Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
30 Electric Thermos Box
Celine Chung
Tingfeng Yan
Zerui An
Ruomu Hao design_document1.pdf
design_document2.pdf
design_document3.pdf
design_document4.pdf
final_paper1.docx
proposal1.pdf
proposal2.pdf
Project Members: Zerui An (zeruian2), Tingfeng Yan (ty7), Celine Chung (mwchung2)

# Problem:
Normal thermos cups preserve the temperature of the liquid inside by using proper physical structure to slow the dissipation of thermal energy, but we often find the liquid too hot or too cold when we are using them. Usually, if we find the liquid too hot to drink, we might let the cup open or add some same kind of liquid at a lower temperature. These methods either take long or cannot be performed due to limited conditions. This situation is even worse when we want the liquid to be hotter since we hardly have any ways to heat up the liquid.

# Solution Overview:
We can design an electric thermos cup. This cup can heat up or cool down the drink inside by simply pressing a button, or by setting a desired temperature using the provided buttons.

# Solution Components:
- Subsystem 1 (heating): This module starts heating up the drink once the heating button is pressed (or when desired temp. is higher than current temp.), changing the light color to red at the same time.

- Subsystem 2 (cooling): This module starts cooling down the drink once the cooling button is pressed (or when desired temp. is lower than current temp.), changing the light color to blue at the same time.

- Subsystem 3 (control): This module heats/cools the drink to a user-specified temperature (by sending control signals to subsystem 1 & 2). In case we decide to add a pause button, this module is also responsible for stopping the heating/cooling process when the pause button is pressed.

- Subsystem 4 (display): A screen displaying current liquid temperature, which is measured by a temperature sensor.

- Subsystem 5 (power): Power supply of all the other subsystems.

- Subsystem 6 (safety): This subsystem will take in the data of the temperature sensor and force the system to pause when the temperature is too high or too low. Also activated when the circuit is behaving abnormally (e.g. when the current goes too high)

We now have 3 possible ideas for subsystem 1 (heating subsystem):
(1) By Joule’s Law p = I^2*R, we could use resistors to generate heat. The main challenge of this approach is how we could supply enough power while keeping the voltage and current under control (avoid burning the circuit).
(2) We could run a heat engine in reverse (as a heat pump). Compared to approach (1), this approach requires less power (the exact amount is determined by the efficiency of the heat pump). The main challenge of this approach is to build an efficient yet small heat pump.
(3) We could make use of some reversible chemical reaction that absorbs/releases a fair amount of heat. The main challenge of this approach is to find a satisfying reaction and to build a control system for it.
Approach (2) and (3) can also be applied to subsystem 2 (cooling subsystem)


# Criterion for Success:
Portable size and weight. Heat up and cool down some water in a reasonable amount of time and consume a reasonable amount of energy.

Electronic Mouse (Cat Toy)

Jack Casey, Chuangy Zhang, Yingyu Zhang

Electronic Mouse (Cat Toy)

Featured Project

# Electronic Mouse (Cat Toy)

# Team Members:

- Yingyu Zhang (yzhan290)

- Chuangy Zhang (czhan30)

- Jack (John) Casey (jpcasey2)

# Problem Components:

Keeping up with the high energy drive of some cats can often be overwhelming for owners who often choose these pets because of their low maintenance compared to other animals. There is an increasing number of cats being used for service and emotional support animals, and with this, there is a need for an interactive cat toy with greater accessibility.

1. Get cats the enrichment they need

1. Get cats to chase the “mouse” around

1. Get cats fascinated by the “mouse”

1. Keep cats busy

1. Fulfill the need for cats’ hunting behaviors

1. Interactive fun between the cat and cat owner

1. Solve the shortcomings of electronic-remote-control-mouses that are out in the market

## Comparison with existing products

- Hexbug Mouse Robotic Cat Toy: Battery endurance is very low; For hard floors only

- GiGwi Interactive Cat Toy Mouse: Does not work on the carpet; Not sensitive to cat touch; Battery endurance is very low; Can't control remotely

# Solution

A remote-controlled cat toy is a solution that allows more cat owners to get interactive playtime with their pets. With our design, there will be no need to get low to the ground to adjust it often as it will go over most floor surfaces and in any direction with help from a strong motor and servos that won’t break from wall or cat impact. To prevent damage to household objects it will have IR sensors and accelerometers for use in self-driving modes. The toy will be run and powered by a Bluetooth microcontroller and a strong rechargeable battery to ensure playtime for hours.

## Subsystem 1 - Infrared(IR) Sensors & Accelerometer sensor

- IR sensors work with radar technology and they both emit and receive Infrared radiation. This kind of sensor has been used widely to detect nearby objects. We will use the IR sensors to detect if the mouse is surrounded by any obstacles.

- An accelerometer sensor measures the acceleration of any object in its rest frame. This kind of sensor has been used widely to capture the intensity of physical activities. We will use this sensor to detect if cats are playing with the mouse.

## Subsystem 2 - Microcontroller(ESP32)

- ESP32 is a dual-core microcontroller with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This MCU has 520 KB of SRAM, 34 programmable GPIOs, 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2, and much more. This powerful microcontroller enables us to develop more powerful software and hardware and provides a lot of flexibility compared to ATMegaxxx.

Components(TBD):

- Product: [https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/espressif-systems/ESP32-WROOM-32/8544298](url)

- Datasheet: [http://esp32.net](url)

## Subsystem 3 - App

- We will develop an App that can remotely control the mouse.

1. Control the mouse to either move forward, backward, left, or right.

1. Turn on / off / flashing the LED eyes of the mouse

1. keep the cat owner informed about the battery level of the mouse

1. Change “modes”: (a). keep running randomly without stopping; (b). the cat activates the mouse; (c). runs in cycles(runs, stops, runs, stops…) intermittently (mouse hesitates to get cat’s curiosity up); (d). Turn OFF (completely)

## Subsystem 4 - Motors and Servo

- To enable maneuverability in all directions, we are planning to use 1 servo and 2 motors to drive the robotic mouse. The servo is used to control the direction of the mouse. Wheels will be directly mounted onto motors via hubs.

Components(TBD):

- Metal Gear Motors: [https://www.adafruit.com/product/3802](url)

- L9110H H-Bridge Motor Driver: [https://www.adafruit.com/product/4489](url)

## Subsystem 5 - Power Management

- We are planning to use a high capacity (5 Ah - 10 Ah), 3.7 volts lithium polymer battery to enable the long-last usage of the robotic mouse. Also, we are using the USB lithium polymer ion charging circuit to charge the battery.

Components(TBD):

- Lithium Polymer Ion Battery: [https://www.adafruit.com/product/5035](url)

- USB Lithium Polymer Ion Charger: [https://www.adafruit.com/product/259](url)

# Criterion for Success

1. Can go on tile, wood, AND carpet and alternate

1. Has a charge that lasts more than 10 min

1. Is maneuverable in all directions(not just forward and backward)

1. Can be controlled via remote (App)

1. Has a “cat-attractor”(feathers, string, ribbon, inner catnip, etc.) either attached to it or drags it behind (attractive appearance for cats)

1. Retains signal for at least 15 ft away

1. Eyes flash

1. Goes dormant when caught/touched by the cats (or when it bumps into something), reactivates (and changes direction) after a certain amount of time

1. all the “modes” worked as intended

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