Library Chair

Overview

The Library Chair is designed to make every library function more efficiently. The library chair design is based on a pressure sensor, which tells whether or not the particular chair is occupied, and then relays the information to a computer, which then compiles information from all of the library chairs. The computer then produces a map of the library and its chairs, and shows which chairs are currently unavailable. This way, each library attendee will know whether or not they will be able to find a seat in the library.

Team Members

Josh Zucker

Nick Blenko

Tom Howe

Our wonderful TA, Mo!

And with assistance from Professor Morley

Objectives

Our project's main objective is to create an interface that library go-ers can use to see what seats in the library are available, and which are seated in. We want this product to be low energy, completely solar powered, and to be able to correctly determine if each library chair is occupied, or not.

We have a few minor objectives as well, that reflect our steps in creation. The first objective we are currently working on is how to finalize the circuit we want to use with the pressure sensor, to determine whether or not the library chair is occupied. The objective we have is to determine how we can get the library chair to communicate that it is occupied/unoccupied through radio waves to a processor. Following that, we are going to work on expanding our circuit to be able to operate entirely on solar power. Following that, we want to figure out a way for the processor to communicate the information to some sort of server. Once the server is set up, our next objective is to be able to develop an interactive interface for users attending the library can use.

Challenges

• Finding the best way to communicate information at a low energy level from our circuit in the chair to a processor
• Learning to use a Raspberry Pi to communicate information to a server
• Setting up a server
• Creating a user interface

Gantt Chart

Budget

• Chair: Cost Varies - (donated by Professor Morley)
• TI MSP 430: $30.03 (donated by Professor Morley)
• Raspberry Pi: $25.00
• Solar panels: $6.95
• Resistors/other circuitry: $5.00
• Web Server: $0-$5/Month

Total: $66.98+

Building the Circuit

Figure 1:The detection circuit with the peak detector with possible values for capacitances and resistances.

Figure 2:The measured voltage at the peak detector of the above circuit.

Figure 3:A closer view of the voltage at the peak detector in the above circuit.

Group Presentation

Link to the presentation