Covid Radar

Have you ever wondered if people around you are REALLY 6ft or further? Covid radar's got your back.

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Inspiration

We currently are living in a world where Covid-19 cases constantly rise, and some people fail to properly socially distance themselves from one another. Many people may fail to maintain social distancing. The only solution we have right now is for the government to track every citizen. We wanted to create an alternative solution that would not compromise our privacy.

What it does

CovidRadar uses an ultrasonic sensor that spins in a 360-degree gimble (a servo) to look for "targets" that are too close to the user. When a target is spotted within a certain distance with them, the device will begin flashing its LED lights and send a signal to the user's mobile device that will begin playing an alert tone (defined by the user as well) to warn targets that they are getting too close to the user. The phone will store who got how close the use at what time. =

How we built it

We used an Arduino Uno, a Bluetooth Module, an Ultrasonic sensor, and a breadboard. The ultrasonic sensor will send an echo and will detect any echo that bounces back to the sensor to determine the distance of the closest target. To maintain a 360-degree observation, the sensor is mounted on a Servo Motor that spins back and forth 180 Degrees. We then used a Bluetooth Module to connect to the user's smartphone so it can send sensor data while our app (written in Java) will then alert the user using a sound file and store any occurrences in a built-in log. The electronics are then mounted to the top of a regular cap (with holes for wires to go through) so that it will be easier for anyone to wear it.

Challenges we ran into

We ran into many challenges. First of all, we were having trouble getting the Bluetooth to properly communicate with the Arduino (which was later fixed). We also did not have much experience in Android Studio (or Java at all) and it was a steep learning curve (although we got a hang of it and somewhat got it working). Other major issues were the hardware failures, one of the Arduino boards did not work at all or it was fried out from the beginning. Luckily we had spare Arduino boards. But then another major failures we ran into was that once we fully built the hardware, the ultrasonic sensor suddenly stopped working. At first, we thought it was the wiring or the coding itself, but then when we went to isolate it, it still wouldn't function so we thought we were out of options since the sensor was crucial (it was brand new as well, only a day old). We are looking at possible solutions to this.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

First of all, we are very proud of getting the servo working with the Arduino to spin in a general direction then spin the other way to maintain a 360-degree angle of detection. We also fully completed the hardware (with the Bluetooth and everything), we just need to replace the ultrasonic sensor as it broke down randomly. Finally, we are proud of being able to complete a portion of the app (the other portion is just extra features we may implement).

What we learned

We learned so much about the hardware used and the mobile application development using Android Studio. For example in Hardware, we never really worked with Ultrasonic sensors and did not work with a Bluetooth Module before. We had a fun time working with these gadgets to incorporate into our project. We also never developed an Android app before using Android Studio, nor did we write Java (at least not that much). It took time to learn a new language, especially used in Application Development.

What's next for CovidRadar

If everything goes well with CovidRadar, we will implement luxury features like customizable sensor distance and other useful customizable features we can think of. Many people may fail to maintain since they don't know how far 6 feet maybe and it's not like they would bring a measuring tape and measure every person's magnitude to maintain social distancing. Even after covid is finished, the same product could be used to help blind people navigate new places. Every time they get too close to bumping into someone, the mobile device will start beeping.

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