Week 4 Update: April 24th- April 30th

The team finally got an Arduino SDcard shield in order to log information collected from the accelerometer to an SDcard during tests. The code to have it log was provided on Arduino.cc and worked flawlessly. The current plan is to use native Arduino IDE code to log the data. Using MATLAB to do the same will be investigated. In addition, the team came up with MATLAB code that will automatically send out an email in order to simulate an emergency responder being called.

Arduino with SD Shield and Accelerometer Connected 

Completed Package With Battery Connected

Week 3 Progress: April 17th - April 23th

This week, the group focused on two main projects: the final aesthetic use of the product, and allowing the product to run independently of the computer. 

After discussion of how the product would be worn by the consumer, it was decided the accelerometer would fit into a necklace. The top section would fold open like a book to act as a locket where pictures could be stored. Since the product will be a necklace, the group worked on designs to minimize the volume of the necklace to not make it uncomfortable or unsightly to wear.

The group also wanted the product to run independently of a computer so it could be worn and tested in real-life situations. To do this, the group purchased an SD Card Shield for storage of the data as the memory of the Arduino is not large enough for all of our graphs and data. A nine-volt battery and adapter for this were also purchased to allow the product to be powered without the use of a plug-in power source.

This week the group hopes to fully automate the product and finalize mathematical models to be used for testing.

Week 2 Progress: April 10, 2013 - April 16, 2013: Arduino Background/ Setting up Arduino.

The Arduino is an "open-source electronics prototyping platform." It is basically a simple microcontroller with digital and analog inputs and outputs. It can be powered and interfaced with via USB. It can also run on its own external AC power source. It is coded for using the Arduino IDE. For this project MATLAB was used to code. The accelerometer used for this project uses 3 of the analog input pins to relay x, y, and z values.

There were a few steps that the team had to go through in order to configure the Arduino to work with MATLAB.

1. Download Arduino IDE from http://arduino.cc/en/main/software and install.
- Mac installation was quite simple while PC installation on Windows 8 required some troubleshooting
2. Connect Arduino and test which COM port it is plugged into.
3. Run a quick test program to ensure Arduino is functioning correctly.
4. Go to http://www.mathworks.com/academia/arduino-software/arduino-matlab.html and download the MATLAB Arduino support package.
5. Follow the instructions in the readme file to install. They are summarized in the following steps.
6. Upload the adiosrv.pde file to the Arduino.
7. Open the Arduino.m file in MATLAB to install Arduino libraries in MATLAB
8. Connect to Arduino using
    a=arduino('COMPORT')
    where COMPORT is the comport that was determined in step 2.

Week 2 Progress: April 10, 2013 - April 16, 2013

This week, the group members familiarized themselves with the Arduino device and its software. Alekhya and Jasmine downloaded the Arduino software from the website: http://www.arduino.cc/. They also looked into the process of programming and connecting the Arduino through Matlab. Ravi, Jay and Chad worked on creating physics equations to model the acceleration a person would experience if they fell versus someone dropping the device.

Week 1 Progress: April 3, 2013 - April 9, 2013

This week, the group worked primarily on brainstorming an idea for a bio-sensing device. We eventually settled on the issue of Life Alert. The rest of the week was spent developing the design. On Wednesday, the group wrote an abstract for the device that outlined the motivation and overall goals of the project. The main motivation for redesigning a life alert system was that the current ones require a user command to activate; however, if the user is injured and unable to activate the device, no help will arrive. The rest of the week was spent writing a design proposal. The proposal contains the deliverables, technical activities, project timeline, facilities and resources, expertise and budget. Below is also a proposed timeline for the project.

	Week
Task	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Literature study/ Research/ Mathematical Modelling	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Mechanical design/ Electrical design		x	x
Programming			x	x	x	x	x
System integration/ Construction					x	x
Testing							x	x	x
Final report preparation								x	x	x