BusyBear

Overview

It always seems like an impossible task to find an open table to work or a quick line for food across the WashU campus. BusyBear's goal is to create a database that is accessible to WashU students that will show the population and busyness trends of popular locations on campus, beginning with Bear's Den. By using a network adapter connected to the Raspberry Pi, we will receive an approximate measurement of busyness based on the number of found MAC addresses for a specific region. By looking at pictures taken simultaneously with the MAC address collection, a historic trend between the number of found MAC addresses and relative busyness can be determined. Our end goal is to gather information to allow the WashU community to create more educated decisions regarding where to go and when to go there.

Links

[View Project Log]
[View Project Presentation]
[GitHub Repository]

Team Members

Thomas Emerson
Tom Goon
Allison Todd
David Tekien, TA
Jim Feher, Instructor

Objectives

Learn and be able to code in Python as related to the Pi
Investigate ping oriented tracking method
Investigate sniffing/MAC tracking method
Investigate the use of the camera in the analysis of busyness
Be able to monitor busyness fairly accurately by filtering detected devices
Compare busyness at different times of day and between buildings
Design a GUI for an aesthetically pleasing and useful website
Host a website displaying useful and relevant data through Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Create a database to store data and use through AWS

Challenges

Limited experience with working with WiFi receivers or anything to do with MAC Addresses
Limited knowledge of Python and Raspberry Pi
Connecting our data with a database, AWS, and a website
Privacy Concerns

Gantt Chart

Budget

Item	Description	Cost	Link
AWS	Website Hosting	$5 / month	https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_ql_pr
2 x TL-WN722N	Network Adapter	returned: $7.21	https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-TL-WN722N-Wireless-network-Adapter/dp/B002SZEOLG
1 x 5dBi Long Range WiFi for Raspberry Pi	Network Adapter	$17.99	https://www.amazon.com/5dBi-Long-Range-WiFi-Raspberry/dp/B00YI0AIRS/ref=lp_9026119011_1_1?srs=9026119011&ie=UTF8&qid=1550447401&sr=8-1
Total Cost		$30.20