Creating an Effective Proximity Alarm Using Household Items

1. Creating an Effective Proximity Alarm Using Household Items By Sarah V.

2. About Me • Music, math and science are my favorite subjects • I plan on studying engineering in college • Academics • Straight A student • I have been placing in science fairs since 1st grade • Since 5th grade my projects have focused on Wi-Fi antenna design and wireless communication protocols • My interest was sparked by the need to improve the performance of my home wireless networking system • Belonged to an FLL team 6th – 7th grade and the team went to state each of those years • I convinced my parents to create the team • I learned how to approach, solve and break down physical tasks and problems into simple programming steps in NXTg • I also learned how to research complicated topics including nanotechnology, energy sources and climate change, and how to apply what I learned to solve problems in my community • Clubs • Algebra II Team • National Honor Society • Symphonic Orchestra • I am a 2nd violinist • Over Christmas Break we had the privilege of playing at the Midwest Conference as 1 of 2 full orchestras in the nation that were chosen • Schools • Full time 10th grade student at Satellite High School • I now take Computer Programming I with Mr. Jordan on FLVS • I have been taking FLVS classes since the end of my 8th grade year

3. An Introduction • Purpose: • To create an alarm that will alert someone if they leave any items (or children) in a car • In 2010, more than 49 children died from being left in hot cars • I had trouble with leaving my violin in my hot car in the overbearing Florida sun • Other Purposes • Make sure that young children do not wander too far away • Make sure that you luggage does not wander too far away • Design Criteria • Constructed of items found around the house • Lightweight, compact • Reasonable range (defined as alarming within an easily retrievable distance) • Dependable (defined as alarming every time communication between the devices is broken) • Hypotheses: • If the master device (NXT) and slave device (i-gotU) are separated, then the master device will alarm when the Bluetooth signal is lost, alerting the user. • If the distance to alarm from each of the four sides of the NXT to the i-gotU is measured, the distances will be equal. • If the distance to alarm is based upon GPS values rather than Bluetooth signal loss, then the distance to alarm will be less variable.

4. Basic Background Information • Bluetooth • Short range wireless communication technology • Known for it’s low power consumption and low cost • Uses the 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) frequency band • Most devices can automatically connect up to other Bluetooth devices • Lego NXT • Bluetooth (Uses a V2.0 class 2 device) enabled, programmable micro computer made by the Lego cooperation • Has an LCD window to display images/text and a speaker to play sound files • Uses NXT-G and RobotC programming languages • Typically used to build LEGO robots • i-gotU GPS Logger and Photo Tagger • Bluetooth (Uses a V2.0 class 2 device) enabled GPS (Global Positioning System) • Can send GPS coordinates to another device via Bluetooth • RobotC • Used to Program the NXT • Closely related to the C-programming language (‘written’ not graphical programming language) • GPS (Global Positioning System) • Satellite based navigation system • Most commercial users can expect at least +/- 10 meters • Satellites send their time and location to a receiver (your GPS system) and the receiver calculates its location • Market Review • Several other proximity alarms were found on the internet

5. B B A A C C USB USB i-gotU i-gotU nXT nXT LEGO LEGO 2 2 1 1 3 3 4 4 The Concept Devices in Range – No Alarm Devices Not in Range – Alarm

6. The Concept cont.

7. Materials & Methods Materials • One HP G70-460US Notebook PC running RobotC • One Lego Mindstorms NXT running RobotC • One i-gotU USB GPS Logger and Photo Tagger (Mobile Action, GT-200) • The proximity alarm tests were conducted in: • an open field with few signal interferences (experimental control) • in a suburban environment (home driveway to front door) with typical signal interferences (Wi-Fi and physical obstacles) • One 50 m tape measure was used to determine the distance at which the Bluetooth signals were lost Methods • A  RobotC program for the NXT was written and debugged • The objective of the program was to monitor the Bluetooth signal between the NXT and i-gotU, and to alarm and display time and GPS coordinates of the i-gotU when the Bluetooth signal was lost • The program was tested and adjusted to optimize communication between the NXT and i-got-U. Figure 4 contains the program flow chart

8. Materials & Methods • The optimum range and reliability of the proximity alarm were determined at the soccer fields where there were few signal interferences (ex. physical obstacles and other wireless devices) • Figure 1 contains a conceptual diagram of the signal path and equipment • Figure 2 contains a Google Earth image of the field testing site • The distance to alarm was measured forty times from each side (top, right, bottom, left) of the NXT to the i-gotU • In this scenario, the NXT remained stationary while the i-gotU was moved out of range • The Interquartile Range (IQR) test was used to identify outliers in each data set (Donnelly, 2007) • After the outliers were discarded, the average and standard deviation of each data set were calculated • A completely randomized one-way ANOVA and pairwiseSheffe tests were conducted to determine if the Bluetooth signal strength (distance to alarm) was equal in all directions (sides) from the NXT • The range and reliability of the proximity alarm were then determined in a suburban environment (residential property) with typical signal interferences (Wi-Fi and physical obstacles) • The i-gotU was placed in the middle of the back seat of a GMC Envoy with tinted windows • The distance to alarm was measured forty times as the NXT was moved from the car to the front door of the house • Figure 3 contains the suburban house test site diagram • The Interquartile Range (IQR) was used to identify outliers in each data set (Donnelly, 2007) • After the outliers were discarded, the average and standard deviation of each data set were calculated • It is important to note that the GPS data in the house scenario corresponded to only one location, the location of the i-gotU in the backseat of the car • This data was used to analyze the variability of the GPS data and calculate distances for comparison to the measured Bluetooth signal based distances

9. Start Reset NXT Bluetooth to Factory Settings Turn on NXT Bluetooth Configure NXT Bluetooth to Tone with Connect/Disconnect, use Default Password, and Set the Security PIN to 0000 Search for Bluetooth Devices Connect to i-gotU Bluetooth Check Bluetooth Connection Between Devices Bluetooth Signal Received (In Range) Yes Increment Count Display “In Range”, Count, and Position No Beep Twice Display Last GPS Position, Time, and “Out of Range” The Program Flow Chart

10. Testing Sites Overview Soccer Field Testing Site Testing Occurred along the white line. The NXT was stationary on a post and the i-gotU was moved along the white line. House Testing Site Testing Occurred along the path to the front door of the house. The i-gotU (shown) was left in the car and the NXT was moved away.

11. Results: Data Example & Summary Table

12. Results: Statistics – Calculated by Hand by Researcher

13. Results: Graphs

14. GPS Data Please note that the time, date, degrees, and direction were taken off in order to fit this summary table on this slide. Direction and degrees remained constant (28 degrees N lat.; 80 degrees W longitude).

15. Discussion • Field Data • The field data represented a case of minimum signal attenuation from interferences (physical and wireless) • The Bluetooth antenna in the NXT was directional (See Graph 1 and 2) • Distance to signal loss from each of the four sides of the NXT varied depending on which side of the NXT was facing the i-gotU • The results of the Completely Randomized One-Way ANOVA analysis confirmed that there was a statistical difference between the all the distances • The Scheffe tests determined that all the sides were statistically different from the each other except in the left and right directions • House Data • The house data (home driveway to front door) represented a case with typical signal interferences (Wi-Fi and physical obstacles) • It was found that the alarm would go off at the protected, recessed area around the front door (See Graph 3) • This was significantly less than the corresponding bottom side distance to signal loss observed in the field tests • The 90% signal range loss between the open field and suburban house tests of the NXT/i-gotU alarm system was primarily due to attenuation from physical obstacles • The metal car body, tinted windows and vegetation (due to water content) have significant attenuation values and all contributed to the signal loss • Alarm Design and Operation Evaluation • The NXT/i-gotU alarm system worked 200 out of 200 trials showing it was 100% dependable • Significant alarm distance variability was noted in consecutive trials (See Graphs 1 and 2) • Alarm distance variability was also noted in commercial units • Changing the RobotC program to alarm based on GPS calculated distances rather than Bluetooth signal loss would not improve alarm distance variability (See GPS Data Slide) • The GPS data exhibited significant variability and did not correlate well with the measured signal distances • Several types of proximity alarms were found on the internet (See Table 1) • The NXT/i-gotU system was reliable and demonstrated comparable range, but it was larger, heavier, consumed more power, and was more expensive than the commercial devices • Due to these factors, it probably would not be as convenient to use as the other systems • However, the NXT/i-gotU system did not have to be purchased and the components can be used for other purposes

16. Tables: Market Comparison

17. Tables: Examples of Attenuation Values of Common Construction Materials

18. Conclusions • This project focused on creating a proximity alarm out of items found around the house that could warn the user if a heat sensitive object or child was left in a car • The NXT-igotU alarm system met the design criteria • However, market research showed that while the system performed comparably to commercially available systems, it was not as convenient or cost effective • The following is a summary of the project conclusions: • The RobotC program was 100% reliable. The NXT/i-gotU proximity alarm successfully alarmed in 200 out of 200 trails. The first hypothesis was supported. • The field test results showed that the NXT’s Bluetooth was directional. The second hypothesis was not supported. • The alarm distances based on GPS data exhibited greater variability than the alarm distances based on Bluetooth signal loss. Alarm variability would not be reduced by changing the RobotC program to alarm based on GPS calculated distances rather than Bluetooth signal loss. The third hypothesis was not supported. • In the suburban test, the NXT/i-gotU’s average signal range was 5.5m. The 90% loss in signal range compared to the field test (53m) was primarily due to physical obstacles. • Significant alarm distance (Bluetooth signal) variability was observed in both the field and suburban test data. Significant variability was also noted in commercial units. • Commercially available alarms were smaller, lighter, consumed less power and were cheaper than the NXT/i-gotU system. However, the NXT/i-gotU demonstrated comparable performance and its components can be used for other activities. • Future Studies • The next phase of this project would be to create a proximity alarm out of a cell phone and an i-gotUGPSThis would improve the convenience of the proximity alarm and possibly reduce the range variability as well due to the higher end electronic components in the phone. Using a phone could even increase the versatility of the system. A GPS equipped phone could be programmed to show the last known location of the i-gotU on a map and the phone’s current location.

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