Project Outline

What the Activity Monitor will do

• Monitor the level of motion (using Photon’s motion sensor)
• Monitor sound levels (using Photon’s ultrasonic sensor)
• Send information back and show results either through webpage or on display board in the CIS Lounge

Prototype Idea

Protective casing for the photon to be nested in is needed. This is as to not have the photon and its parts sitting out in the open, vulnerably. I plan to use a cardboard encasement for the upcoming prototype, but will needed to come up with a more durable design for the final product.

This design was found through the Particle projects website and is similar to how I expect my prototype to appear:

Particle projects website

Placement

The Activity Monitor will be stationed in a high corner or on the flat wall across from the Chic-Fila station in the MLK Student Center. It will need to either sit on a small shelf or somehow be suspended up within the corner. This is the ideal placement for it as its sensors should be able to capture the necessary information from there and people will not be able to tamper with it the object.

Term Project

  Area Activity Monitor

Concept & Idea Background

The project I will be working on is an area activity monitor. I chose this because here on our campus, a situation I and many other students, frequently face is that we may need to stop by the Administration building to handle some business regarding financial aid, or grab a quick bite to eat, within a very limited amount of time (in between classes, for instance). The issue that often occurs is the lines for these places may be too long to stand in, which there is no way of finding out until you have already used up your little bit of time to travel across campus to said location and see it in person.

Goal/Purpose

The goal of this project is for students to be able to know how busy the Administration building is ahead of time, so that they can make an informed decision on whether they have time to stop in or not. For many students, this can prevent tardiness to class and wasted time/energy.

Hardware Components Required

-Photon 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Breadboard (can be generic)

 

 

 

-Jumper wires:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Ultrasonic Sensor 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-USB-A to Micro-USB Cable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Software/Online Tools Required:

-Particle IDE
-Fritzing App (optional)

Using the Buddy System

For this project, the objective is to get my photon to communicate with a friend's photon. Though in this case, my friend and I were nearby each other, the photons can actually be very far away from each other and still communicate. Through this post, I will show you how this can be accomplished.

What is needed: 

• Breadboard 
• LED 
• Photoresistor
• 2 Resistors (red-red-brown, for both)
• A friend's Photon, Core, or Electron 

Set-Up of the Breadboard

Motion Sensor Project

The point of this project is for the motion detector (included in the Photon kit) to sense any motion around it, and then send an alert through a Slack channel, which we have already set up. A situation in which this could be useful is if you want to sense whether a conference room, for example, is occupied or not without actually having to physically get up and check the room.

Here's the Kit and its Contents: