Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
26 Secure Mailbox with Mobile Connectivity
 Avadh Patel
Neehar Sawant
Roshun Navin
 Vishal Dayalan design_document2.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
photo1.png
photo2.png
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video
Secure Mailbox with Mobile Connectivity

Team Members:
Neehar Sawant (neehar2),
Avadh Patel (apate429),
Roshun Navin (rnavin2)

Problem:
Mail is an integral part of how we receive information from other people, our communities, and businesses alike. However, even though it is delivered almost everyday, mail containing your personal information is in many cases not secure and risks being taken by others. While apartment buildings have keys which are only possessed by the tenant and mailman, many single family and townhomes have a conventional mailbox which is able to be opened by anyone. Currently, smart boxes exist for packages that can be placed outside your front door to be notified when you have a package, but this does not solve the issue for normal paper mail. Upon further inspection, there does not seem to be a smart mailbox which is both secure and can be mounted in place of an existing mailbox.

Solution Overview:
Our solution is to create a mailbox that is able to automatically lock as well as schedule when it is unlocked and send status updates to a mobile application.
The mailbox will use a magnetic contact sensor to determine when the mailbox is opened and then send a signal to the PCB that sets a ready state and waits for the close signal. Once the door is closed, the magnetic contact sensor will send another signal to the PCB which in turn instructs the lock to close.
The PCB will also interface with the mobile application which will send unlock and lock signals to the PCB to control the actions of the locking mechanism. This system will also be used for unlocking the mailbox during a scheduled window which can be controlled in the app.
In order to notify the user if mail is present in the mailbox, multiple ultrasonic sensors will be used to detect if mail is covering any one of them. This information will be sent back to the PCB and then be sent to the mobile application to alert the user of mail.



Solution Components:
- Micro Servo Motor: This small, low powered, motor will be used to lock and unlock the mailbox. It will be attached to a metal extension to secure the lock. Something such as: FeeTech S0005 analog servo.

- Ultrasonic Sensor: This will be used to determine with greater accuracy than a weight sensor whether mail is present inside of the mailbox by checking if the sensor is covered or not.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15569

- Magnetic Contact Sensor: This will be used to determine when the mailbox is being opened and closed. The magnetic sensor has two components and when they are separated a signal is delivered. It will be separated when the door is opened. Something such as: 7939WG Magnetic Contact https://buildings.honeywell.com/us/en/products/by-category/sensors/contact-sensors/7939wg-magnetic-contact

- Wireless module: This will be used to allow the microcontroller to communicate with our mobile application. Something such as: ESP8266.

- Mailbox: We will use a 3d printer to create the mailbox outer casing

- Battery: Lithium Ion Battery - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13855

# Subsystem 1: Power
We will utilize a battery for power and take the necessary steps to supply the PCB, motor, sensors, and other components with the required voltage demands.

# Subsystem 2: Locking Mechanism
The locking mechanism will be utilizing a servo to lock and unlock the mailbox. When the servo is in a horizontal position it will be used as a barrier between the door and the chassis so that the door cannot be opened. It will be moved to a vertical position when the user wants the mailbox to be unlocked in order for the door to open. The locking mechanism will be connected to the PCB which will send the unlock and lock commands.

# Subsystem 3: Sensors Subsystem
There will be ultrasonic sensors in the base of the mailbox and it will detect whenever mail or a package is placed in the mailbox. They will be placed at several positions along the base to ensure mail is detected and the user is accurately notified. We will also have a magnetic contact sensor at the top of the door. This will allow us to accurately know when the door is closed so that we can accordingly lock and secure the mail. Furthermore, we will have a wireless module allowing WIFI connectivity and data transfer to and from the mobile app. All sensors will be connected to and controlled from the PCB.

# Subsystem 4: Application
There will be a mobile application that will be created in order for the user to manually unlock and lock the mailbox. The user will also be able to set time windows in which the mailbox will be unlocked in case of multiple deliveries.

Criterion for Success:
- The mailbox is able to automatically lock and secure the mail after closing

- The mailbox is able to detect mail present and send a notification to the user’s application

- The user is able to lock and unlock the mailbox remotely from the user’s application

- User is able to specify window of time where mailbox will be unlocked

Cloud-controlled quadcopter

Anuraag Vankayala, Amrutha Vasili

Cloud-controlled quadcopter

Featured Project

Idea:

To build a GPS-assisted, cloud-controlled quadcopter, for consumer-friendly aerial photography.

Design/Build:

We will be building a quad from the frame up. The four motors will each have electronic speed controllers,to balance and handle control inputs received from an 8-bit microcontroller(AP),required for its flight. The firmware will be tweaked slightly to allow flight modes that our project specifically requires. A companion computer such as the Erle Brain will be connected to the AP and to the cloud(EC2). We will build a codebase for the flight controller to navigate the quad. This would involve sending messages as per the MAVLink spec for sUAS between the companion computer and the AP to poll sensor data , voltage information , etc. The companion computer will also talk to the cloud via a UDP port to receive requests and process them via our code. Users make requests for media capture via a phone app that talks to the cloud via an internet connection.

Why is it worth doing:

There is currently no consumer-friendly solution that provides or lets anyone capture aerial photographs of them/their family/a nearby event via a simple tap on a phone. In fact, present day off-the-shelf alternatives offer relatively expensive solutions that require owning and carrying bulky equipment such as the quads/remotes. Our idea allows for safe and responsible use of drones as our proposed solution is autonomous, has several safety features, is context aware(terrain information , no fly zones , NOTAMs , etc.) and integrates with the federal airspace seamlessly.

End Product:

Quads that are ready for the connected world and are capable to fly autonomously, from the user standpoint, and can perform maneuvers safely with a very simplistic UI for the common user. Specifically, quads which are deployed on user's demand, without the hassle of ownership.

Similar products and comparison:

Current solutions include RTF (ready to fly) quads such as the DJI Phantom and the Kickstarter project, Lily,that are heavily user-dependent or user-centric.The Phantom requires you to carry a bulky remote with multiple antennas. Moreover,the flight radius could be reduced by interference from nearby conditions.Lily requires the user to carry a tracking device on them. You can not have Lily shoot a subject that is not you. Lily can have a maximum altitude of 15 m above you and that is below the tree line,prone to crashes.

Our solution differs in several ways.Our solution intends to be location and/or event-centric. We propose that the users need not own quads and user can capture a moment with a phone.As long as any of the users are in the service area and the weather conditions are permissible, safety and knowledge of controlling the quad are all abstracted. The only question left to the user is what should be in the picture at a given time.

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