All posts by victtavares1

Safeband

SafeBand – 07/12

  • What did you do this week?

We worked on the Bluetooth connection and on the send e-mail functionality from the app.

The Bluetooth is working fine and the app is now able to send e-mails.

  • Describe the problems you encountered

We had problems to send e-mail due the filter encountered in the major e-mail web services companies such as Google and Microsoft Office. To solve this problem we had to use a external framework called MailGun (https://mailgun.com)

  • Describe the successes you had

Now we’re able to send email through the app and the Bluetooth connection looks like to be working fine.

  • Are you on schedule?

We’re a little late, but we will be able to finish everything.

  • What do you plan to do next week?

We will make the necessary connections between smartphone and the device and sew everything.

Projects, Safeband

SafeBand – 11/09

Week’s Accomplishments:

 

This week we started to develop our mobile application for our project. We’re using a backend framework  and cloud storage called Firebase (www.firebase.com). This will save us a lot of time because we will not need to develop our own backend REST API.

 

We are also using a project management system called Trello( www.trello.com). Using this tool we can keep track of our work and schedule our next steps.

 

We finally bought all the hardware that we will need for our prototype, it included:

  • Arduino pro Mini 328 – $10,00
  • Accelerometer ADXL 335 – $15,00
  • Bluetooth device – $25,00

 

Problems:

We were planning to use a pulse sensor, but we figure out that most of them just works when you put the device on the tip of the finger or the device required a really precise position at the wrist to work.

Due to this problem we decided to change the pulse sensor for an accelerometer to detect falls. We are planning to detect when someone falls and stay on the floor for more than 10 seconds, if it happens we will send an alert e-mail at the same way as if someone had pressed the button.

 

Next week:

We are planning to finish the basic features from the mobile application and if the hardware arrives we will test if everything is working fine making sure that we can do everything that we want.

Projects

Final Project Pitch – SafeBand

My project will be the same that I mentioned on assignment 4, the SafeBand. So, It will be a small device connect via Bluetooth to a smartphone app.  The device will have a little button, when the button is pressed, the fit band will send a signal to the smartphone , sending  a e-mail/text message with the user location to a pre-registered list of people informing that the user is in some kind of dangerous situation.

A possible implementation would be to add a sensor that monitor the life signals from the user, and if it’s below a certain value we would alert his contacts as explained above.

The challenges that we might face on this project would be:

  • Find a hardware small enough to fit on a fitband. ( Maybe in the prototype we would use something bigger)
  • Battery life ( We will have to figure out a way to put the Bluetooth on a sleeping mode or something similar)

IMG_1922

Uncategorized

Pre-Work Project – Victor

Inputs : Switch, button

Outputs: four LEDs, RGB LED.

In this project, the user can turn on/off the device using the switch, and when he press the button the LED’s start to blink faster, until it reaches a limit speed, when it comes back to the normal speed. The RGB LED changes its color all the time the regular LED “reaches” it.

Uncategorized

Assignment 4 – Fit band

My idea is of a Security fit band. It will be a small device connect via Bluetooth to a smartphone app.  The device will have a little button, when the button is pressed, the fit band will send a signal to the smartphone , sending  a e-mail/text message with the user location to a pre-registered list of people informing that the user is in some kind of dangerous situation.

The challenges that we might face in this project would be:

  • Battery of the fit band (need to be small enough and all the time connect to the phone via Bluetooth)
  • Develop a mobile application and deal with apple restrictions ( After some research I discover that you can’t send a e-mail without user authorization using apple API, The developers will have to figure out a way around it).

IMG_1922

Assignments

ACTON Rocket Skates – Assignment 3

The Product

The Rocket is a motorized roller skate that straps to either sides of your shoes and can move at speeds of 12 mph. Depending on the model, they can run for up to 90 minutes, and they take about the same amount of time to recharge.

        Rocket skates also offers a smartphone app that displays info such as battery life, miles travelled, suggested routes and speed. They app also have a couple of social features that connect the user of the roller skate.

         In case you want to buy one, they are pre-ordering on the website with prices that vary from $499 on the simplest model to $699 on the most robust model.

 

Why I selected it?

I selected this product because when I was a child I used to see this kind of motorized roller skate on cartoons, and always wanted to have one, when I saw this video on the internet my first reaction was to look for more information about it.

 My Opinion

I think that it’s a really nice product. The main problem for me is the battery life of just 90 minutes on the most expensive version of the product and that it requires a little bit of practice to use.