Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
1 USB 3.0 Wall Outlet Conversion
 Andrew Moruzi
Cindy Fok
Tyler Neyens
 James Kolodziej design_document0.zip
final_paper0.zip
presentation0.pdf
proposal0.pdf
The project is to modify an AC wall outlet to add two DC USB ports including a 5V, 5A standard USB 3.0 port, and a high power 12V 15A modified USB 3.0 port. The low power port could be used to charge small consumer electronics such as smart phones, iPods, etc. The high power port could be used to power larger loads such as cordless drills, portable refridgerators, etc. The USB standard was chosen because many consumer products already use this connector. The motivation of this project is to eliminate the need for a DC converter outside of the wall outlet. External converters are often cheaply made, and thrown away after a new device is purchased. This project would seek to implement a high efficiency, permanent converter.


The currently available product can be viewed here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/e81a/#tabs. This project would build upon the design in efficiency and power rating. The miniumum acceptable efficiency will be 85% and the power rating on one of the ports will be increased to 180W.

The power conversion will be implemented using an AC/DC converter. The first steps of this design will be researching various topologies and determining the best circuit to meet the requirements of this project. Simulations will be made using MATLAB/SIMULINK to determine part sizes and losses.

BarPro Weightlifting Aid Device

Patrick Fejkiel, Grzegorz Gruba, Kevin Mienta

Featured Project

Patrick Fejkiel (pfejki2), Kevin Mienta (kmient2), Grzegorz Gruba (ggruba2)

Title: BarPro

Problem: Many beginner weightlifters struggle with keeping the barbell level during lifts. Even seasoned weightlifters find their barbells swaying to one side sometimes. During heavy lifts, many people also struggle with full movements after a few repetitions.

Solution Overview: BarPro is a device that straps on to a barbell and aids the lifter with keeping the barbell level, maintaining full repetitions and keeping track of reps/sets. It keeps track of the level of the barbell and notifies the lifter with a sound to correct the barbell positioning when not level. The lifter can use the device to calibrate their full movement of the repetition before adding weight so that when heavy weight is applied, the device will use data from the initial repetition to notify the lifter with a sound if they are not lifting or lowering the barbell all the way during their lift. There will be an LCD screen or LEDs showing the lifter the amount of repetitions/sets that they have completed.

Solution Components:

Subsystem #1 - Level Sensor: An accelerometer will be used to measure the level of the barbell. If an unlevel position is measured, a speaker will beep and notify the lifter.

Subsystem #2 - Full Repetition Sensor: An ultrasonic or infrared distance sensor will be used to measure the height of the barbell from the ground/body during repetitions. The sensor will first be calibrated by the lifter during a repetition with no weight, and then that calibration will be used to check if the lifter is having their barbell reach the calibrated maximum and minimum heights.

Subsystem #3 - LED/LCD Rep/Sets Indicator: LEDs or a LCD screen will be used to display the reps/sets from the data measured by the accelerometer.

Criterion for Success: Our device needs to be user friendly and easily attachable to the barbell. It needs to notify the lifter with sounds and LEDs/LCD display when their barbell is not level, when their movements are not fully complete, and the amount of reps/sets they have completed. The device needs to work smoothly, and testing/calibrating will need to be performed to determine the minimum/maximum values for level and movement positioning.