Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
7 SolarTrack
 Rahul Patel
Rishikesh Balaji
Siddhant Jain
 Haocheng Bill Yang design_document1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
Problem:

Fixed solar panels waste potential energy due to changing sun positions and limited monitoring,

Solution:

This project proposes the design of a self positioning solar panel system that automatically orients itself to capture the maximum possible solar energy throughout the day and stores that energy in a battery. Unlike fixed panels the system continuously adjusts its angle using light sensors or a sun-position algorithm controlled by a microcontroller, ensuring the best alignment with the sun as conditions change. The harvested energy is routed through a charge controller to safely charge a battery while protecting against overvoltage, overcurrent, and deep discharge. In addition to energy generation and storage, the system includes a mobile or web application that displays real time and historical data such as panel voltage and current, total energy generated (Wh), battery state of charge, system efficiency, and power consumption of connected loads. This application allows users to monitor performance, compare tracked versus fixed operation, and understand how environmental conditions impact energy production.

Solution Components:

Dual Axis Tracking Mechanism

The solar panels will be mounted on a two axis articulating frame that is driven by servo and stepper motors. This will allow independent control of both the east to west orientation, as well as the angle at which the solar panels are mounted. This will enable the panels to follow the sun’s path through the day across the sky.

Light Sensor Array

We will use an array of photodiodes or LDR sensors to detect the light intensity in various positionings in order to determine the most optimal position for the panels. We could also implement an algorithm that calculates the sun’s theoretical position based on GPS coordinates for use during cloudy or partially shaded conditions.

Maximum Power Point Tracking Charge Controller

We will make use of a charge controller to interface between the solar panel and the battery to operate at the maximum power point. This will help us protect the battery from over charging, over discharging, and reverse current flow.

Energy Storage and Management System

We will incorporate voltage and current senors to measure the output from the panels, battery charge/discharge rates, and load consumption. We will make use of these measurements to compute realtime power, cumulative energy, and system efficiency for performance analysis.

Wireless Communication Module

We will use a WiFi communication module to send system data to a local server or even a cloud based server. This will allow remote monitoring, firmware updates, and long term data logging for performance analysis of tracked and fixed-tilt operations.

Mobile/Web Application Dashboard

We will use an application that will visualize live and historical metrics, including but not limited to orientation angles, power output, energy yield, and tracking efficiency. With the help of this application, users will be able to analyze trends, receive fault alerts, and evaluate the energy gained from solar tracking under different environmental conditions.

Criteria for success:

The success of this project will be evaluated under the following criteria.

Wi-Fi connection between the solar panel/battery and a local/cloud server.

Tracking of statistics, such as angle, output, etc... for display later.

A cache in which to store tracked statistics should the server be unavailable.

Creation of a web app to display the tracked statistics.

Creation of an algorithm allowing for the solar panel to "follow" the sun.

Integration of the algorithm onto a microcontroller + interfacing with light sensors and motors.



Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

John Kim, Quinn Palanca, Rahul Vasanth

Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

Featured Project

I spoke with a TA that approved this idea during office hours today, and they said I should submit it as a project proposal.

# Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

Team Members:

- Rahul Vasanth (rvasant2)

- Quinn Andrew Palanca (qpalanc2)

- John Jung-Yoon Kim (johnjk5)

# Problem

There are few habits as impactful as good dental hygiene. Brushing teeth in the morning and night can significantly improve health outcomes. Many struggle with forming and maintaining this habit. Parents might have a difficult time getting children to brush in the morning and before sleep while homeless shelter staff, rehab facility staff, and really, anyone looking to develop and track this habit may want a non-intrusive, privacy-preserving method to develop and maintain the practice of brushing their teeth in the morning. Keeping track of this information and but not storing it permanently through a mobile application is something that does not exist on the market. A small nudge is needed to keep kids, teenagers, and adults of all ages aware and mindful about their brushing habits. Additionally, many tend to zone out while brushing their teeth because they are half asleep and have no idea how long they are brushing.

# Solution

Our solution is catered toward electric toothbrushes. Unlike specific toothbrush brands that come with mobile applications, our solution applies to all electric toothbrushes, preserves privacy, and reduces screen time. We will implement a habit-forming toothbrush stand with a microcontroller, sensors, and a simple LED display that houses the electric toothbrush. A band of sensors will be wrapped around the base of the toothbrush. Lifting the toothbrush from the stand, turning it on, and starting to brush displays a timer that counts seconds up to ten minutes. This solves the problem of brushing too quickly or losing track of time and brushing for too long. Additionally, the display will provide a scorecard for brushing, with 14 values coming from (morning, night) x (6daysago, 5daysago, . . . , today) for a "record" of one week and 14 possible instances of brushing. This will augment the user's awareness of any new trends, and potentially help parents, their children, and other use cases outlined above. We specifically store just one week of data as the goal is habit formation and not permanent storage of potentially sensitive health information in the cloud.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1 - Sensor Band

The sensor band will contain a Bluetooth/Wireless Accelerometer and Gyroscope, or Accelerometer, IR sensor (to determine height lifted above sink), Bluetooth/Wireless connection to the microcontroller. This will allow us to determine if the electric toothbrush has been turned on. We will experiment with the overall angle, but knowing whether the toothbrush is parallel to the ground, or is lifted at a certain height above the sink will provide additional validation. These outputs need to be communicated wirelessly to the habit-forming toothbrush stand.

Possibilities: https://www.amazon.com/Accelerometer-Acceleration-Gyroscope-Electronic-Magnetometer/dp/B07GBRTB5K/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=wireless+accelerometer&qid=1643675559&sr=8-12 and individual sensors which we are exploring on Digikey and PCB Piezotronics as well.

## Subsystem 2 - Toothbrush Base/Stand and Display

The toothbrush stand will have a pressure sensor to determine when the toothbrush is lifted from the stand (alternatively, we may also add on an IR sensor), a microcontroller with Bluetooth capability, and a control unit to process sensor outputs as well as an LED display which will be set based on the current state. Additionally, the stand will need an internal clock to distinguish between morning and evening and mark states accordingly. The majority of sensors are powered by 3.3V - 5V. If we use a battery, we may include an additional button to power on the display (or just have it turn on when the pressure sensor / IR sensor output confirms the toothbrush has been lifted, or have the device plug into an outlet.

# Criterion For Success

1. When the user lifts the toothbrush from the stan and it begins to vibrate (signaling the toothbrush is on), the brushing timer begins and is displayed.

2. After at least two minutes have passed and the toothbrush is set back on the stand, the display correctly marks the current day and period (morning or evening).

3. Track record over current and previous days and the overall weekly record is accurately maintained. At the start of a new day, the record is shifted appropriately.

Project Videos