[Charlotte] Status Update 10.19.19
What did you personally accomplish this week on the project?
We finished up our Design doc this past Monday because we had a mixup about the deadline of the design doc. I finally successfully got the Rpi to connect to wifi. This allowed me to download and install the software to code the Pi Cap. After following those steps I tested the Pi Cap in lab. You can adjust the sensitivity of the conductive tabs so that they work more as a touch sensor or as a proximity sensor. I was able to get the Pi Cap to detect my hand as far as 8 to 10 inches above a piece of paper painted with conductive paint that it was wired to, which is super cool!
I also spent time in lab creating a rig to test the PIR sensor at the correct distance. After spending the majority of lab time building this cantilevered rig at about 8 feet up in the air, I realize that it didn’t produce an optimal testing environment. The rode that stuck out from the wall that the PIR sensor was attached to would wiggle a bit causing false positives; the sensor thought it detected motion when really it was the thing moving. I then move the sensor so that it was mounted at the back of the lab station angled down word at the student working at that station. It worked a lot better, although it would detect humans passing by behind the seated student. I think this problem can be resolved by placing the sensor on the top left wall of the study carrel and pointing it across the desk so that the right side of the study carrel blocks the sensor form detecting other motion.
Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule?
We are slightly behind schedule. We initially planed to work on communication between RPis last week and wrapped that up soon. I have begun research on how I would like to go about the wifi communication between RPis but still need to work on completing this. We have gotten to the point that we have finalized our sensor system and we are working now on refining and calibrating the sensor system so that it preforms well. I will be in California this week but plan to bring RPis with me so I can continue working on code for the Rpis to communicate over wifi with each other.
What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?
I plan to have Rpis able to communicate over wifi with each other and I will begin thinking about how I am going to have the sensor hub send information to the application so that it can be displayed in the UI. We also have an ethics assignment that I plan to complete. Finally, I plan on ordering more parts so that I can continue building once I get back to Pittsburgh.
What are the most significant risks that could jeopardize the success of the project? How are these risks being managed? What contingency plans are ready?
I think that currently this biggest risk is the PIR sensor because after spending time testing that sensor this week I feel that it will be tricky to get it to work with as much accuracy as we need to maintain an accurate mapping of which study carrels are occupied or not.
Were any changes made to the existing design of the system (requirements, block diagram, system spec, etc)? Why was this change necessary, what costs does the change incur, and how will these costs be mitigated going forward?
We initial said that we would have the PIR sensor mounted on the ceiling. It is much more likely that it ends up being mounted to one of the walls of the study carrel. This doesn’t cause much of a problem; it actually makes wiring together our system easier since the PIR sensor is no longer on the ceiling.