MCD1160 - Group Assignment 2

A Smart Apartment (aSa)

Due Date: Weeks 11 and 12 (multiple components)

Objectives

1. Enhance your analytical skills:

a. Individual: Develop critical thinking through independent problem-solving.

b. Group:

i.      Group discussions and brainstorming sessions help analyse problems from different perspectives.

ii.      Peer reviews and collaborative problem-solving enhance critical thinking.

2. Build your technical writing skills:

a. Individual: Improve clarity and precision in writing technical documents.

b. Group:

i.     Collaborative report writing ensures clarity and thoroughness.

ii.      Group feedback improves overall writing quality.

3. Build your coding skills:

a. Individual: Enhance coding proficiency through practice and self-study.

b. Group:

i.      Pair programming and code reviews facilitate learning and knowledge sharing.

ii.     Collaborative coding projects tackle complex problems effectively.

4. Build your circuit design skills:

a. Individual: Gain expertise in designing and troubleshooting circuits independently.

b. Group:

i.      Collaborative projects and group discussions lead to more innovative and effective designs.

ii.     Collaborative projects allow sharing of knowledge about different components and techniques.

5. Build your design skills using 3D CAD modelling:

a. Individual: Develop proficiency in 3D CAD software through practice and studying the lessons.

b. Group:

i.     Team projects and collaborative design reviews refi ne models and share efficient design tips.

ii.      Collaborative design reviews refi ne models to meet project requirements.

6. Build your presentation skills:

a. Individual: Improve public speaking and presentation abilities through practice.

b. Group:

i.     Group presentations improve coordination and public speaking abilities.

ii.      Practising within the group provides constructive feedback and confidence.

7.   Build your project and time management skills:

a. Individual: Develop effective time management and organisational skills independently.

b. Group:

i.     Working in groups enhances task division and organisational skills.

ii.      Managing group deadlines and milestones develops effective project management techniques.

Marking Breakdown

This assessment will constitute 35% of your overall marks for this unit. Please refer to the markings rubrics for this assignment for further information.

Project (80% of overall assessment)

● Ard ui no Circuit Design - 10 marks

● Code Functionality - 30 marks

● Code Quality - 5 marks

●    Prototype Housing (Case) Design -  3D CAD  Model - 20 marks

● Data Analysis and Visualisation - 10 marks

●   Technical Report - 25 marks

Total Available Marks: 100 marks

Presentation (20% of overall assessment)

●    Delivery - 15 marks

●   Slides and Presentation Material - 15 marks

Total Available Marks: 30 marks

Overview

Following the success of the smart home thermometer, your company has expanded the project to a wider range of smart home automation devices. To showcase this, you have been tasked with a new project that will take the smart home project to the next  level.

In this project you will be working on various aspects of home automation and will be prototyping a smart apartment as a proof of concept. The following one bedroom apartment named “aSa” will be used as the basis of your project.

This project will consist of the following major parts:

● Lighting Control

● Smart Security

○    Door

○ Window

○ Alarm

● Climate (Temperature)

● Device Design (Technical Design and 3D Modelling)

● Data Analysis and Visualisation

● Documentation (Reporting)

● Demonstration and Presentation

There are various smart features that need to be implemented for each of the above, which are described in the specification section of this document.

Your company is looking for investors to turn this project into a commercial success in a very competitive market. This means you are expected to create a creative, detailed, and professional product with excellent documentation. You will then present and demonstrate your work to various stakeholders (interested parties).

Specifications

Functional Requirements:

Lighting Control

The apartment (aSa) has three areas each of which will have their own dedicated LED light.

● Bedroom

● Bathroom

●    Living Room

All lights must be white LEDs. The bedroom and the living room must have an adjustable brightness (dimmable) setting. Use of RGB LEDs is not recommended. Use of buttons to control the lights is optional as the primary control will be done via the serial monitor (port).

Smart Security

● Smart Door

○   The front door will have the ability to be locked or unlocked and should be remotely controlled via the serial monitor (port). Use of a button to control the door is optional. The door can be locked and unlocked using a servo motor.

● Smart Window Shutter

○   The living room window will have an automatic shutter that can be controlled via the serial monitor (port). Use of a button to control the window shutter is optional. The window shutter can be opened and closed using a hobby gear motor supported by a LD293D H-bridge.

● Smart Alarm

○   There will be a presence detection sensor that, when activated, will detect the presence of intruders in the apartment and will sound off an alarm using a speaker. The smart alarm will be controlled by the serial monitor:

■    It can be activated/deactivated by the user using relevant menu options.

○   There are two options to implement presence detection, it can be achieved either using:

■ a Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensor or

■ an Ultrasonic Sensor

Climate (Temperature)

○   The climate sensor will detect the temperature of the apartment which

will be displayed on an LCD screen on the control panel.

○   The temperature sensor will be inside the main control panel.

○   The temperature must be displayed on the screen in celsius by default;

however, the user can change the unit to fahrenheit via the setting via the serial monitor.

Main Control Panel

The main control panel will house t he Ard ui no microcontroller, as well as the temperature sensor, the speaker, an LCD screen and a push button (if used). The user will be able to connect to this panel via the serial monitor to control all features of the aSa. The typical method to connect to control the serial monitor is via a usb connection to the control panel. You can also make the assumption that the connection can also occur wirelessly. Although the wireless module is not part of your project, you can  assume another team will be working on that and integration will happen at a later date.

The control panel will be wall mounted at an appropriate location in the apartment and all the wirings will be inside the walls to connect to the lighting and security features.

Ard ui no Circuit Design

Your prototype will utilise multiple components and your circuit configuration must include the following:

● An Ard ui no Microcontroller

● A 16x2 LCD (Note: the I2C LCD cannot be used)

●    3 x White LEDs

● A Piezo Speaker

● A Temperature Sensor (TMP36)

● A Servo Motor

● A Hobby Gear Motor, L2930D H-bridge and 9V battery

● A Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensor or an Ultrasonic Sensor

● Breadboards, resistors, and wires as required

● Pushbutton (not required/optional)

Please note:

❖ All of your components and their configurations must comply with the design

guidelines and practices taught in this unit, for example, all wiring must be traceable, organised, and colour code as specified in the relevant lessons.

❖  Any modification to the component requirements of this assessment must be approved by your teacher at least 2 weeks prior to the due date. This includes adding extra features to your project.

❖  Your circuits must be completed using Tinkercad. You need to ensure that the circuit name meets the submission requirements and is correctly shared with your teachers.

Coding

The coding of your Ard ui no microcontroller is a crucial part of this assignment. Your code design must provide the following minimum functionalities:

Serial communication

●   A main menu to display all the options to control all features of the smart apartment.

○    Lights, Security Alarm, Door Lock, Window Shutter, Temperature all should have their own options.

○   The user must be able to enter their choice to control each feature and

the serial monitor should be able to respond with the appropriate actions and information corresponding to the users’ choices.

LCD Screen:

●    Upon start, the LCD should display the temperature in the chosen unit. This is the default display.

●   The screen will update the once the following actions occur:

○   A confi rmation message will be displayed once the shutter is opened or closed (via the serial monitor).

○   A confi rmation message will be displayed once the door is opened or closed (via the serial monitor).

○   A confi rmation message will be displayed once the user has changed the  temperature unit from celsius to fahrenheit and vice versa (controlled via the serial monitor).

○   A confi rmation message will be displayed once the user turns each light on/off (controlled via the serial monitor).

○   A confi rmation message will be displayed once the alarm is activated,

deactivated, or an intruder is detected. (Controlled via the serial monitor.)

○   The duration of each message should be reasonable so that the user can read the messages (as a guide, half a second to 1 second is okay) before  defaulting back to the temperature reading.

Please note

❖ You must follow proper coding conventions and guidelines as taught in this unit.

This includes applying proper naming conventions, consistent code alignment etc.

❖  Any coding concepts learned from the outside sources must be referenced using code comments in your code. Please note that this does not mean you can copy  code from those sources.

❖  Your code should include an appropriate header comment section, containing all the relevant details. You must include appropriate inline comments where necessary.

Circuit Prototype

As part of your project you are required to create a simple working  prototype  using the hardware components provided in the kits given to you earlier this trimester.

The teams will use their kits to create one single working circuit demonstrating all the aspects of the smart apartment. For example, the door, the window, security will be operating and update the LCD and can take user options to be operated.

The teams manage the components required for this project using their individual kits and work together to demonstrate its functionality during week 12 demonstrations sessions. (See further details below).

Prototype Housing (Case) Design - Using 3D CAD Software

As part of your project you are required to create a simple case for the wall mounted main control panel. Make sure you are fi rst familiar with requirements of this control panel before you start modelling it.

Your model should meet the following minimum requirements:

● Wall mountable.

●    Has accurate measurements based on the electronics components that it will contain.

● At a minimum must be able to hold the LCD screen, t he Ard ui no, the

temperature sensor, the speaker, and the usb port for serial connection.

○   The power supply needs to be wired but also consider batteries as backup in case of power loss. The unit can be powered using 4 AA batteries or a single 9 volt battery.

● Designed to be functional and practical. For example:

○ The LCD needs to be easily visible to the user.

○   The temperature sensor and speaker can benefit from screens/grills to be functional and protected inside the control panel.

○   The designs must be suitable for production using 3D printing technology.

Multiple Components (Parts) and Assembly Requirements

Your design needs to have a chassis (base) and a lid so that you can place all of the components inside of it and attach it to the wall.

A complete Fusion 360 assembly is required. It must contain all required parts of the control panel.

Please note

❖  All your measurements must be in the metric system (i.e. millimetres, centimetres etc.)

❖  You are only required to model the housing and are not required to model the LCD, t he Ard ui no, the temperature sensor and speaker. These parts are already  provided to you which can be used to assemble them inside your case (housing).

❖  Your work must comply with the design guidelines and practices taught in this unit.

❖  You must comply with the submission requirements when submitting your model.

❖ You must use only the approved 3D CAD application taught in this unit.

❖  It is recommended that you only start your model after your circuit, code and report are at a healthy progression.

❖ Avoid spending extensive amounts of time adding extra features to your model if

you are behind in other parts of the project.

Data Analysis and Visualisation

After the success of your previous project “Smart Thermometer”, your company sent a few of the completed prototypes to a few select clients. Some of the clients provided feedback that the temperature readings may not be accurate.

Your company tested and collected data from 3 of the smart thermometers at the clients locations. This was done along with 3 control thermometers (that were already tested to be accurate) to check for accuracy of the smart thermometers.

You are now tasked with analysing this data, calculating the differences, and averaging the results. This is to provide recommendations using your written reports with charts  and graphs to establish whether the TMP36 sensor modules are safe to be used in this project namely aSa “A Smart Apartment” .

You are required to use the 3 provided spreadsheets and perform. your analysis and recommendations. You must:

●   Appropriately collate all sheets into one Google Sheets spreadsheet.

●   Calculate the difference between the smart thermometer and reference readings for each location.

● Calculate the averages for all relevant data.

● Use appropriate charts to demonstrate variations at each location and overall.

● Provide a recommendation in your report using the following criteria:

○    If a single thermometer is consistently inaccurate more than 10% then that thermometer could be faulty.

○    If all thermometers on average were more than 5% inaccurate then our sensor may not be suitable for our project and may need to be replaced.

Please note

❖  Your work must comply with the data analysis and visualisation guidelines and practices taught in this unit.

❖ You must comply with the submission requirements.

Technical Report

Documenting your work is a very important part of this project. You will need to provide a report on various aspects of your project. Your report must contain the following:

● Introduction: Outline the purpose of this project and provide a valid justification for the project.

● Background research: A brief summary on existing similar products and how your prototype compares against them.

● 3D Design Analysis, entailing the following:

○   A brief on the evolution of the designs you created prior to your fi nal design.

○ A justification for your fi nal design.

○    Images/drawings of your work at a minimum must include a technical drawing, multiple (at least 2) views of your fi nished design with relevant measurements.

● Circuit and Code Analysis, documents the following:

○   A screenshot of your circuit, properly labelled and laid out with all the components clearly visible and recognisable.

○   A list of the functions that you have completed.

○   A list of the functionalities you have not completed or are incomplete.

○ The main code concepts used.

○   Any issues that you faced during development and how you resolved them.

○ Highlight of anything special or unique about your approach.

○   Only provide snippets of the code as necessary without copy and pasting long portions of your code.

● Data analysis and Visualisation, analysis of suitability of temperature sensors (see the relevant section of details). You must also include your spreadsheet’s relevant data, charts and graphs here. You must clearly explain your fi ndings and recommendations.

○    Note: your original spreadsheet must also be provided as proof of your results and recommendations (See submission instructions)

● Device User Guide, a clear explanation of:

○    How to operate the device for a novice user. It should contain step by step instructions and images.

● Conclusion: Summarise the project’s achievements and outline current issues and shortcomings of the submitted project as well as any ideas for future improvement.

Please note

❖  Your work must comply with the report writing guidelines and practices taught in this unit. For example, you must use a table of contents, an executive summary/abstract, appropriate heading styles, title page, etc.

❖ You must comply with the submission requirements when submitting your work.

❖  You must include all references appropriately. (See the referencing requirements)

❖ Update your report regularly as you progress through other sections of this project.

Presentation and Prototype Demonstration

Presentation Material

Your presentation material consists of the slides you use during your presentation. It must:

●    Be consistently formatted.

● Be clear and readable with excellent quality content.

● Have a logical flow from one topic to the next.

Please note:

●   Google Slides is the preferred application. However, if you choose to use other applications, the presentation slides must still be available and shared on Google Drive with all team members and your instructors throughout the entire process  as you complete and update it.

●   Your presentation slides must be submitted by the end of the presentation session on Moodle.

●   You must submit the slides in either .pptx or .pdf formats.

●    Late submission or failure to submit will result in a penalty to the overall presentation grade.

Presentation Delivery

You will have 5 minutes (subject to change) to present your work in a professional presentation to a target audience of potential executives, competitors, and investors.

You need to highlight your device’s features and benefits in a bid to win the investment opportunity to take your product into production, aiming to beat competitors to the market.

As a general guide, you can follow the items of the technical report; however, make it appropriate for an oral presentation format. Consider the following:

●    It is a formal business presentation. Identify, understand, and be mindful of the target audience.

●   All team members must coordinate, practice, and present in a professional manner.

● Business attire is optional but ideal.

What to present

● Brief introduction: Introduce who you are and what are your roles.

● Outline of the presentation: Provide a brief overview of what you will cover.

● Design choices: Explain and justify your choices (e.g., code, 3D model, circuit, etc.).

● Design process: Outline the design process, problems encountered, and how you addressed them.