ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section : Lights and Wireless Communication

Final Report

Group Members: Divij, Fares, Jeff

Achievable goals:

Creating a module that will turn the lights on and off without ever having to touch the light switch (wirelessly): This will utilize a remote to control motors that flip the lights off and on. The light can still be turned off and on manually but will provide additional wireless functionality.

Dream goals:

Creating an app/ alternate communication method with the arduino/raspberry pi.

Later integrating our system with another team and create an ideal smart controlled dorm room for students:   Our integrated system will control a bigger system that will control both the lights system and the door lock.

Potential problems:

1) Effectively attaching the unit on the wall.

2) Power to the arduino/raspberry pi.

Updated Block Diagram

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7hLB4Ai5W2qOWRFVDdWZ3RYN1U/view?usp=sharing

Weekly Logs:

February 22:

We created our basic Block Diagram for our project, and in doing so solidified our project idea. We also created a basic Block Diagram

February 29:

We expanded on our Block Diagram for the project, identified the parts we needed and started looking up them up. During this process, we ran into some problems. One problem was to choose between Arudino and Raspberry Pi. We decided to go with the Raspberry Pi so that we can potentially improve our product more easily as compared to doing the same process with an Arduino. We submitted our parts list.

March 7:

We expanded on our block diagram by adding brief descriptions to each block (High level ECE 110 H.png). We began researching and planning how we are going to be using the Raspberry Pi to control all the systems. We still need some more parts (IR sensor/receiver, servo motor) to begin putting everything together. Next week we are going to finish working out how we are going to use the Raspberry Pi to control all the systems. Assuming we have all the necessary parts we are going to begin assembling all the hardware as well.

March 14:

 We began assembling the hardware for sending and receiving IR signals. We got our motor to move when it receives a signal from the IR transmitter. Next week we will be working out how to keep the circuit off until it receives an IR signal to turn the motor so that we can manually control the lights. 

March 28:

Almost finished up assembling the hardware for sending and receiving signals. We now have a system that can be manually controlled if necessary. 

April 4:

We began working on increasing the range of the IR. Before we were only able to get our servo motor to move when it received a signal from a very short distance away. We have now isolated the receiving circuit and are working on acquiring an IR remote and receiver that will be able to handle an appropriate range. Next time we will be working on getting the IR remote and receiver to work and work on decoding the IR signals to get the motor to move accordingly.