Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
32 Blind spot warning for cyclists
 Jingchao Zhou
Kunhao Li
Xiaohang Yu
 Michael Genovese design_document0.pdf
final_paper0.pdf
presentation0.pptx
proposal0.pdf
This project aims to decrease the likelihood of rear-end collision, the most dangerous among all types of bike accidents. In particular, the problem is attacked from perspectives of bicyclists and the drivers behind:

• Bicyclists need the accurate perception of their surrounding environment,
• Vehicle conductors behind bicycles should be advised of an imminent encounter of the bicycle.

For cyclists, this project provides a proximity alert of rear-approaching objects based on input from 6 ultrasonic sensors, to advise cyclists not steer in the way of rear-end obstructions. 6 proximity level indicators are shown on the display, which is installed on the handle of the bicycle. If the program decides the distance of a object behind the bicycle changes, one of the indicator circles will change color accordingly.

For approaching vehicles, the project features a brake light, that will flash rapidly when the cyclist does an emergency stop. The decision of whether the bicycle is braking normally or sharply is made based on inputs from an on-PCB accelerometer. The microcontroller will change the output signals to the brake light’s combinational control logic, so the brake light LED matrix will switch among 3 states: OFF, ON and FLASH.

S.I.P. (Smart Irrigation Project)

Jackson Lenz, James McMahon

S.I.P. (Smart Irrigation Project)

Featured Project

Jackson Lenz

James McMahon

Our project is to be a reliable, robust, and intelligent irrigation controller for use in areas where reliable weather prediction, water supply, and power supply are not found.

Upon completion of the project, our device will be able to determine the moisture level of the soil, the water level in a water tank, and the temperature, humidity, insolation, and barometric pressure of the environment. It will perform some processing on the observed environmental factors to determine if rain can be expected soon, Comparing this knowledge to the dampness of the soil and the amount of water in reserves will either trigger a command to begin irrigation or maintain a command to not irrigate the fields. This device will allow farmers to make much more efficient use of precious water and also avoid dehydrating crops to death.

In developing nations, power is also of concern because it is not as readily available as power here in the United States. For that reason, our device will incorporate several amp-hours of energy storage in the form of rechargeable, maintenance-free, lead acid batteries. These batteries will charge while power is available from the grid and discharge when power is no longer available. This will allow for uninterrupted control of irrigation. When power is available from the grid, our device will be powered by the grid. At other times, the batteries will supply the required power.

The project is titled S.I.P. because it will reduce water wasted and will be very power efficient (by extremely conservative estimates, able to run for 70 hours without input from the grid), thus sipping on both power and water.

We welcome all questions and comments regarding our project in its current form.

Thank you all very much for you time and consideration!