Author: mcadams

This week, I tested the sensor module circuit without the LM7805 and unfortunately got similar results as before with the circuit lasting about 2.5 days. I am now rerunning the test with different software since the HTTP requests were being sent at a 5-second interval, but I think that making the interval 1 minute more resembles how a bench is used and I’m confident we’ll get a better battery life this way. I also cut the pieces for the final people countercase, and I’ll be assembling it tomorrow as I have to work on other classes. Also, at the start of the week, I 3-D printed the sensor case with no issues. We’ve planned our demo as well for next week, and plan on showing a live feed with the help of a friend of the gym to show that our application works in real-time.

My progress is on schedule as I had allotted time for both debugging the sensor and creating the demo cases for the two sensor systems.

I look to have the cases finalized for the demo with everything soldered together inside and complete the final deliverables (poster, video, report) with my teammates.

Last week, I improved the power performance of the bench sensor modules, but I realized that reaching our use case requirement of 1 week for the sensor is unlikely. I modified the detection algorithm so that Wifi is only on when the device is sending a request. This is still not enough, and it seems that Wifi as a protocol is too expensive.

This week I worked on creating the models for both the people counter and the bench sensor.  For the bench sensors, I produced an initial version of the case using Rhino and am currently 3D printing it. The case should fit 2 mini breadboards, a battery pack, and the IR sensor.  I also collected material for the people counter, and I put it together this week.

I am currently on schedule.

I look to finish the case for the people counter and continue looking for ways to improve the power consumption in the people counter.

As someone on the software track, working with mostly hardware this project has been both rewarding and challenging. I’ve gotten better at reading datasheets for different components to understand how they work. I think that my experience in 18220 was useful in building the circuit. I’ve also found blogs written by fellow tech enthusiasts very useful when I was getting started as they gave me a base for understanding how the NodeMCU can read analog data, and how it communicates with outside devices.

<==== This is the layout of the bottom of the case.

The .stl file of the top.

The .stl file of the base.

I have put aside my plan to build a case for the bench sensor and people counter hardware setups, and have spent time debugging the power issue with my bench sensor. It is running out of battery too quickly. After some probing, I narrowed the issue down to the NodeMCU being the problem, but I am still looking into how it can consume less power.

My progress is on schedule, but I would like to resolve the power issue soon. •

I am hoping to have a plan for fixing the power issue.

I have already verified the IR sensors by measuring my distance from them and reading the output voltage levels to verify that they work within the range they were advertised (100-550cm). I used equipment available in the ECE Lab of Hammershlag. I look to re-verify the accuracy of the bench sensor module detection algorithm by running 10 trials of someone arriving, 10 trials of someone leaving, and 10 trials of someone using the machine with a water break and with obstacles in the background.

I finished testing the components for both the people counter and bench sensor, and implemented the hardware for both the people counter and the bench sensor. I also implemented the software for the bench sensor and worked with Sid to implement the software for the people counter. We were able to integrate everything together with the EC2 instance and we set everything up in the gym (check our Team Report).

My progress was behind, but setting up early this week has helped me go back to schedule.

I do not have any deliverables for the week, I look to just refine both the people counter and bench sensor casing by most likely using laser-cut wood.

Here is the link to the bench sensor code: https://github.com/maxcadams/capstone-bench-sensor/blob/main/bench_sense.ino

I finished testing all of our hardware components this week, soldering together the ADC for the people counter and performing tests on the IR sensors that will be used. I measured the distances with voltage readings and then compared these to the ADS1015 (the ADC) in the NodeMCU. I also set up the Raspberry Pi for the people counter. I have an algorithm for the bench sensors ready for set up this upcoming week.

My progress is slightly behind, I wasn’t able to set up the system in the gym with my group. Since we are finished testing everything and are putting our systems together, we are going to have the preliminary systems set up in the UC gym at the start of this week.

We’d like to have the systems up in the gym and begin analyzing the data we collect.