Capstone: Environmental Sensor

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Capstone Environmental Sensor

• Presented by the pH Team
• Albert Hsu
• Christy Chan
• Osato Edo-Osagie
• William Wardlaw
• Mentor Dr. Yordan Kostov

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IntroductionEnvironmental Sensor System

• Environmental Sensors
• Transmitter/Receiver (sensor)
• Transmitter/Receiver (base station)
• User Interface

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Environmental Sensor Uses

• Routine monitoring to alert the user to
  inconsistencies and unusual conditions of the
  environment
• Such as pollution, contamination, bioterrorism,
  etc.
• Environmental Parameters
• Temperature
• pH (acid/base level)
• O2 concentration
• CO2 concentration
• Cell Mass
• Substrate Concentration
• Product Concentration
• For Government, Scientists, Environmentalists

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Customer Needs
September 2006
pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
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Importance of Needs
pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Project Objective

• Interface the sensors with the base station to
  transmit clear and accurate readings to the user.

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Problem Analysis
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Current Water Sampling Technology

• Currently, water sampling requires a technician
  to obtain a sample from a remote area.
• The sample can either be transported to a
  laboratory for thorough analysis, or be analyzed
  in the field.

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Laboratory Testing

• Involves expensive and complex equipment that can
  analyze water samples.
• Laboratory testing requires that samples be
  transported to the laboratory prior to testing.
• Transportation of samples can be tedious and
  expensive.
• Some variables can be affected by transportation.
  For example, pH is altered by changes in
  temperature.

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Field Analysis

• Requires trained technician to perform tests in
  remote areas.
• Often, getting to the location can prove
  difficult.
• Humans conducting many of the tests introduces
  the possibility for biases or human error into
  the data.

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Alternate Method

• In remote areas, an autonomous sensor can be
  deployed.
• The sensor will automatically take readings of
  data.
• Raw data can be transmitted via wireless
  technology directly to the laboratory.
• Combines the best of laboratory analysis and
  remote sampling.

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Requirement Specifications
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Engineering Requirements

• The sensors must be water proof
• Operate while half submerged in water
• Transmitting their data to the base station
• Powered by 4 AA batteries

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Requirements Specification 1-to-1 mapping
pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Constraints

• Economic
• The costs for developing the system should not
  exceed our budget
• Environmental
• The system should be able to function in water
  environment
• Ethical and Legal
• The system should not interfere with other
  wireless devices
• Health and Safety
• The system should not damage the environment
  system in any way

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Constraints cont.

• Manufacturability
• The system must be manufactured on a circuit
  board at most 3x3
• Political
• The system should be reviewed by F.D.A for use
• Social
• The product should be design to easily be used by
  users
• Sustainability
• The lifetime of the system depends on 4 AA
  batteries

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Preliminary Design
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Platforms
Optical Sensor
Receiver and Transmitter
pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Research and Development

• Research the platforms technologies
• Their usage, cost, functions, implementation, and
  design architecture
• Generate solution concepts and engineering
  consideration for the project

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Research and Development

• Development Process
• Design the base station and sensor PCB
• Coding and Testing
• Between base station and sensor
• Between the sensor and PC
• Field testing and verification

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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References

• Dr. Yordan Kostov (2006 August),
• Low-cost optical sensing systems for assessment
  of biological parameters
• Presented at the Center of Advanced Sensor
  Technology (CAST) at UMBC
• Ford, Ralph and Coulston, Chris, Design for
  Electrical and Computer Engineers Theory,
  Concepts, and Practice, Boston The McGraw Hill
  Companies, 2005

pH team - Capstone Environmental Sensor
September 2006
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Any Question?