Kanvi’s Status Report for 2/19

This week I finished up researching IoT devices and instead of using the XBee devices from last week’s research, I decided to go with the ESP8266 NodeMCU. They consume less power, are cheaper, and have more documentation on projects similar to ours. I ordered three of these modules with dev boards and I’m excited to get working on wiring this to the sensors that Minu ordered next week. Alongside the NodeMCU decision, I also researched long-term power supplies for these boards and have come across other people’s trade-off research: https://diyi0t.com/best-battery-for-esp8266/. Once we get the boards and set them up with the sensors, we will do some of our own comparisons of power supplies. In class, I worked with Neville to figure out how the ESP8266 dev boards can communicate with our database directly. I also worked on the Design Review slides, making a detailed block diagram and writing up our system specifications. After our meeting with our TA and professor, we were able to make really specific decisions and we are excited to present this week!