Project Overview
The rise of smart home technologies since the turn of the millennium has propelled humans into the future that many have only imagined in science fiction. Whether it’s the robot vacuum from The Jetsons or Tony Stark’s AI butler, J.A.R.V.I.S, the idea of using technology to automate some of the more inconvenient tasks of life has been an attractive one for many years. Now, using relatively low-cost electronics and a little coding, the dream of having a smart home is more of a reality than ever, and it can do a lot more than just simple tasks. Just a few ways that this technology can improve users’ quality of life are by: increasing the security of your home by allowing you to wirelessly view and control the statuses of your entry points, cutting down on energy consumption with remotely controlled lights and A/C that you can automatically have reduced or turned off when no one is around, and giving you useful information throughout the day, such as weather forecasts or calendar events, to help you plan each day. The possibilities for this technology are nearly limitless. The objective for this project is to create some simple smart home devices and explore the interconnectivity and automation that could be used to make this technology accessible to anyone for a relatively low cost.
Objectives
- Create a set of smart devices that can be remotely monitored and controlled
- Explore different techniques for connection and automation factoring in both security and convenience
- Integrate our interconnectivity and automation solution to create one ecosystem for the devices we create
- Work to reduce the potential cost of this ecosystem while retaining all of the security and functionality
Major Tasks
The major tasks of the project are outlined below. These are nominal and are likely to change somewhat throughout the course of the year. These are meant to illustrate the general nature of the work that the position entails.
- Plan an outline for the project with the devices we will create and the different connection methods we will research.
- Develop the planned smart devices using arduino circuit boards and sensors.
- Experiment with different connectivity solutions (i.e. WiFi, Z-Wave, Hub, etc…) to determine which would be the best for our ecosystem.
- Connect all of our devices using our set connectivity solution.
- Create a terminal to locally access all of our devices.
- Program a mobile app to remotely access all of our devices.
- Troubleshoot and bug-fix all of our developed systems so they each work seamlessly.
- Reduce the size, complexity, and cost of our devices and connection system where possible.
Results from Fall 2023:
• Designed a hub-based smart home
network where all the data is stored
locally rather than in the cloud
• Configured MAC address filtering based
on NFC tokens to allow only specific
devices to connect
• Created an app with secure user
authentication to interact with a smart
device over the network only once both
of those devices had properly paired to
the hub
We’re recruiting for Spring 2024!
• Our team would greatly benefit from
some team members with specialties
that we don’t currently have (i.e.
cybersecurity, web development, 3D
design, etc…).
• We want to create a more robust server
on the hub to host/process all of the
data.
• We are looking to expand our research
into the smart home market to see if our
product would actually be viable
commercially.
• We are looking to find more ways to
increase desirability! What features
might you want to see?
Preferred Skills and Interests
- General coding (html, arduino, and swift especially useful)
- Electronics skills (wiring, soldering, etc…)
- Interest in smart home tech
- 3d Design (Solidworks)
- Networking/Cybersecurity