Team IOT-group4: Megan Ogle, Sam Malmfelt, William Heidtmann

Published November 14, 2018

Power-Walking

Transform the energy you use while walking into useable electrical power and obtain real-time monitored data!

Advanced3 hours978

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Piezoelectric Chip

Particle Photon Maker Kit

1N4001 Diode

Software apps and online services

Particle IOT

ThingSpeak API

Story

Power-Walking:

Abstract

Our project works by monitoring and transforming small amounts of raw electrical energy generated from the deformation of piezoelectric plates set in the soles of shoes. We will be using a bridge rectifier and capacitor/external battery pack to transform the erratic energy generated into a smooth flow of power that can be used for various purposes. Three photons will be powered by external batteries unrelated to the energy generated. These photons will be used for remote sensing of raw and converted energy, as well as monitoring/controlling output data. Our motivation for this project is to turn energy that is already exerted on a daily basis, into something useful; in this case, generating power to charge up a device of our choice. This idea could be implemented in other countries where they do a lot of walking and don't have the access to electrical power.

Materials and Methods:

Materials/Hardware:

The required materials for our project are documented below: Note that each piece of hardware can be found online for purchase under the "Things" section of the project.

1 Jameco Solderless Breadboard
3 Particle Photons
4 1N4001 Diodes
1 Capacitor (100 Microfarads)
1 Piezo Chip (1.625" diameter)
Jumper Wires
Medium Size Gatorade Cap

Procedures:

1. Gathered all raw materials necessary for project

2. Wrote individual code for each photon based on their individual functions (see Photon Communication Diagram below) on Particle Build website & "flash" code to update photon

3. Assembled full circuit on breadboard with all 3 photons with the bridge rectifier and capacitor

4. Set up real-time graphing with ThingSpeak

5. Use Multimeter to confirm that the bridge rectifier is functioning (converting AC power to DC power)

6. Secure circuit & power bank to shoe

7. Generate power by walking around & deforming the Piezo chip & verify power generation by looking at graphs

Photon Communication:

Below is a diagram outlining all photon communication. Our project involves 3 Particle photon chips, all communicating with each other in the following way(s):

Illustration of the communication between 3 photons within our code

Data and Photo Documentation:

Data:

Redundancies are built into our project for real-time monitoring of project success. Our data is processed in several ways, able to be easily viewed on the ThingSpeak website. Raw data from photon 1 can be seen on all ThingSpeak accounts to prove that the piezoelectric chip is working and data is being collected. The voltage across the capacitor (proving that our generated voltage is stored for use) is available for viewing on photon 2 and photon 3's ThingSpeak accounts.

Photo Documentation:

Materials used in the making of our project

Breadboard, 3 Particle Photons, 1 Piezo Chip, 4 Diodes, Capacitor, Gatorade Cap & Jumper wires

Photon 1 (left), Photon 2 (middle), Photon 3 (right)

Bridge Rectifier Example

Bridge Rectifier Input Connections

Piezo Chip Setup with Positive/Negative Connections

Components for the bridge rectifier and capacitor data laid out

Piezo chip placement in rear sole of shoe & connected to Photon 1

Bridge Rectifier and Capacitor placed in Circuit

Jumper wires connecting digital and analog pins between photons

Final circuit and shoe setup ready for testing

Circuit secured on shoe- ready for power generation!

YouTube Link for demonstration and discussion of project and results:

Conclusions:

The objective of this project was met, and all data points to the fact that the simple circuit seen above can be used effectively anywhere for simple power generation by walking. The capacitor can be used to power or charge a number of devices, from a small LED to your cell phone (this would involve a more complicated circuit with a transformer, additional wiring, etc.) This project proves the validity of this method of power generation, and that the Internet of Things can be used to monitor our data in real time without issue. Get out there and exercise, and charge your phone while you're at it!

Code

// This #include statement was automatically added by the Particle IDE.
#include <ThingSpeak.h>
TCPClient client;

unsigned int myChannelNumber = 620537;
const char * myWriteAPIKey = "01DDNK01ER7LZPBG";

void setup() {

pinMode(A1, INPUT);
pinMode(A2, INPUT);
pinMode(D0, INPUT);
pinMode(D2, INPUT);
pinMode(D7, OUTPUT);
ThingSpeak.begin(client);
}

void loop() {

float vin = analogRead(A1);
float vout = analogRead(A2);
float potentialRaw = vin - vout;

  // Trigger the integration
  ThingSpeak.setField(1,potentialRaw);
  ThingSpeak.writeFields(myChannelNumber,myWriteAPIKey);
  // Wait 1 second
  delay(1000);
  
Particle.publish("sendraw", String(potentialRaw));


if ((digitalRead(D0) == 1))
 {
      if((digitalRead(D2) == 1))
     {
       digitalWrite(D7, HIGH);
     }
  }
}

// This #include statement was automatically added by the Particle IDE.
#include <ThingSpeak.h>
TCPClient client;


unsigned int myChannelNumber = 620535; // replace with your ChannelID
const char * myWriteAPIKey = "7QN4O2ESE1FHURSQ"; // replace with your WriteAPIKey




void setup() {
    pinMode(A1,INPUT); //tells photon what the pins will be used for
    pinMode(A2,INPUT);
    pinMode(A3,OUTPUT);
    pinMode(A4,INPUT);
    pinMode(A5,OUTPUT);
    pinMode(D0,INPUT);
    pinMode(D1,OUTPUT);
    pinMode(D7,OUTPUT);
    ThingSpeak.begin(client);
}

void loop() {
float vin = analogRead(A1);
float vout = analogRead(A2);
float potentialSmooth = vin - vout;

Particle.publish("sendsmooth", String(potentialSmooth));
float potentialRaw;

potentialRaw = Particle.subscribe("sendraw",myhandler);
ThingSpeak.setField(1,potentialSmooth);

  delay(1000);


ThingSpeak.writeFields(myChannelNumber,myWriteAPIKey);  
  // Wait 1 second


if (digitalRead(D0) == 1)
 {
    digitalWrite(D1,HIGH);
    digitalWrite(D7,HIGH);
 }


}

void myhandler(const char *event, const char *potentialRaw)
{
    atof(potentialRaw);
    ThingSpeak.setField(2,potentialRaw);
}

// This #include statement was automatically added by the Particle IDE.
#include <ThingSpeak.h>
TCPClient client;

unsigned int myChannelNumber = 624233; //replace with ChannelID
const char * myWriteAPIKey = "7TTWBJLU6O5S1B2L"; //replace with writeAPIkey

void setup() {
    pinMode(D0,OUTPUT);
    pinMode(D1,OUTPUT);
    ThingSpeak.begin(client);
}

void loop() {
    float raw;
    float smooth;
    raw = Particle.subscribe("sendraw", myhandler1); 
    delay(1000);
    smooth = Particle.subscribe("sendsmooth", myhandler2); 

ThingSpeak.writeFields(myChannelNumber,myWriteAPIKey);
    
    if (smooth > 1)
    {
        digitalWrite(D0,HIGH); 
        digitalWrite(D1,HIGH);
    }
}
void myhandler1(const char *event, const char *raw)
{   atof(raw);
    ThingSpeak.setField(2,raw);
}
void myhandler2(const char *event, const char *smooth)
{   atof(smooth);
    ThingSpeak.setField(1,smooth);
}

Power-Walking

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Power-Walking:

Abstract

Materials and Methods:

Photon Communication:

Data and Photo Documentation:

Conclusions:

Schematics

Circuit Diagram

Circuit

Code

Photon 1 (kitty_dentist) Code

Photon 2 (megans_photon) Code

Photon 3 (smalmfelt) Code

Credits

Megan Ogle

Sam Malmfelt

William Heidtmann

Comments

Embed the widget on your own site

Power-Walking

Power-Walking

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Power-Walking:

Abstract

Materials and Methods:

Photon Communication:

Data and Photo Documentation:

Conclusions:

Schematics

Circuit Diagram

Circuit

Code

Photon 1 (kitty_dentist) Code

Photon 2 (megans_photon) Code

Photon 3 (smalmfelt) Code

Credits

Megan Ogle

Sam Malmfelt

William Heidtmann

Comments

Related channels and tags