| Name | NetID | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Marissa Lanz | mlanz2 | ECE 110 |
| Maya Moy | mjmoy2 | ECE 120 |
Statement of Purpose
Our project is to build a model of an elevator with touchless buttons and to build an efficient path finding algorithm for the elevator. We both have the shared experience of THE Busey-Evans Hall elevator. The combination of long wait times, ineffective and sometimes sticky buttons made for a sub-par elevator riding experience. This left both of us with a curiosity for how this experience could be improved.
Background Research
In coming up with our project, we came across the past project of a capacitive touch numerical keypad. That piqued our interest in including a capacitive touch sensor in our project. However, after more research we decided that infrared sensing buttons would better suit our needs. With these buttons, touch wouldn't be required.
Due to health concerns related to COVID-19, there have been several companies looking to create touchless elevator buttons to help reduce the spread of the virus.
Our annoyance with THE Busey-Evans Hall elevator drives us to work on this project. Whenever we become unmotivated, we merely imagine standing on an arbitrary floor of Busey for 5 minutes while waiting for the elevator. We push on with this project to improve the lives of future dwellers of Busey-Evans Hall. We hope that our sacrifice today will improve their experience tomorrow.
Block Diagram / Flow Chart
System Overview
Temperature sensors will be used as buttons to track user input. The Elegoo Uno and additional logic gates will parse this input and update the "queue" that holds the current destination requests. The current best path will continuously be updated from this "queue". The motor controller will control the motor and thus move the elevator carriage depending on the current best path. Throughout this whole cycle, the "queue" and best path will continue to be updated as new user input is obtained. If at any point there are no additional items in the queue, the elevator will rest. When new user input is introduced, this cycle will start over.
Parts
Provide a list of parts that you may need for your project. You should include details such as the quantity, model number, purpose, vendor, and price (excluding taxes and shipping) for each part. This list may change as you work on your project.
| Part | Model # | Purpose | Vendor | Unit Price | Quantity | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain Steel Cold Rolled Round Rod | Hold elevator carriage stable | Home Depot | $1.97 | 4 | Home Depot | |
| Stepper Motor | 324 | Move elevator carriage | Adafruit | $14.00 | 1 | Adafruit |
| Motor Mount | 1297 | Motor Mount | Adafruit | $8.95 | 1 | Adafruit |
| Thermistor | 6A50649 | Buttons | ECE Supply Center | N/A | 6 | |
| IR Temperature Sensor | 1748 | Temperature Sensor | Adafruit | $15.95 | 1 | Adafruit |
| Elegoo Uno R3 & Stepper Motor Driver Module | Control motor | Already Have | N/A | 1 | ||
| Belt | 1528-2087-ND | Pull elevator carriage | Digi-Key | $9.95 | 1 | Digi-Key |
| Pulley | 1251 | Pull carriage | Adafruit | $7.95 | 2 | Adafruit |
| Wood | Elevator and carriage structure | ECE Open Lab | N/A | |||
| 12 Volt Battery | Power Stepper Motor | ECE Supply Center | N/A | 1 |
Possible Challenges
Resources: potentially needing a separate sensor for each elevator button could be expensive
Having sensors only respond to movement of a finger and not random motion such as just moving around in the elevator.
Building a functional model considering neither of us have much mechanical skill
References
Instructables.com. 2022. Arduino-Controlled Model Elevator. [online] Available at: <https://www.instructables.com/Arduino-Controlled-Model-Elevator/> [Accessed 12 February 2022].
Posted by quinnd2 at Feb 20, 2022 13:53