Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
1 Low Cost Solution of Thermal Cycler for LifeFoundry, Inc.
Area Award: Interdisciplinary Work
Pei Liu
Shaoyu Meng
Yuanjiu Hu
Xinrui Zhu design_document0.pdf
final_paper0.pdf
other0.brd
other0.ino
other0.ino
other0.sch
presentation0.pdf
proposal0.pdf
video
video
Names and NetIDs
Shaoyu Meng smeng9
Yuanjiu Hu yhu49
Pei Liu peiliu3

Company background
LifeFoundry, Inc. is a startup based in the research park focusing on the automatic control of synthetic biology processes. Their main goal is to build low-cost and high-throughput devices that will facilitate the research in this field.

Problem statement
Thermal cycler is a device that will raise and lower the temperature of a sample plate repeatedly during a synthetic biology process, namely 30+ cycles will take several hours to complete. However, existing products are expensive and often require manual input. Thus researchers need to be physically in the lab to conduct experiments. In addition, current products mostly use fans to cool the block, which is not the most effective solution for repetitive cooling operations.

Solution description
We are planning to design a prototype of such machine that will cost less than $400. It will also have remote control and a water cooling system. The addition of a water cooling system gives researcher more flexibility when a large number of heating/cooling operations are needed. Also theoretically, water cools the block faster than air, thus saving time. A modular design of this project would consists five parts.

Power System: Use AC to DC power converter to power PCB board(5V) and heating pad(12V). We choose AC over battery because we want to have a steady voltage, as well as more precise control in heating rate.
Heating Pad: Heating pad goes under the sample plate. It is designed to be built with a matrix of resistors that we are able to control the temperature rising process of thermocycler.
Water Cooling System: Water cooling system comes together with the heating pad. They are designed to be on the same aluminum slab for better heat conduction. Consists of a water tank and electronically controlled pump and water pipes under the heating pad. Because water is separated from the system, any possible leakage will not contaminate the sample and damage the PCB board.
Sensor: Multiple temperature sensors(thermistors) will be installed above the sample plate and below the sample plate for uniformity and redundancy.
Microcontroller: Microcontroller will handle the PID algorithm of heating/cooling rate and the communication between computer and PCB board for automation. The input signals include sensor data from multiple spots and signals from the computer to change the program parameters. The output should be the connected to heating pad and water valve.

Novelty
Currently, thermal cyclers We are the first to offer water cooling feature in such machines. We think many of the existing machines on the market today are ridiculously overpriced, and we intend to disrupt this niche market by offering our low-cost solution.

Look into:
An example of current overpriced product
https://www.coleparmer.com/i/eppendorf-6332000029-thermal-cycler-eco-115-or-230-vac/9394439?PubID=UX&persist=true&ip=no&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjKeS9OeV1gIVArXACh3jzg7gEAYYASABEgLxkvD_BwE

Peltier effects / solid state refrigerator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling

Modularized Electronic Locker

Jack Davis, Joshua Nolan, Jake Pu

Modularized Electronic Locker

Featured Project

Group Member: Jianhao (Jake) Pu [jpu3], Joshua Nolan [jtnolan2], John (Jack) Davis [johnhd4]

Problem:

Students living off campus without a packaging station are affected by stolen packages all the time. As a result of privacy concerns and inconsistent deployment, public cameras in Champaign and around the world cannot always be relied upon. Therefore, it can be very difficult for victims to gather evidence for a police report. Most of the time, the value of stolen items is small and they are usually compensated by the sellers (Amazon and Apple are very understanding). However, not all deliveries are insured and many people are suffering from stolen food deliveries during the COVID-19 crisis. We need a low-cost solution that can protect deliveries from all vendors.

Solution Overview:

Our solution is similar to Amazon Hub Apartment Locker and Luxer One. Like these services, our product will securely enclose the package until the owners claim the contents inside. The owner of the contents can claim it using a phone number or a unique user identification code generated and managed by a cloud service.

The first difference we want to make from these competitors is cost. According to an article, the cost of a single locker is from $6000 - $20000. We want to minimize such costs so that we can replace the traditional mailbox. We talked to a Chinese manufacturer and got a hardware quote of $3000. We can squeeze this cost if we just design our own control module on ESP32 microcontrollers.

The second difference we want to make is modularity. We will have a sensor module, a control module, a power module and any number of storage units for hardware. We want to make standardized storage units that can be stacked into any configuration, and these storage units can be connected to a control module through a communication bus. The control module houses the hardware to open or close all of the individual lockers. A household can purchase a single locker and a control module just for one family while apartment buildings can stack them into the lockers we see at Amazon Hub. I think the hardware connection will be a challenge but it will be very effective at lowering the cost once we can massively manufacture these unit lockers.

Solution Components:

Storage Unit

Basic units that provide a locker feature. Each storage unit will have a cheap microcontroller to work as a slave on the communication bus and control its electronic lock (12V 36W). It has four connectors on top, bottom, left, and right sides for stackable configuration.

Control Unit

Should have the same dimension as one of the storage units so that it could be stacked with them. Houses ESP32 microcontroller to run control logics on all storage units and uses the built-in WiFi to upload data to a cloud server. If sensor units are detected, it should activate more security features accordingly.

Power Unit

Power from the wall or from a backup battery power supply and the associated controls to deliver power to the system. Able to sustain high current in a short time (36W for each electronic lock). It should also have protection against overvoltage and overcurrent.

Sensor Modules

Sensors such as cameras, motion sensors, and gyroscopes will parlay any scandalous activities to the control unit and will be able to capture a photo to report to authorities. Sensors will also have modularity for increased security capabilities.

Cloud Support

Runs a database that keeps user identification information and the security images. Pushes notification to end-users.

Criterion for Success:

Deliverers (Fedex, Amazon, Uber Eats, etc.) are able to open the locker using a touchscreen and a use- provided code to place their package inside. Once the package is inside of the locker, a message will be sent to the locker owner that their delivery has arrived. Locker owners are able to open the locker using a touchscreen interface. Owners are also able to change the passcode at any time for security reasons. The locker must be difficult to break into and offer theft protection after multiple incorrect password attempts.

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