Inspiration
According to the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders, approximately 15% of American adults aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing, totaling about 37.5 million Americans! Despite such a humongo number, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) only requires visual alarms in common usage areas, excluding personal living spaces such as rooms in apartments. This could be dangerous in situations where those who are hard of hearing are alone in their apartment and a fire alarm goes off. This made us wonder: What if we create a portable fire alarm that doesn't rely on sound to notify people in dangerous situations? The solution? Our deaf-ready pocket alert system, SilentAlarm.
What it does
The physical device lights up to notify its user of any alarms that exceed the amplitude threshold - this means that when an auditorial fire alarm goes off, they will have a device in their pockets that will alert them of their surroundings using means outside of sound. The user can also use our iOS app or our website, link, to connect to their device via wi-fi and monitor their surroundings for any loud alarms going off.
How we built it
The physical device utilizes ESP 32 microcontroller for alarm detection. We utilized Python to send messages to a phone utilizing Twilio's SMS messaging service. In addition, we used websocket to communicate from the fire alarm detector to the server and send the text to the client phone.
Challenges we ran into
With everyone in the team better versed in programming, the CAD aspect of the physical product was especially time consuming. The building of the hardware with the time constraints was also a challenge, as the 3D printer utilized for the sample, and the soldering of the components were time consuming. We also had trouble setting up the websocket, which required a lot of research to fix.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
The physical device is functional and our website is up and running! The app is functional, and all of our members have gained a substantial understanding of the product in various levels from hardware to software.
What we learned
The project involved microcontroller programming, web development, app development, and networking as a whole. Our project provided us with insight from the low level end of the product, all the way to the high levels that extend its functionality and enhance the user experience.
What's next for Silent Alarm
Looking ahead, we are excited to add the SMS notification feature and a vibration feature to the product to better notify users.
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