A scholar crew from The College of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), part of The College of Alabama System, just lately designed and deployed an interactive mild present for guests to the Huntsville Botanical Backyard (HBG). The set up was accomplished as a part of a senior design undertaking.
Electrical engineering scholar design crew (L-R) Steven Byrd, Savannah Flaherty, Tristan McCarver, Trey Thompson.
Courtesy Steven Byrd
The Gentle Present Design undertaking was created by 4 UAH engineering college students, together with Crew Lead Steven Byrd, Software program Co-Leads Savannah Flaherty and Trey Thompson, in addition to {Hardware} Lead Tristan McCarver. The undertaking happened by means of a connection Byrd had by means of his place because the Lighting Design and Programming Supervisor on the Huntsville Botanical Backyard.
“Steven Byrd, the Chargin’ RGBs Design Mission Crew Lead, at present works and was working within the place of Lighting Design and Programming Lead at first of the semester,” explains Dennis Hite, a senior lecturer within the UAH division {of electrical} and pc engineering. “Inside this place, Steven helps all tasks associated to mild reveals on the Backyard, together with new expertise additions to Galaxy of Lights.
Interactive show prepared for guests on the HGB.
Courtesy Steven Byrd
“With the help of Backyard management, the addition of newer mild applied sciences to Galaxy of Lights in 2021 paved the best way for expertise to be labored on and invested in for the Senior Design Mission,” Hite says. “Tristan McCarver, the {Hardware} Lead helped with {hardware} choices that facilitated a very interactive mild present, whereas Savannah Flaherty and Trey Thompson, Software program Co-Leads, supported software program growth and testing.”
The design that powers the undertaking consists of passive infrared sensors linked with a Raspberry Pi which served because the brains of the system.
“The design idea makes use of eight passive infrared (PIR) sensors,” Hite says. “These sensors sense a thermal signature and measures this warmth within the infrared area of the optical spectrum. An individual strolling by will set off the sensor, making these PIR sensors very helpful for an interactive mild present show. When an object is inside the vary and subject of view of the sensor, the voltage goes ‘excessive,’ and when the item passes the sensor, the voltage goes ‘low.’ In a excessive voltage state, the sunshine present turns ‘on,’ and in a low voltage state, the sunshine present turns ‘off.’”
The PIR sensors have a spread of 20 ft and require 5 to 12 volts of DC present to function.
“The crew is utilizing a 5V energy provide to energy the eight sensors,” Hite notes. “The ability provide is positioned inside a bub’s field that additionally homes the Raspberry Pi. They’re utilizing cat5 to ship energy and information to the sensors and a Raspberry Pi which runs software program referred to as Falcon Pi Play (FPP) which units the sensors to set off when an individual steps into the detectable area of the infrared sensor. It will, in flip, set off the Raspberry Pi, which can then ship a command to a F48 Falcon controller.”
Controllers used, storage space.
Courtesy Steven Byrd
Raspberry Pi is a reasonable single-board pc that helps Linux®, an open-source working system, whereas additionally offering a set of GPIO (common objective enter/output) pins which permit the consumer to regulate digital parts for bodily computing and to discover the Web of Issues (IoT). The Web of issues describes bodily objects with sensors, processing skill, software program and different applied sciences that join and alternate information with different gadgets and techniques over the web.
“The F48 Falcon controller sends messages to differential receivers, which distribute information to the sensors that instruct them to carry out particular features,” Hite says. “These features embody ‘activate’ and ‘flip off’ instructions that create the sunshine present expertise, which includes 100-pixel lights wrapped round 10-foot rebar poles.”
10-foot rebar for mild poles.
Courtesy Steven Byrd
The scholars organized the rebar poles in a grid sample with the sunshine present instructions programmed to be completely different and particular to every of the eight sensors.
“From the angle of engineering, the undertaking was undertaken to boost engineering abilities by utilizing what was discovered inside lessons at UAH, in addition to new abilities discovered, on a real-world software,” Hite says. “Carrying out a undertaking for a category grade and carrying out a undertaking for use in the actual world are two completely completely different battles, and every include their very own set of challenges.”
All work was carried out as a part of an Electrical Engineering Senior Design crew undertaking throughout their senior design course, EE494. The crew’s exhausting work added as much as a shocking visible, in addition to aural, expertise, which will be seen right here from video footage taken on the Backyard.
Courtesy Steven Byrd
“This undertaking not solely challenged our engineering abilities, however it additionally taught us crew abilities solely discovered inside the actual world,” Hite says. “These abilities concerned funds constructing, schedule planning and downside fixing for a large-scale undertaking, time administration and dealing for patrons who make investments cash into the undertaking.”