Proposed Project Ideas
Ideas for senior design projects
Proposal #1
CAN-Driven HMI Display
Controller Area Network (CAN) Device to display targeted information to the user and record detailed vehicle information in the background for telematics and troubleshooting purposes.
Today, all heavy - duty vehicles rely on CAN networks to communicate important information between the multiple modules operating on the chassis. this proposal seeks to create a small handheld device that a technician, or a driver, can use when troubleshooting a vehicle that communicates its parameters over a Controller Area Network (CAN), and specifically the SAE J1939 protocol. The goals of this project center around the creation of a simple Human to Machine Interface (HMI) that can be used by a technician, or driver, without the need for any advanced computer skills. By using a touchscreen, it is possible to control what the user can select and how the data is viewed. All these preconfigured layouts would be created in advance and loaded up when needed. The device will also record data in back-ground for further analysis and troubleshooting purposes.
Block Diagram
Flow Diagram
Proposed Budget
System Comparison to CET4370C Project
Proposal #2
Room Balancing Smart Vent
There are some temperature controlled smart vents for residential central HVAC units on the market. Although these designs intend to make the home more comfortable and energy efficient, they lack important requirements to protect the HVAC unit itself. This proposal aims to rectify those concerns.
The concept of a smart vent is to automatically close off or open up the vent to a specific room, based on some predetermined requirements. The majority of the controls are based on temperature requirements within the room. Some vents may also just adjust the flow into the room with no temperature requirement needed. The concerns with these types of systems are that the user can inadvertently close off too many vents at one time and damage the main HVAC air handler or compressor by reducing the air flow too much. Another common scenario is if doors are closed off and the vents are operating autonomously then the system can also be damaged. The temperature-controlled units lack accuracy because it takes temperature readings from close to the vent which can be misleading, considering the vent is typically mounted on the ceiling or floor.
Our proposal goes a different direction for smart vent control that aims to address these concerns. Each smart vent would measure the pressure in the room and compare that pressure with general pressure seen at the return air duct. This pressure reading will allow for balancing out airflow into each room to offset the problem with doors being closed. The smart vents will also utilize a remote temperature probe that sends the temperature reading and setting to the vent using a simple infrared control. Vents will also be wirelessly connected to ensure that too many vents can never be closed at the same time.
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Block Diagram
Flow Diagram
Proposed Budget
Proposal #3
Smart Pet Feeder
The intention of the Smart Pet Feeder is to identify the correct pet standing in front of the feeder and dispense their corresponding, proportioned food at an acceptable time.
The proposal was dropped after review with Dr. Ejaz. The concept was too similar to the "Automatic Pet Feeder," by Tyler Martinez and Chris Stilwell. The major difference from their project would be the use of a camera on the feeder and object recognition software running on the Raspberry Pi to detect each pet. This form of pet recognition would have removed the requirement for each pet to wear a collar and RFID chip to be recognized. Past experience with RFID feeders is the problem where the RFID chip cannot be held close enough to the reader to be recognized, the second point is that many indoor smaller pets don't wear collars and can be averse to wearing one. This proposal was suggested in response to dropping the LiDAR Scanning Proposal due to cost constraints.
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Proposal #4
LiDAR Scanning System for body damage on vehicles
(Proposal Abandoned)
It is estimated that nearly 6 million car accidents occur per year in the US. Many car accidents require investigation of these incidents, which can be difficult to do as transporting a damaged vehicle from place to place is time consuming and expensive. A LiDAR scan of a vehicle will produce a point cloud rendering of the entire vehicle with incredible accuracy in a relatively small file. This would traditionally be done with a terrestrial LiDAR scanner that takes several scan positions around the vehicle. This would require users to be trained on the use of that equipment and training users on processing the data. A solution to this problem would be a set station of prepositioned LiDAR scanners ready to scan the perimeter of the vehicle. The vehicle would simply drive inside the grid, the user would push a button, and the LiDAR scanners would capture the vehicle and produce a point cloud. This would eliminate the need for heavy training on hardware and software at the end-user side. Since the scanners are in set locations, the processing of the LiDAR data can be automated in the software. This would enable us to program this system to be automatic. The end product would only require the user to place the vehicle in the LiDAR station, press a single start button, and a fully processed point cloud will be exported to a storage media via USB of the vehicle.
Operation Workflow
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Software Workflow
Project Idea 04
Pet Feeder for Specific Pets
Many people have multiple pets in one single home. A good solution for them is one pet feeder that will detect which pet is in front of the feeder and dispense a specific type of food to the specific type of pet. This will enable the owner of the pets to simply maintain the food supply on the feeder. Many pet owners only feed their pets at certain intervals, the feeders can be programmed to only dispense food at certain times of the day. This will alleviate a pet owner's concerns over remembering to feed their pet.
Operation Workflow
Software Workflow
