Temperature and CO2 sensing robot
By Carlotta Berry
This project describes adding temperature and CO2 sensors to a mobile robot to sense and alarm when values in the environment exceed a given threshold.
Type: Commercial, Social Impact, Education
Website: https://www.instructables.com/TemperaatureCO2-Alert-Robot/
About them: I am a professor and Lawrence J. Giacoletto Endowed chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. I am one of several faculty in Computer Science and Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering who established the first multidisciplinary minor in robotics at Rose-Hulman. According to US News and World Reports, Rose-Hulman has been ranked number for over two decades for primarily undergraduate engineering schools. The institute has a unique focus on student-centered learning and teaching where faculty and students engage in innovation through hands-on activities as part of clubs, competition teams, undergraduate research, and numerous class laboratories. In 2021, I became an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) senior member and a fellow for the American Society of Engineering Education and earned a TechPoint Foundation for Youth Bridge Builder MIRA award. All of these accolades indicate my passio
Social:
What inspired you or what is the idea that got you started?
I wanted to find a way to teach young people about basic robotics and electronics that had a real-world application that wasn't too difficult to implement. The SparkFun Inventor's Kit and Qwiic Connect sensors provided an easy way to do these things even for novice makers.
What is your project about and how does it work?
It is about using a robot to detect changes in temperature or CO2 in an environment. It is essentially an environmental sensing robot that determines changes in a home environment to alert the family living there. If the temperature exceeds a certain threshold it spins one way, if it exceeds a CO2 threshold it spins another way. Ways to enhance this project include adding an audible alarm such as a buzzer and another visual alarm such colored LEDs.
What did you learn by doing this project?
How to attach and use Qwiic Connect sensors on an Arduino Uno to read and detect changes in a robot's environment by using proprioceptive sensors.
What impact does your project have on others as well as yourself?
It is a great way to introduce young people to electronics and robotics including sensing, planning, and acting. It is also a great way to teach them basic programming and provides a way for them to appreciate how being a maker and doing STEM can enable them to create things to improve the world and help people.
