Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
72 Umbrella Rental System
Area Award: Public Service
 Shuodong Zhang
Xinyi Wu
Yiheng Xu
 Kexin Hui design_document0.pdf
final_paper0.pdf
presentation0.pdf
proposal0.pdf
Problem:
Umbrella is something we don’t want to carry but really wish we did when it rains or snows all of a sudden when we are outside or getting ready to head out of office or classroom. On campus for example, it would be great if we could have an umbrella rental system that is easily accessible and convenient to use.

Solution:
Our idea is to design an umbrella rental system. The system can read student IDs (campus solution) or other kinds of ID or credit card to determine if the person is eligible to rent, and as a record in case the umbrella is lost or damaged. If you are eligible to rent, the umbrella will be unlocked for you from the rack and the system will record the time and your ID. When you return the umbrella to the rack, the system will record the time again to see whether you need to pay. We could also allow account balance feature to be linked to your IDs if we were going to make this a charged system, and also as security deposits in case of damage. This feature could either be done through computer linked database or built in to the physical system with a credit card reader or through other types of payment. In preventing people returning fake umbrellas (e.g. a stick) we have a bar code on each umbrella which need to be scanned when picking up or returning. For more secure solutions we could also have sensors that detect size and weight of the “umbrella” being returned, or change bar code to an RFID chip inside the umbrella.

Technical:
We will use a simple programmable micro controller as the control module. It will be connected to a master PC where the database for all user information is stored. The micro controller will receive data from the RFID module, process and transmit to master PC, send data to the screen module for display, and transmit signal command to the lock module on the rack where umbrellas are stored. So when a potential user walks up to our system, he’ll first scan his ID on the RFID module or the card reader; information will be scanned and sent to micro controller, then to the master PC; there, the ID will be checked in the database for eligibility, if eligible, micro controller will receive command and signal lock module to release an umbrella. The bar code/ID of the umbrella will be recorded on the system. Simultaneously during this process, the micro controller will also be managing the data displayed on a LCD screen module to show user the corresponding information.
When returning the umbrella, user will need to scan the barcode/RFID on the umbrella, let the system find his ID in the database, follow instruction displayed on screen, place umbrella back to the lock module and wait until system accepts the return and lock the umbrella back in position. If there is an error in the return process the screen will display an alarm.
At the same time, since all rentals are recorded at time of pick up, if certain time has passed and umbrella is not returned the ID or account could be charged. Details of the rules can be easily modified in the software algorithm.

Extended System Use Case/ System Potential
In the case of our project the system is designed for umbrella rentals, however with modifications to the mechanics and sensors we could convert this system for other use cases fairly easily too allowing other things to be rented.

Resonant Cavity Field Profiler

Salaj Ganesh, Max Goin, Furkan Yazici

Resonant Cavity Field Profiler

Featured Project

# Team Members:

- Max Goin (jgoin2)

- Furkan Yazici (fyazici2)

- Salaj Ganesh (salajg2)

# Problem

We are interested in completing the project proposal submitted by Starfire for designing a device to tune Resonant Cavity Particle Accelerators. We are working with Tom Houlahan, the engineer responsible for the project, and have met with him to discuss the project already.

Resonant Cavity Particle Accelerators require fine control and characterization of their electric field to function correctly. This can be accomplished by pulling a metal bead through the cavities displacing empty volume occupied by the field, resulting in measurable changes to its operation. This is typically done manually, which is very time-consuming (can take up to 2 days).

# Solution

We intend on massively speeding up this process by designing an apparatus to automate the process using a microcontroller and stepper motor driver. This device will move the bead through all 4 cavities of the accelerator while simultaneously making measurements to estimate the current field conditions in response to the bead. This will help technicians properly tune the cavities to obtain optimum performance.

# Solution Components

## MCU:

STM32Fxxx (depending on availability)

Supplies drive signals to a stepper motor to step the metal bead through the 4 quadrants of the RF cavity. Controls a front panel to indicate the current state of the system. Communicates to an external computer to allow the user to set operating conditions and to log position and field intensity data for further analysis.

An MCU with a decent onboard ADC and DAC would be preferred to keep design complexity minimum. Otherwise, high MIPS performance isn’t critical.

## Frequency-Lock Circuitry:

Maintains a drive frequency that is equal to the resonant frequency. A series of op-amps will filter and form a control loop from output signals from the RF front end before sampling by the ADCs. 2 Op-Amps will be required for this task with no specific performance requirements.

## AC/DC Conversion & Regulation:

Takes an AC voltage(120V, 60Hz) from the wall and supplies a stable DC voltage to power MCU and motor driver. Ripple output must meet minimum specifications as stated in the selected MCU datasheet.

## Stepper Drive:

IC to control a stepper motor. There are many options available, for example, a Trinamic TMC2100. Any stepper driver with a decent resolution will work just fine. The stepper motor will not experience large loading, so the part choice can be very flexible.

## ADC/DAC:

Samples feedback signals from the RF front end and outputs the digital signal to MCU. This component may also be built into the MCU.

## Front Panel Indicator:

Displays the system's current state, most likely a couple of LEDs indicating progress/completion of tuning.

## USB Interface:

Establishes communication between the MCU and computer. This component may also be built into the MCU.

## Software:

Logs the data gathered by the MCU for future use over the USB connection. The position of the metal ball and phase shift will be recorded for analysis.

## Test Bed:

We will have a small (~ 1 foot) proof of concept accelerator for the purposes of testing. It will be supplied by Starfire with the required hardware for testing. This can be left in the lab for us to use as needed. The final demonstration will be with a full-size accelerator.

# Criterion For Success:

- Demonstrate successful field characterization within the resonant cavities on a full-sized accelerator.

- Data will be logged on a PC for later use.

- Characterization completion will be faster than current methods.

- The device would not need any input from an operator until completion.

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