Week 9: July 2, 2020

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The objective of this week is to fix and finalize the proposal draft as advised before the next meeting. The website, Engineering Specification Table, and Proposed Timeline are all been discussed, updated, and changed. The PowerPoint has been created and being worked on to prepare for presentation day. No further research is need until the second phase of the project is begun.

 

Week 8: June 25, 2020

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The objective of this week is to finish the proposal draft and began finalizing it before the meeting. Parts have been narrow down and are still in discussion for which components would work best. The website, Engineering Specification Table, Proposed Timeline, block diagram, and budget are all been discussed, updated, and changed.

 

 

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Week 7: June 18, 2020

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The objective for this week is to finish at least chapter one and part of chapter two of the Proposal draft. We were also advised on the changes needed to fix the Engineering Specification Table, Proposed Timeline, Budget, and website. The block diagram also needs to be updated and explained. The group will continue to research more information for the smart shopping cart.

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The research that was done this week consisted of choosing appropriate individual lithium-ion power banks to power scale and the main interface. Since the main interface will also carry an LCD screen, barcode scanner, and LED, it will need a higher capacity power bank to power multiple components. The scale will require less power since it will consist of an Arduino, Bluetooth module, and a load cell. In addition, we found a board with an IC that consists of a 24-bit ADC and an integrated amplifier. This allows our scale to react to very tiny changes in weight, this is because the IC gives us a better resolution than the 

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The video below shows more in-depth information on how a 24-bit ADC can improve the scale.

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Week 6: June 11, 2020

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The group began to work on the Proposal draft, Engineering Specification Table, Proposed Timeline, and Budget. We also updated and organized the website. The search for a processor and microcontroller were narrowed do to a Raspberry Pi and Arduino. Many Raspberry pi models have built-in Bluetooth and Wireless LAN so no additional parts are needed for the microprocessor. The Arduino models do not come with Bluetooth capabilities so an additional Bluetooth module is needed to communicate either microprocessor.  The final part of this research for this week was figuring out how to setup up the Bluetooth module onto the Arduino.

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Below is a video that we used to learn more about the Bluetooth capabilities of the Arduino with the Bluetooth module.

 

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The video below was used to learn some of the capabilities of the Raspberry pi and why it was chosen for the system.

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Week 5: June 4, 2020

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The group did in-depth research on the Smart Shopping Cart. The group worked on a PowerPoint to show a rough draft of how the system will be created and operate. The system will record all the data related to the weight from the scale and transmit the data wirelessly to the touchscreen interface. The touchscreen interface will also be paired with a barcode scanner gun to make it easier to scan heavier items. Below is an attachment of the PowerPoint presentation describing the concept of the smart cart.

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We also did in-depth research on another existing smart shopping cart called Veeve. It is similar to Caper since the technology is built into the cart. Veeve’s shopping carts allow customers to have a customized experience by also using product recommendations, provide directions in the store, computer vision, sensors, cameras, built-in scale, and a barcode scanner. Veeve’s shopping carts are currently being tested at a retailer in Seattle. More information about it can be found below.

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https://www.geekwire.com/2019/ex-amazon-google-managers-reveal-new-grocery-tech-startup-powered-smart-shopping-cart/

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Further research was done on how the scale can be designed [14] and how the barcode scanner will connect to the touchscreen module[15].​

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Week 4: May 28, 2020

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The home fire alarm system and a recycle-sorting machine were rejected. The home fire alarm system was thought to be unnecessary and the recycle-sorting machine was thought to be too complex due to heavy robotics and coding. The group researched a smart shopping cart that will make the shopping experience much quicker and smoother. Another idea that was looked into was a pen that captures what is written on paper and transfers it to a computer or phone. The final idea that was researched was a smart bathtub that will measure the water levels and temperature of the bathtub that could be shown in real-time through a phone app. It could also heat the water or keep it at the desired temperature.

 

A similar product that exists is a smart shopping cart called Caper. The Caper smart cart has cameras, sensors, and a built-in scale. It boasts many appealing features such as AI deep learning, store map layouts, and product recommendations. The Caper smart cart is being tested in stores in Canada and New York City. More information about it is found below.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/23/tech/smart-shopping-cart/index.html. 

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Smart Shopping Cart research on how the scale will operate is provided below and in references [9] and [10].

 

https://www.800loadcel.com/load-cell-and-strain-gauge-basics.html

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​Research on the Smart Pen reveals that many products that are available in the market are shown to need special papers from the company the smartpens are created. The special paper has a pattern of dots that function as a GPS system that allows the pen to capture what is written. For our version of the smartpen, we wish to implement is to be able to write on any paper and will be to change from pen to pencil as well. The research found on the Smart Pen can be found below and in references [11], [12], and [13].

 

https://www.explainthatstuff.com/digitalpens.html.

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Week 3: May 21, 2020

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The group did in-depth research on the home fire alarm system and a recycle-sorting machine. Also, the group attempted to find more project ideas to present.

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More information about the smart lock and smoke detector for the alarm system can be found below and in references [5] and [6].

 

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Safety-equipment/Smoke-alarms/Ionization-vs-photoelectric#:~:text=How%20they%20work%3A%20Ionization%2Dtype,current%20and%20activating%20the%20alarm..

https://www.techradar.com/news/smart-locks
 

While researching for a machine that sorts recycle products, we found a product called Max-AI. It is an artificial intelligence that uses vision to sort recyclable material that can learn and identify what the object is on the conveyor belt. More information found on the recycle-sorting machine can be found below and in references [7] and [8].

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Week 2: May 14, 2020

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This week, the group tried to find motivation on how to help people and researched three new project ideas. One new idea was a home fire alarm system that will send a notification via text message to the homeowner and open all doors in the house for everyone to safely evacuate. Another idea was a hand gesture recognition system that will turn a light off and on, it will also able to set an alarm clock using hand gestures. The third project idea was a machine that moves around and collects trash in a specific area, then sorts the trash from waste and recyclables. The final new project idea that was suggested was for a way to help pharmacists track pill bottles that are misplaced during busy hours by wirelessly connecting to a specific tracker located underneath the pill bottle and emit audio to indicate where it is located.

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Further information for the door opening function of the fire alarm system can found below and in reference [2].

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Further information for the recycle-sorting machine can be found below and in reference [3] and [4].​

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Week 1: May 6, 2020

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During this week, the group created the website for the project and researched ideas. Project idea 1 was an alarm system that will keep ringing until the person moves from the sleeping area. The alarm system used a PIR sensor and Arduino working together. Information on how these work together can be found below and in reference [1]. The second idea was a solar car dash camera that will record road accidents or vandalism to the car, and a solar-powered speaker. The final idea was a solar-powered speaker.

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Video on the operation of a PIR Sensor with an Arduino:

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