Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
26 Smart Ladder
 Bradden Pesce
Lingying Cai
 Luke Wendt design_document0.pdf
final_paper0.pdf
other0.pdf
other0.pdf
other0.pdf
presentation0.pptx
Problem: There are many instances in the workplace where a ladder is required and workers might not take the proper care to insure that the ladder they are using is on a level surface and not on a dangerous incline. It is also a hazard if the worker using the ladder does not notice if the ladder begins to slightly shift or becomes unstable.

Solution: Either a tilt sensor or a flex sensor would be used to detect the stability of the ladder, and then a microcontroller would read the output and tell the speaker to produce a warning if the ladder is not placed on a level enough surface or on an unsafe angle. If the ladder begins to shift while in use, an accelerometer would be used to detect it and the user would be warned to use caution. The warning sound would be saved as a digital sound bit file, and we would implement a DAC so the speaker can play the warning.

Challenges: The worker might not be able to hear the warning sound in many situations, and therefore we would implement LEDs as well so that there is a visual cue for the worker. There could also be a problem where the operator of the ladder has secured the ladder so that the level surface is not an issue; we would add a sound override button that the user can press to disable the sound if necessary. The temperature outside could also affect safety as ice can be present during below freezing temperatures; temperature sensors would be used to detect the temperature outside, and if it is too cold the LEDs would light up to warn the worker to be cautious. Another challenge is that the ladder would be unsafe if too much weight is applied; a pressure sensor would be used on the first step to determine if the ladder would be able to support the weight, and the worker would be warned before they climbed any further.

We are going to determine where the center of gravity of the ladder relative is to the base of stability. A % margin of stability will be calculated based on this signal. We are going to calculate the direction of all the forces on the ladder including gravity and work out the center of mass. This information will be sent to a display that the user can view in order to show the user how close the ladder is to becoming unsafe. We would need load sensors at the base and we will implement a power management system.

Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

John Kim, Quinn Palanca, Rahul Vasanth

Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

Featured Project

I spoke with a TA that approved this idea during office hours today, and they said I should submit it as a project proposal.

# Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

Team Members:

- Rahul Vasanth (rvasant2)

- Quinn Andrew Palanca (qpalanc2)

- John Jung-Yoon Kim (johnjk5)

# Problem

There are few habits as impactful as good dental hygiene. Brushing teeth in the morning and night can significantly improve health outcomes. Many struggle with forming and maintaining this habit. Parents might have a difficult time getting children to brush in the morning and before sleep while homeless shelter staff, rehab facility staff, and really, anyone looking to develop and track this habit may want a non-intrusive, privacy-preserving method to develop and maintain the practice of brushing their teeth in the morning. Keeping track of this information and but not storing it permanently through a mobile application is something that does not exist on the market. A small nudge is needed to keep kids, teenagers, and adults of all ages aware and mindful about their brushing habits. Additionally, many tend to zone out while brushing their teeth because they are half asleep and have no idea how long they are brushing.

# Solution

Our solution is catered toward electric toothbrushes. Unlike specific toothbrush brands that come with mobile applications, our solution applies to all electric toothbrushes, preserves privacy, and reduces screen time. We will implement a habit-forming toothbrush stand with a microcontroller, sensors, and a simple LED display that houses the electric toothbrush. A band of sensors will be wrapped around the base of the toothbrush. Lifting the toothbrush from the stand, turning it on, and starting to brush displays a timer that counts seconds up to ten minutes. This solves the problem of brushing too quickly or losing track of time and brushing for too long. Additionally, the display will provide a scorecard for brushing, with 14 values coming from (morning, night) x (6daysago, 5daysago, . . . , today) for a "record" of one week and 14 possible instances of brushing. This will augment the user's awareness of any new trends, and potentially help parents, their children, and other use cases outlined above. We specifically store just one week of data as the goal is habit formation and not permanent storage of potentially sensitive health information in the cloud.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1 - Sensor Band

The sensor band will contain a Bluetooth/Wireless Accelerometer and Gyroscope, or Accelerometer, IR sensor (to determine height lifted above sink), Bluetooth/Wireless connection to the microcontroller. This will allow us to determine if the electric toothbrush has been turned on. We will experiment with the overall angle, but knowing whether the toothbrush is parallel to the ground, or is lifted at a certain height above the sink will provide additional validation. These outputs need to be communicated wirelessly to the habit-forming toothbrush stand.

Possibilities: https://www.amazon.com/Accelerometer-Acceleration-Gyroscope-Electronic-Magnetometer/dp/B07GBRTB5K/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=wireless+accelerometer&qid=1643675559&sr=8-12 and individual sensors which we are exploring on Digikey and PCB Piezotronics as well.

## Subsystem 2 - Toothbrush Base/Stand and Display

The toothbrush stand will have a pressure sensor to determine when the toothbrush is lifted from the stand (alternatively, we may also add on an IR sensor), a microcontroller with Bluetooth capability, and a control unit to process sensor outputs as well as an LED display which will be set based on the current state. Additionally, the stand will need an internal clock to distinguish between morning and evening and mark states accordingly. The majority of sensors are powered by 3.3V - 5V. If we use a battery, we may include an additional button to power on the display (or just have it turn on when the pressure sensor / IR sensor output confirms the toothbrush has been lifted, or have the device plug into an outlet.

# Criterion For Success

1. When the user lifts the toothbrush from the stan and it begins to vibrate (signaling the toothbrush is on), the brushing timer begins and is displayed.

2. After at least two minutes have passed and the toothbrush is set back on the stand, the display correctly marks the current day and period (morning or evening).

3. Track record over current and previous days and the overall weekly record is accurately maintained. At the start of a new day, the record is shifted appropriately.

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