CONTROLLING.COMFORT

GOAL: Prototyping a wearable that regulates the air conditioner’s temperature in accordance to the user’s comfort
SYNPOSIS: Individual project | Summer 2016 | Arduino/C
SKILLS: Replicating AC control mechanism | Arduino circuitry

FINAL PRODUCT:

KEY PROCESS SLIDESHOW:
1. Wired the infrared (IR) receiver to the Arduino board
2. Using that and a virtual oscilloscope, determined the IR pulse pattern for my AC at every temperature
3. Wired a IR transmitter to the Arduino. Used it to control the AC without its remote
Click this for video of IR transmitter successfully turning AC on
4. Wired an IR temperature sensor. Used to measure the user's finger temperature, an indication of their comfort bc of vasoconstriction/vasodilation
5. Testing the sensor on ice cream
6. Wrote & debugged program that asks user for their ideal body temp, reads their actual temp, then constantly adjusts the AC setpoint using IR transmitter to maintain comfort
7. Miniaturized prototype
8. Wired & coded peizzo buzzer mechanism for testing purposes
9. Prototype testing setup
10. Used water to emmulate human skin. When the boiling water reached the inputted ideal tempeture, the buzzer went off, indicating how long the process took. Result: 63°C -> 25°C in 24 minutes
MENTOR: Mr. Sean Sabastian, Mechatronics Engineer, provided instrumental guidance

CURRENT LIMITATIONS POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
A finger's temperature does not accurately measure vasoconstriction/vasodilation. Thus, body temperature does not measure one's comfort Use the LED light‑sensitive photodiodes system to measure vasoconstriction/vasodilation instead. Apple uses this system in their watch's heart rate monitor to detect the amount of blood flowing through the wrist at any given moment.
Each AC has a different IR pulse pattern. Consequently, this prototype only works with a Toshiba AC Imitate the universal remote mechanism so that the wearable can control any type of AC.