User:Cpecenka/wup1

Project Preference
Biovest, Hallway robot, Smart Shoe

Problem Statement
The project is to design a device you can attach to your shoe to wirelessly transmit onto the computer how high the user had jumped. The project is is the Design phase of the engineering process.

Project Plan
Our plan is to first look at what the other groups have done-- what codes did they use? How far did they get in the design process? What worked and what didn't? What materials did they use, etc. After this, we will replicate to have the same understanding as they did, and bring to it new ideas to finish the design process. The current goals are to make the contraption wireless, design a case/a way to attach it, and how to power the device.

Week 1 Narrative
In the first week, we were assigned our groups. Once put in our groups, we researched what each group had done previously by looking at their reports from the design process. We assigned tasks, and we also did some research into wireless communication and battery powered devices on our own and in the classroom. We found a wireless shield and thought perhaps something small like a watch battery would be good for wireless communication and for powering the device.

Week 2 Narrative
This week for our group was all about continuing research into past groups work and seeing what we could bring to it. My job this week when we assigned tasks on Monday was to understand how to implement wireless communication and sketch some quick examples for an encasement for the device. Wireless communication can be established with the codes created by Group B that send information from the transmitter to the receiver. However I hit a bump in the road whenever I realized that the code from Group B needed some minor modifications. If I had simply copy and pasted the code Group B used into the Arduino software, the serial monitor would constantly be reading and updating information even when the device was stationary and not moving, this should not have happened because since the device was not moving, there should have been no information to interpret therefore there should have been nothing being presented on the serial monitor. After running an analog program on the Arduino we found that each device has a different value when it is at rest. Group B's resting value was 365 which was what was in their code, however the resting value for our groups is 606. I changed this in the code as well as modified the sensitivity levels seeing what values would be sensitive enough to detect when the user jumped, but not sensitive enough to read a value whenever the device was simply moved across a surface. the code now reads:

To put that in English, the code reads the analog input pin A0 which is the zpin (the zpin is what measures vertical height). It begins by subtracting the resting value of 606 so that the stationary height would read 0 when the device is not in motion. Whenever the deivce is raised, the words "Took off!" are printed on the serial monitor and the amount of time you were in the air is measured in milliseconds. The height is read by the equation: height = (3.281*(1.22625*(elapsedS*elapsedS))). Then at the end of the code, the user can't jump higher than 4 feet because the sensor cannot compute higher than that, it will read that you jumped 1893 feet. However if your jump is less than 4 feet, the height of your jump will print on the serial monitor. Since reconstructing group B's project and modifying the code and understanding how it works took the whole week (and some help from Farouq so I didn't have to pull my hair out)week three for me will probably be dedicated to looking at how to establish wireless communication by looking at the transmitter and receiver codes or designing a case and learning how to use the 3D printer.

Week 3 Narrative
This week, my task was to design a case in detail for the smart shoe device. The case will hold the battery, the arduino micro, the transmitter, and the accelerometer. The requirements for this project are to keep the case small and lightweight and making sure the device is attached securely to the users shoe so that way the accelerometer readings will be correct. (if the accelerometer moves, the data sent through the transmitter will be incorrect). So, in order to meet these requirements I sketched a few rough outlines in my notebook of what I wanted the case to look like and then I took measurements of all of the components that will be in the case in millimeters to be as close as possible to ensure as little movement as possible. The battery will lay in the bottom of the case and the arduino micro will sit directly on top of it. On the side of the case will be compartments for the accelerometer and transmitter. Making these compartments will be possible from the measurements taken of the devices. The case will be attached to the users shoe by the shoe laces with two flexible plastic clips.



Week 4 Narrative
My task for week for was to simply print out the case as the final step using the measurements taken during week3. The only problem with this-- the 3D printer broke the day we were supposed to print it out and as far as I know has not been repaired yet. So, after walking around the mall for a few hours I decided to go to Michael's Craft Store and bought a case that would fit all of the device in it. What I did not account for was how much space the wires would take up. since they were small I assumed that I would be able to put them in the free space in the case however that was not the situation I found myself in. I then cut off the top of the case in oder to make it a centimeter or two bigger by applying layers of hot glue to it and in turn when the device works will be able to be sealed using hot glue. It will be attached by some sort type of a clip, with the resources available it will probably end up being four paper clips, two on the top and two on the bottom.