Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
6 Smart Water Fountain
David Wu
Yu Feng
Ziqin Zhang
AJ Schroeder design_document1.pdf
design_document2.pdf
design_document3.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
[PARTNERS]: Ziqin Zhang(ziqinz2), Yu Feng(yuf3), David Wu(wenyuwu3)

[PROBLEM]:

When one is away from home for several days, how to feed and take care of the pets become a significant problem. The supply of water is obviously one huge problem. What should we do if water runs out? What if the water quality is horrible and pets are not willing to drink? How do we make sure enough water is supplied without spilling out the water all over the floor?

[SOLUTION OVERVIEW]:

To avoid overlapping with some existing products on market and after combining some suggestions from TAs, we decided to make a smart water fountain. Some additional/smart functions that are unique include:
![Image](https://i.ibb.co/b2Y4sPr/IMG-0011.jpg)
1. Large water storage to prevent water from running out. We considered making the connection between the water container and the device universal. A link is attached below. A connector that is compatible with those large water bottles is going to be implemented so that the user can simply purchase one of those bottles of water and safely sit it on the device. In this case, with this kind of volume, it is very unlikely that water will run out.
2. Customizable control: users can choose how much water is being poured for each of the branches of water. Depending on the size of the pet and the habit of consuming water, users can choose the flux at their discretion.
3. Alert when water needs to be added. When the water level reaches the “low” area, an alert will be sent to the user's phone, indicating that water might need to be added. The user can then choose to add more water from the storage mentioned above.
4. Water quality monitor: An indicator of the water quality will be displayed in three ways: "Good", "Average", "Poor", "Very Bad" through using an algorithm. When the water quality is "Poor", the device will ask the user if it should start the purifying process. Upon approval, the purifying process will start based on filtering. If the quality is "Very Bad", the device will drain out the water currently in the water fountain and fresh water will be added.


[SOLUTION COMPONENTS]:


[SUBSYSTEM #1]: Corresponding to the point 1 mentioned previously. We will design a connector that can adapt to the universal bottles of water on sale on the market while ensuring water can be distributed in a controlled manner.


[SUBSYSTEM #2]: To achieve the low-water-level alert, a weight sensor will be placed at the bottom of the fountain. When the weight is lower than a certain value, an alert will be sent to the user's phone.


[SUBSYSTEM #3]: To monitor the water quality, we will implement several sensors. Generally water quality can be determined by several factors. We picked the most important and decisive three factors: ph value, temperature and conductivity. Sensors will be implemented and will be measured along the time. If any of these data is showing unnatural, weird readings an alert will be sent to users.


[CRITERION FOR SUCCESS}:Sensors need to work collaboratively to give accurate readings so that we can ensure the water quality can be interpreted correctly. The mechanical design(the gear part described above) needs to be optimized so that when the valve is closed, water will not drip and it is secured. When disposing water, it needs to be slow and gradual and gentle to avoid any spilling. Filtering water will be happening from time to time, we need to make sure the filtering process is perfect process is perfet and the margins of the fountain is covered so that 'polluted' water does not get through the filter from the gaps.

Interactive Proximity Donor Wall Illumination

Sungmin Jang, Anita Jung, Zheng Liu

Interactive Proximity Donor Wall Illumination

Featured Project

Team Members:

Anita Jung (anitaj2)

Sungmin Jang (sjang27)

Zheng Liu (zliu93)

Link to the idea: https://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/pace/view-topic.asp?id=27710

Problem:

The Donor Wall on the southwest side of first floor in ECEB is to celebrate and appreciate everyone who helped and donated for ECEB.

However, because of poor lighting and color contrast between the copper and the wall behind, donor names are not noticed as much as they should, especially after sunset.

Solution Overview:

Here is the image of the Donor Wall:

http://buildingcampaign.ece.illinois.edu/files/2014/10/touched-up-Donor-wall-by-kurt-bielema.jpg

We are going to design and implement a dynamic and interactive illuminating system for the Donor Wall by installing LEDs on the background. LEDs can be placed behind the names to softly illuminate each name. LEDs can also fill in the transparent gaps in the “circuit board” to allow for interaction and dynamic animation.

And our project’s system would contain 2 basic modes:

Default mode: When there is nobody near the Donor Wall, the names are softly illuminated from the back of each name block.

Moving mode: When sensors detect any stimulation such as a person walking nearby, the LEDs are controlled to animate “current” or “pulses” flowing through the “circuit board” into name boards.

Depending on the progress of our project, we have some additional modes:

Pressing mode: When someone is physically pressing on a name block, detected by pressure sensors, the LEDs are controlled to

animate scattering of outgoing light, just as if a wave or light is emitted from that name block.

Solution Components:

Sensor Subsystem:

IR sensors (PIR modules or IR LEDs with phototransistor) or ultrasonic sensors to detect presence and proximity of people in front of the Donor Wall.

Pressure sensors to detect if someone is pressing on a block.

Lighting Subsystem:

A lot of LEDs is needed to be installed on the PCBs to be our lighting subsystem. These are hidden as much as possible so that people focus on the names instead of the LEDs.

Controlling Subsystem:

The main part of the system is the controlling unit. We plan to use a microprocessor to process the signal from those sensors and send signal to LEDs. And because the system has different modes, switching between them correctly is also important for the project.

Power Subsystem:

AC (Wall outlet; 120V, 60Hz) to DC (acceptable DC voltage and current applicable for our circuit design) power adapter or possible AC-DC converter circuit

Criterion for success:

Whole system should work correctly in each mode and switch between different modes correctly. The names should be highlighted in a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing way. Our project is acceptable for senior design because it contains both hardware and software parts dealing with signal processing, power, control, and circuit design with sensors.

Project Videos