news/programmable-air-is-an-arduino-based-air-pump-for-your-soft-robotics-projects-9945c6ed96aa,](https://www.hackster.io/news/programmable-air-is-an-arduino-based-air-pump-for-your-soft-robotics-projects-9945c6ed96aa) [https://www.adafruit.com/product/4699](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4699)

## Subsystem 2

Strap Adjustment Subsystem maintains and manipulates the straps on the cast which can be improperly tightened and this subsystem aims to prevent that by restoring straps to original tightness after cast is taken off
- Motor to tighten straps: (from ECE shop, doesn’t have to be fancy)
- Small electronic motor/lever component to unlatch the straps: (from ECE shop)
- Force sensor to detect the force of the straps on the cast for proper adjustment:
- ([https://www.instructables.com/AutoStrap-a-Self-Tightening-Strap/](https://www.instructables.com/AutoStrap-a-Self-Tightening-Strap/))

## Subsystem 3

Control Subsystem creates and implements boot tightness presets
- Microcontroller (with Bluetooth connection to connect to app) to handle sensor data and control motors
- [https://www.adafruit.com/product/5400](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5400)
- PCB - microcontroller will interact with sensors on PCB. Power control unit will be on PCB as well.
- Frontend display with preset options and ability to select one option which allows the user to remotely adjust the cast pressure level and strap tightness
- Display of pressure level and strap tightness amount for each preset option
- Allow remote adjustment of presets for doctor/patient

## Subsystem 4

Boot Subsystem
- https://www.amazon.com/United-Ortho-Short-Walker-Fracture/dp/B006L8M2GA/ref=sr_1_27?keywords=air+splint&qid=1662318400&sr=8-27 (possibly one that Alice can borrow)
- Power supply/battery (depends on psi necessary for air pump inflation)

# Criterion For Success

* cast is auto adjusting
* can tighten and loosen without physical user manipulation
* pressure in air cast changes without physical user manipulation

* can be controlled using the app
* have presets for tightnesses
* able to create new presets

Assistive Chessboard

Robert Kaufman, Rushi Patel, William Sun

Assistive Chessboard

Featured Project

Problem: It can be difficult for a new player to learn chess, especially if they have no one to play with. They would have to resort to online guides which can be distracting when playing with a real board. If they have no one to play with, they would again have to resort to online games which just don't have the same feel as real boards.

Proposal: We plan to create an assistive chess board. The board will have the following features:

-The board will be able to suggest a move by lighting up the square of the move-to space and square under the piece to move.

-The board will light up valid moves when a piece is picked up and flash the placed square if it is invalid.

-We will include a chess clock for timed play with stop buttons for players to signal the end of their turn.

-The player(s) will be able to select different standard time set-ups and preferences for the help displayed by the board.

Implementation Details: The board lights will be an RGB LED under each square of the board. Each chess piece will have a magnetic base which can be detected by a magnetic field sensor under each square. Each piece will have a different strength magnet inside it to ID which piece is what (ie. 6 different magnet sizes for the 6 different types of pieces). Black and white pieces will be distinguished by the polarity of the magnets. The strength and polarity will be read by the same magnetic field sensor under each square. The lights will have different colors for the different piece that it is representing as well as for different signals (ie. An invalid move will flash red).

The chess clock will consist of a 7-segment display in the form of (h:mm:ss) and there will be 2 stop buttons, one for each side, to signal when a player’s turn is over. A third button will be featured near the clock to act as a reset button. The combination of the two stop switches and reset button will be used to select the time mode for the clock. Each side of the board will also have a two toggle-able buttons or switches to control whether move help or suggested moves should be enabled on that side of the board. The state of the decision will be shown by a lit or unlit LED light near the relevant switch.

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