The Smart Cloth Rack a product for a less stressful life
Project Idea Outline Solution to a basic day-to-day challenge Number of rainy days in Melbourne is about 100 days/year 1 ➢ Electric cloth dryers cost an average of few hundred dollars ➢ Energy consumption approximately 250 kWh 2 ➢ Total electricity bill of a household increases up to maximum of 160$ 3 ➢ 1 http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086071.shtml 2 http://reg.energyrating.gov.au/comparator/product_types/35/search/? wrapper_search=True&control_type=&model_number=&paginate_by=500&expired_products=on 3 http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/services-and-advice/households/energy-efficiency/at-home/appliances/clothes-dryers
Aims of the Project Automatic retractable cover ➢ Stable, Portable and Lightweight system ➢ Waterproof electronic sub-system ➢ Powered by battery ➢ Mobile app to monitor and actuate the system ➢ manually Total Cost less than 200$ ➢ Cheaper and energy efficient compared to the available products in the current market
Subsystem revisions: Base ● Base Storage decreased: Due to Fixation of Motorshaft → Same for other proposed options ○ ■ 100%% (Report) → 50% (real product) Weight decreased to to Material thickness unavailability vs Cost ○ ■ 100% (Report) → 0%, but can increase to 70% Attachment of components on bottom ○ ■ 50% as detachable (Report) Durability not tested (100 cycles = 0%) ■ ○ Costs decreased, as for free 80% (Report) → 100% ■ Overall 50%, (71% with thinner material) ●
Subsystem revisions: Closing mechanism ● Closing mechanism prone to spraywater as lengthwise overhang was shortened due to manufacturing restrictions ○ ■ ~50% as some water (100ml) can reach the cloths Astethics, not a lot of printed curved parts, but consistent colour with rails. ○ ■ I give it 50% Ropes slipe on wheels → Timing belts ●
Subsystem revisions: Sensors ● Infra-red Sensor Advantage ○ ○ Problems Raindrop Sensor ● Advantage ○ ○ Problems Further more… ● ○ Add more sensors? Improve algorithm? ○
Subsystem revisions: Sensors Infrared Sensors ● Advantage ○ Stable digital sensor ○ Easy to Implement ○ Cheap ○ …… ● Disadvantage ○ Detect distance is limited (ours only up to 2.5cm) ○ The accuaracy can be affected by light
Subsystem revisions: Sensors Rain-Drop Sensor Advantage ● ○ Small and cheap Stable digital signal ○ ○ Accuracy can be adjusted Water proof itself ○ ○ …… Disadvantage ● Accuarcy need to be consider ○ ○ Easy to get oxidation …… ○
Subsystem revisions: Sensors
Further more ● Add more sensors… Temperature & humidity sensor ○ ● Give more options to users Accessories (e.g. WiFi board) ○ ● Improve the algorithm Let the motor run more smoothly ○ ○ The whole system is more robustness Curtain open/close time can be strickly controlled ○ ■ When? How long? ■
Subsystem revisions: Motors ● Missing Motor-shaft couplings decreased the durability and functionality of the system by 90% ● Rubber couplings were used instead which tends to break under high load. Durability - 10% ● To reduce the torque of the motor we used 5V
Subsystem revisions: Computing System Arduino and Nexpaq Combination of Arduino and Nexpaq fulfill the requirements. ● ○ Arduino being an open source platform and well documented suited us well. Nexpaq provides an open source platform for developing the mobile application. ○ Nexpaq was used for the communication between smart phone and Arduino. ● ● Arduino controlled all the sensors and information.
Requirements Essential requirements ● Promptly detects rain and sun (within 3 seconds) ● Protect clothes by enclosing clothes with curtain within 5 sec of rain detection ● Cost under 200 AUD. ● Entire system is waterproof Desirable requirements ● Affordable for students (from 50$ → 200$) - Lower the better ● Light weight (from 3 kg → 7 kg)- Lower the better ● Compact / small storage size ● Detects rain beforehand (Using local weather forecast information)
Performance / Features of Prototype Closes curtain automatically within five seconds after rain starts. Opens curtain automatically after five minutes of rain stop. Shows real time data of screen position and weather to user in app. Manual override option to control the position of curtain from app. System is partially waterproof. Here is the working prototype- https://youtu.be/M7lEe6vBJ2s
Future Work Potential Improvement: Reduce the Weight of whole system ➢ Solutions for Mechanical constraints ➢ Extensions: The system can get local weather forecast and close the curtain before the rain starts ➢ Temperature and humidity sensors can be added to get more accurate climate feedback ➢ The entire cloth rack can be moved automatically to indoors when it rains heavily (Like to a ➢ garage, backyard with shed on top)
Thank you for listening Questions??????
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