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Smart Light Switch
Students: Matthew Gruss, Patrick Maloney, Robert Olson
Advisor: Professor Hue Tran
The Smart Light Switch is a user-programmable microprocessor-based switch. The "ON" mode is activated by pushing the switch's button in the "ON-DIRECTION". There are two "ON" sub-modes: Incremental-time mode with 5 minutes per increment, and locked mode with the total time of 8 hours. The Smart Light Switch has an LCD display to display the remaining "ON" time in text format. The switch can be turned off at any time by pushing the switch's button in the "OFF-DIRECTION". Physically, the Smart Light Switch is designed to fit into a standard size electrical switch box.
Consumer Inventory System (CIS)
Students: Josh Dantzman, Soutsanith Douangphachanh, Dustin Westaby, Ross Wuttke
Advisor: Professor Hue Tran
The Consumer Inventory System (CIS) addresses the problems of food inventory and their expiration dates. It is a microprocessor-based hand-held device that keeps a record of items and their lifespans. One can use this device to scan an item's barcode; then enter the corresponding expiration date. If a barcode is not available, one can manually enter the information via keypad. The user can choose to be automatically alerted of expiration dates and has the option of manually searching through a list of soon-to-expire items. The goal of this device is to help the consumer save money over the long run and prevent unnecessary food spoilage.
Asset Tracker
Students: Ryan J. Lindeman, Rick Franda, Steve Toebe, Jerry Broekman
Advisor: Dr. Edward W. Chandler
The Asset Tracker is an RFID system used to track the location of test equipment or other assets within a specified area. This tracker is a user-programmable device that stores identification numbers matched with important company assets in onboard memory. Any company that has a need to keep track of assets can use the Asset Tracker. This not only can help avoid losing assets but can also save time in locating assets. The Asset Tracker system consists of a data-collection device, one or more RFID tag readers, and RFID tags. One feature of the Asset Tracker is its ergonomic design that will allow for comfortable use.
Auto-sensing Blinds
Students: Mark Nehls, Jeff Horner, Nick Kubina, Jim Kolo
Advisor: Dr. Edward W. Chandler
Blinds have to be manually adjusted throughout the day to compensate for changes in natural luminescence and temperature conditions. Aside from the inconvenience associated with adjusting blinds manually, non-ideal manual adjustments will result in excessive energy usage. The auto-sensing control is a mechanism by which blinds in a room can be automatically adjusted in real time to compensate for changes in these conditions. This is accomplished by utilizing sensors that monitor current outdoor light and temperature conditions and subsequently transmit coded information based on these conditions to a state controller. The state controller, in turn, transmits an encoded signal to a motor system that will be used to adjust the blinds accordingly.
Master Shake
Students: Justin Grenier, Greg Hahn,
Ryan Kabacinski, Justin Lafferty
Sponsor: Bruno Independent Living Aids, Inc.
Advisor: Dr. Edward W. Chandler
Bruno, a manufacturer of personal mobility equipment, has a need for in-house durability testing of their vehicular-hitch mounted accessories. Bruno currently has a pneumatically-controlled shake table that simulates the motions of various automotive driving conditions. The system is controlled by software residing on a host PC, which communicates with both a control unit and data acquisition system, via Ethernet. The Master Shake project will fully automate the testing process and add a new test-data feedback capability allowing quantitative measurements and improved control.