Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
23 Retrofitting an iMac G3 Mouse to be Bluetooth-Enabled for Use in the 21st Century
Saif Kazmi
Savannah Moon Pagan
Sebastian Carrera
Jialiang Zhang final_paper1.pdf
other1.pdf
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
proposal2.pdf
# Retrofitting an iMac G3 Mouse to be Bluetooth-Enabled for Use in the 21st Century

Team Members:
- Savannah Pagan (spagan6)
- Saif Kazmi (skazmi21)
- Sebastian Carrera (carrera9)

# Problem
Describe the problem you want to solve and motivate the need.

Disposal of outdated technology contributes to approximately 50 million tons of e-waste annually, leading to environmental concerns. Our project aims to demonstrate a sustainable approach to repurposing technology from the past, diverting it from landfills and back into the consumers’ hands.

Specifically, by modernizing old devices, like updating the original iMac G3 to modern computing standards, as well as its original peripherals, such as the mouse included with the device, we not only extend the lifespan of these devices but also preserve their original creative style and design intent. This initiative will align vintage technology with modern computing needs, ultimately fostering a more eco-friendly and innovative technological landscape.

# Solution

Our project aims to replace legacy hardware within the 1998 iMac G3 by utilizing the internal components of a newer Mac Mini computer. The new components will be mounted inside the original iMac shell to give new life to this outdated machine. The original CRT screen will be replaced with a newer LCD screen. The original speakers and disc drive of the iMac will be re-utilized as well, and the ports will be upgraded to the relevant modern port types.

We also aim to update the original Apple USB mouse included with the device by using modern optical sensors and bluetooth to replace the legacy hardware. A modern switch of higher quality and durability will replace the original switch used for the mouse button and rather than physical rollers interacting with a rubberized ball on the bottom of the mouse, we will use an optical sensor to detect mouse movement. The user can customize the sensitivity of the mouse, a feature unavailable on the original hardware. The USB connection will be replaced with bluetooth to communicate with a computer. Due to its wireless nature, the mouse will be battery powered. The mouse can detect when it is not being used and automatically shut off as a battery saving measure, similar to modern bluetooth mice.

# Solution Components
2014 Mac Mini - 8GB RAM, 1 TB of storage

The Mac Mini will be utilized to update the iMac G3 to modern computing standards.

Mouse button

An Omron D2LS-21 switch will be used for the mouse button. It will be placed strategically on our PCB to avoid or minimize modification of the original mouse housing.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Omron-Electronics/D2LS-2110M?qs=OcgtsXO%252B3gvFuywVVfHEYw%3D%3D

Optical sensor

A PixArt PMW-3389 or PMW-3360 optical sensor will be used to detect mouse movement. These sensors are commonly used in modern mice. They can be purchased separately, or salvaged from an extremely wide variety of mice.
https://www.tindie.com/products/citizenjoe/pmw3389-motion-sensor/

Bluetooth connectivity/Microcontroller

An ESP32 microcontroller will be used to communicate with the computer over Bluetooth. Additionally, it can process sensor inputs and determine whether the mouse is idle.

Battery/Charging

Our goal is to use a rechargeable lithium ion battery. If space permits, we will use a USB-C connector for charging due to its ubiquity. If this proves to be impractical due to space constraints, we will use a barrel jack, though this is a last resort.

# Criterion For Success

The iMac powers on
The iMac LCD display turns on
The iMac can connect to WiFi
The iMac can function as well as a modern laptop, meaning that it can run multiple applications at once, as well as perform actions within these applications
The iMac ports function
The iMac has Bluetooth connectivity functionality
The mouse can connect to a modern computer with bluetooth
The mouse can provide clicking functions to a modern computer
The mouse can accurately move a cursor on a modern computer
Disregarding the missing USB cable, the mouse must be visually unchanged from the original product
The mouse must last for ??? hours of use (to be determined depending on type of batteries chosen to work with, at least a few hours of charge)

Healthy Chair

Ryan Chen, Alan Tokarsky, Tod Wang

Healthy Chair

Featured Project

Team Members:

- Wang Qiuyu (qiuyuw2)

- Ryan Chen (ryanc6)

- Alan Torkarsky(alanmt2)

## Problem

The majority of the population sits for most of the day, whether it’s students doing homework or

employees working at a desk. In particular, during the Covid era where many people are either

working at home or quarantining for long periods of time, they tend to work out less and sit

longer, making it more likely for people to result in obesity, hemorrhoids, and even heart

diseases. In addition, sitting too long is detrimental to one’s bottom and urinary tract, and can

result in urinary urgency, and poor sitting posture can lead to reduced blood circulation, joint

and muscle pain, and other health-related issues.

## Solution

Our team is proposing a project to develop a healthy chair that aims at addressing the problems

mentioned above by reminding people if they have been sitting for too long, using a fan to cool

off the chair, and making people aware of their unhealthy leaning posture.

1. It uses thin film pressure sensors under the chair’s seat to detect the presence of a user,

and pressure sensors on the chair’s back to detect the leaning posture of the user.

2. It uses a temperature sensor under the chair’s seat, and if the seat’s temperature goes

beyond a set temperature threshold, a fan below will be turned on by the microcontroller.

3. It utilizes an LCD display with programmable user interface. The user is able to input the

duration of time the chair will alert the user.

4. It uses a voice module to remind the user if he or she has been sitting for too long. The

sitting time is inputted by the user and tracked by the microcontroller.

5. Utilize only a voice chip instead of the existing speech module to construct our own

voice module.

6. The "smart" chair is able to analyze the situation that the chair surface temperature

exceeds a certain temperature within 24 hours and warns the user about it.

## Solution Components

## Signal Acquisition Subsystem

The signal acquisition subsystem is composed of multiple pressure sensors and a temperature

sensor. This subsystem provides all the input signals (pressure exerted on the bottom and the

back of the chair, as well as the chair’s temperature) that go into the microcontroller. We will be

using RP-C18.3-ST thin film pressure sensors and MLX90614-DCC non-contact IR temperature

sensor.

## Microcontroller Subsystem

In order to achieve seamless data transfer and have enough IO for all the sensors we will use

two ATMEGA88A-PU microcontrollers. One microcontroller is used to take the inputs and

serves as the master, and the second one controls the outputs and acts as the slave. We will

use I2C communication to let the two microcontrollers talk to each other. The microcontrollers

will also be programmed with the ch340g usb to ttl converter. They will be programmed outside

the board and placed into it to avoid over cluttering the PCB with extra circuits.

The microcontroller will be in charge of processing the data that it receives from all input

sensors: pressure and temperature. Once it determines that there is a person sitting on it we

can use the internal clock to begin tracking how long they have been sitting. The clock will also

be used to determine if the person has stood up for a break. The microcontroller will also use

the readings from the temperature sensor to determine if the chair has been overheating to turn

on the fans if necessary. A speaker will tell the user to get up and stretch for a while when they

have been sitting for too long. We will use the speech module to create speech through the

speaker to inform the user of their lengthy sitting duration.

The microcontroller will also be able to relay data about the posture to the led screen for the

user. When it’s detected that the user is leaning against the chair improperly for too long from

the thin film pressure sensors on the chair back, we will flash the corresponding LEDs to notify

the user of their unhealthy sitting posture.

## Implementation Subsystem

The implementation subsystem can be further broken down into three modules: the fan module,

the speech module, and the LCD module. This subsystem includes all the outputs controlled by

the microcontroller. We will be using a MF40100V2-1000U-A99 fan for the fan module,

ISD4002-240PY voice record chip for the speech module, and Adafruit 1.54" 240x240 Wide

Angle TFT LCD Display with MicroSD - ST7789 LCD display for the OLED.

## Power Subsystem

The power subsystem converts 120V AC voltage to a lower DC voltage. Since most of the input

and output sensors, as well as the ATMEGA88A-PU microcontroller operate under a DC voltage

of around or less than 5V, we will be implementing the power subsystem that can switch

between a battery and normal power from the wall.

## Criteria for Success

-The thin film pressure sensors on the bottom of the chair are able to detect the pressure of a

human sitting on the chair

-The temperature sensor is able to detect an increase in temperature and turns the fan as

temperature goes beyond our set threshold temperature. After the temperature decreases

below the threshold, the fan is able to be turned off by the microcontroller

-The thin film pressure sensors on the back of the chair are able to detect unhealthy sitting

posture

-The outputs of the implementation subsystem including the speech, fan, and LCD modules are

able to function as described above and inform the user correctly

## Envision of Final Demo

Our final demo of the healthy chair project is an office chair with grids. The office chair’s back

holds several other pressure sensors to detect the person’s leaning posture. The pressure and

temperature sensors are located under the office chair. After receiving input time from the user,

the healthy chair is able to warn the user if he has been sitting for too long by alerting him from

the speech module. The fan below the chair’s seat is able to turn on after the chair seat’s

temperature goes beyond a set threshold temperature. The LCD displays which sensors are

activated and it also receives the user’s time input.

Project Videos