Week 17
Applications and Implications
what will it do?
The system will calculate the water in stock and measure the flow out. Then it will calculate a time to empty, inform the user about the time to empty, turn on or off the water pumps. In the next iteration, it will modify valve settings to reduce flow of water.
who's done what beforehand?
There are independent devices to measure water in tank and monitor water flow out. There are tank controllers, but no system yet which integrates everything.
what materials and components will be required?
- Server: Raspberry Pi 3
- Input Sensors - PinToo board with FLow Sensor, Distance Sensor
Output Devices - PinToo Board with Relay, Water Pump. In the next iteration, a valve connected to a motor - Network relies on the WiFi at home
where will they come from?
Most of these components can be found in the Fab Inventory. The Rasberry Pi3, ESP8266-12E module and 16Mhz clock is from a local supply store. If we decided to go with off the shelf components to enable DIY development, these will be available at the local store or on Amazon.in
how much will it cost?
The complete system with off the shelf components will be around Rs ~19,000 inclusive of taxes, with the Raspberry Pi server accounting for about 25% of the cost. With Fab lab components, the cost should drop by about 30%. The point is that the system's cost will vary from person to person, and I should be putting up a calculator up soon to ease this.
what parts and systems will be made?
- PinToo Board with Wifi
- Modular Power Circuitry
- MOsquitto server on the Raspberry Pi3
- Database, Flask App and the backend logic
- Control code for the motor, pump or the motor controlling the valve
what processes will be used?
- Computer Aided Cutting - Laser Cutting, PCB Milling
- Electronics Design - Customised SatshaKit called the PinToo Board
- Programming and Embedded design
what tasks need to be completed?
Make 10+ PinToo boards using a fibreglass lasercutter
what questions need to be answered?
Power supply to the system
what is the schedule?
Building on a 3 month testing phase for the individual component and a 3 day (very low duration for testing) the serverside setup, this is the schedule.
- 11 June - Set up the demonstration unit on a water cooler and attempt #1 to make a kit to handout the system as a product
- 12 June - Make more PinToo boards using a fibreglass laser cutter, Test, fine tune
- 13 June - Test and Fine tune. Developed pin 3 based on testing.
- 14 June - Test and Fine tune pin 3. Developed pin 4 based on testing.
how will it be evaluated?
These parameters can be used to calculate this:
- Functionality of the components/Reliability
- Comprehensiveness of the data
