Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
35 Variable Speed Sump Pump
 Carolyn Petersen
Edward Villasenor
 Amr Martini design_document2.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
presentation1.pdf
proposal3.pdf
Members:
cnpeter2, (Carolyn Petersen)
villasr2 (Edward Villasenor)
manuelf2 (Manuel Florez)

# Problem:
The goal of our project is to create a variable speed sump pump. Current sump pumps on the market function just by turning a motor on when a float switch is triggered and the sump is filled.
Unique Solution: Our project aims to save energy and increase the longevity of the pump by making the process more efficient. We plan to do this by detecting how fast the water level is rising and adjusting the speed of the motor accordingly. If the water is rising quickly, the motor should move faster and if the water is increasing slowly, the motor should run slower.
# Components:
## Motor/Impeller System
We plan to do this by using a DC motor with a motor controller attached to batteries for power and an arduino for programming. The goal is for the pump to pump as slowly as possible while maintaining a similar water level. Any equipment in the actual sump will obviously have to be waterproof. We plan for our sump pump to be a pedestal sump pump so the motor, motor controller and arduino will be outside of the sump, and the sensors and impeller system will have to be in the sump. We hope to buy an impeller system or use one from an existing sump pump that we will attach to our motor.
## Water Level Sensing
We have a couple ideas for detecting the rate water fills the sump. One idea is using multiple floater switches (potentially 3). One will be an emergency switch that flips when the sump is filled and turns the motor on its highest speed. The others will be used to calculate how fast the water is rising by flipping when at a set height and calculating the time it takes between the two flips. Another sensor we were thinking about using is a water level depth sensor for an arduino if it works well enough. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XHDZ3Q4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1).
We plan for this to be a battery operated backup pump as it is most important to save energy in emergency situations where a backup would be used.
## Battery
We plan to build a DC-DC converter to adjust the current and voltage from the battery to the motor controller.
# Criteria for success
For a sump pump to pump water faster when the water flow rate is higher and slower when the water flow rate is lower.

Electronic Automatic Transmission for Bicycle

Tianqi Liu, Ruijie Qi, Xingkai Zhou

Featured Project

Tianqi Liu(tliu51)

Ruijie Qi(rqi2)

Xingkai Zhou(xzhou40)

Sometimes bikers might not which gear is the optimal one to select. Bicycle changes gears by pulling or releasing a steel cable mechanically. We could potentially automate gear changing by hooking up a servo motor to the gear cable. We could calculate the optimal gear under current condition by using several sensors: two hall effect sensors, one sensing cadence from the paddle and the other one sensing the overall speed from the wheel, we could also use pressure sensors on the paddle to determine how hard the biker is paddling. With these sensors, it would be sufficient enough for use detect different terrains since the biker tend to go slower and pedal slower for uphill or go faster and pedal faster for downhill. With all these information from the sensors, we could definitely find out the optimal gear electronically. We plan to take care of the shifting of rear derailleur, if we have more time we may consider modifying the front as well.

Besides shifting automatically, we plan to add a manual mode to our project as well. With manual mode activated, the rider could override the automatic system and select the gear on its own.

We found out another group did electronic bicycle shifting in Spring 2016, but they didn't have a automatic function and didn't have the sensor set-up like ours. Commercially, both SRAM and SHIMANO have electronic shifting products, but these products integrate the servo motor inside the derailleurs, and they have a price tag over $1000. Only professionals or rich enthusiasts can have a hand on them. As our system could potentially serve as an add-on device to all bicycles with gears, it would be much cheaper.

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