Project

#	Title	Team Members	TA	Documents	Sponsor
5	Remote Fireworks Launcher	Daniel Middendorf Michael Hlinka Trenton Sanford	Kexin Hui	design_document0.pdf final_paper0.pdf photo0.jpg presentation0.pptx proposal0.pdf
	Remote Fireworks Launcher Problem Every year there are thousands of firework related injuries in the United States alone. In 2017, there were 8 deaths due to firework mishaps and 12,900 others ended up in the hospital. Other companies, such as Cobra, Remote Firing Systems, and Firefly already sell remote fireworks launchers, but even the cheap versions will cost a few hundred dollars and they quickly scale to around one thousand dollars. Solution Overview Our idea is for a wireless remote firework launcher. There would be two main parts of this wireless launcher, the controller and the receiver. This launcher would be equipped with sensors that will be able to detect a successful or failed launch and if people are around the launch pad. We plan on processing these inputs (sensors and controller inputs) in the receiver and sending that data back to the controller. These packets will include information such as success/error messages for the user to see. What makes our idea unique is our added safety features and how inexpensive our system would be. Solution Components Sensor Subsystem Passive Infrared sensors will detect movement near the launch pad from a safe distance and will prevent ignitions from happening. We’re currently thinking of using the IRA-S210ST01 sensor for this purpose. Some sort of UV filter will be needed to prevent the sensors from getting damaged by direct sunlight. Thermal sensors to detect if a firework has gone off or been successfully ignited (might be able to also use motion sensors for this purpose). Wireless Communication Subsystem Wireless communication between the controller and the receiver will be handled by the esp8266. Checksum will be used on each message to detect bit flips and other communication errors to prevent misfires. Messages with incorrect checksums will be discarded. Receiver Subsystem Uses microcontroller to process messages from the Wireless Communication Subsystem and feedback from the Sensor Subsystem. When a launch message is received and there are no unexpected behavior detected by the Sensor Subsystem, the receiver uses igniter clips to light the fuse of the specified firework. Power Subsystem Convert battery power to meet the voltage and current demands of the microcontrollers, Sensor Subsystem, and Wireless Communication Subsystem. Separate Batteries for the controller and receiver. Look into using a capacitor for the launching system in order to be able to use a smaller and cheaper battery in the reciever Controller Subsystem Push button signals go to microcontroller which is then sent to the Wireless Communication Subsystem. Microcontroller processes feedback from the receiver and uses LEDs (or lcd display) to indicate successful or failed launches. Criteria for success For a successful project, we need to be able to press a button on our controller and, some distance away, our receiver would ignite one of our fireworks. we would also need our different safety measures to operate correctly and reliability. Group Members • Michael Hlinka • Daniel Middendorf • Trent Sanford Netids • mhlinka • mddndrf2 • trsanfo2 Links • Web Board https://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/pace/view-topic.asp?id=27019 • stats on firework injuries https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2018/07/02/493945.htm • other firework launcher companies http://www.cobrafiringsystems.com/ https://shootfirefly.com/ http://remotefiringsystems.com/

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.

Project

Cloud-controlled quadcopter

Featured Project

Project Videos