ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section : Looma - Automated Home Light system.

Santan Katragadda - skatrag2 - ECE 110

Bhavish Bhattar - bbhatta2 - ECE 110

Statement of Purpose

There's no place like home. This phrase embodies the comfort and joy that people experience when enter their humble abode. With the growing popularity of "smart" devices in the average household, more people dream of living in a smart home that knows and acts upon the users preferences. The technology of smart homes seems futuristic and unattainable for all but the privileged. Looma looks to bring this dream to a reality for people at an affordable price. Looma allows users to adjust the lighting of their home remotely to fit their needs. Most homes today work at the analog level and converting them into a smart home using conventional methods would be tedious and extremely expensive. Looma exploits the analog features of a home to its advantage and allows users to connect to them through bluetooth. Users will be able to toggle their light switches and keep track of how long and when their lights are on. 

Background Info

Currently there is a standardized switch used for lighting. The looma plans to use a motor to toggle the switch based on signals received from a remote device. The design uses a gear system to move the switch up and down. We chose this design as it would be relatively cheap to create and sell to people. Current remote switch systems are only able to work on plug in lights and are unable to work on pre-installed lights. 

Aesthetic is also extremely important in the home and so the looma will have a sleek design that will be easily marketable.The design will be very similar to a computer mouse mounted on a wall. In addition, we also don't want to inhibit the natural function of the switch, so there will be a touch sensor on the outside of the shell so people can toggle their lights with a touch manually. The electronics on the switch will be operated through battery and will be easily replaceable. 

Parts list

• Arduino mini
• Bluetooth interface chip
• small motors with high torque
• small gear racks
• light switch
• small gears
• force sensor

Possible Challenges

• Creating a Bluetooth interface on the switch
• Creating an aesthetically pleasing shell
• Making sure the switch toggles without fail
• Making the shell easy to install and remove
• Making the power consumption of the device limited

Block Design