Mangaluru: Mohammed Sharief and Adith James D’Souza have got 1st place in Taluk, District, State, and South Zonal Level for making models based on a micro-controller chip called ARDUINO. They will be also participating in the National level competition. The duo have made a Heliostat skylight (refer document) in which the solar panel turns towards the direction of sun so that we can get solar energy all time when sun is available. They have made a LI-FI in which the data gets transfer using LED Light using the same ARDUINO Board. And they have also made a soil moisture checking device which uses the ARDUINO Board and a LCD Panel to display a value (soil moisture content).
According to Mohammed and Adith who addressed the media persons during the press meet held at Mangalore Press Club presented/submitted the following details. Others present during the press meet were Fr Edward Rodrigues- Headmaster of St Aloysius High School, Iqbal Ahmed-father of Mohammed Sharief, Vinod D’Souza- father of Adith James D’souza, Donald Saldanha- Science teacher, and Santhosh Lobo-the guide teacher.
HELIOSTAT SKYLIGHT:
In our design, the Heliostat Skylight can be in two operation modes:
1. Sun Tracking is used when the sun is low in the horizon and early and late in the day, throughout the day during winter months and all year long in northern lattitudes. By aligning to the position of the sun, the Heliostat Skylight reflects light down into the space which would otherwise be lost due to the low incident angle.
2. Sun Protection comes in handy in hot summer days when there is excessive sunlight. Diffusive reflective material used at the back of each reflector panel can block the harshest rays of the sun and maintains a soft indoor lighting condition. This reduces heat load and glare, and enhances the use of natural daylight, thereby reducing the operating costs of the building. When the sensor detects light, the heliostat enters Sun Tracking Mode. The secondary motor hoists the mirrors upwards at a tilt of 60 degrees and motor angle data is recorded, given that the heliostat is not in Cloudy Mode.
It then checks which sensor has a higher light level, and rotates accordingly. If the sensors are both underneath the cloudy mode-threshold, the Cloudy Mode state is entered. In this state, the heliostat turns from its last recorded position to the 180 degree position, back and forth, until a light source is detected from the sensors again. Note that if the heliostat goes into Cloudy Mode at the initialization, it operates from the last recorded position of the backed up data from the day before.
The heliostat turns off using the secondary motor, if it is under the off-threshold.
LI-FI ( Light- Fidelity):
Abstract: Whether you’re using wireless Internet in a coffee shop, stealing it from the guy next door, or competing for bandwidth at a conference, you have probably gotten frustrated at the slow speeds you face when more than one device is tapped into the network. As more and more people and their many devices access wireless Internet, clogged airwaves are going to make it. One German physicist.Harald Haas has come up with a solution he calls “data through illumination” –taking the fibber out of fiber optic by sending data through an LED light bulb that varies in intensity faster than the human eye can follow. It’s the same idea band behind infrared remote controls but far more powerful. Haas says his invention, which he calls DLIGHT, can produce data rates faster than 10 megabits per second, which is speedier than your average broadband connection. He envisions a future where data for laptops, smart phones, and tablets is transmitted through the light in a room. And security would be snap – if you can’t see the
light, you can’t access the data.
There are many applications for Li-Fi. These include:
– RF Spectrum Relief: Excess capacity demands of cellular networks can be off-loaded to Li-Fi networks where available. This is especially effective on the down link where bottlenecks tend to occur.
– Smart Lighting: Any private or public lighting including street lamps can be used to provide Li-Fi hotspots and the same communications and sensor infrastructure can be used to monitor and
control lighting and data.
– Mobile Connectivity: Laptops, smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices can interconnect directly using Li-Fi. Short range links give very high data rates and also provides security.
– Hazardous Environments: Li-Fi provides a safe alternative to electromagnetic interference from radio frequency communications in environments such as mines and petrochemical plants.
– Hospital & Healthcare: Li-Fi emits no electromagnetic interference and so does not interfere with medical instruments, nor is it interfered with by MRI scanners.
– Aviation: Li-Fi can be used to reduce weight and cabling and add flexibility to seating layouts in aircraft passenger cabins where LED lights are already deployed. In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems can also be supported and integrated with passengers’ own mobile devices.
– Underwater Communications: Due to strong signal absorption in water, RF use is impractical. Acoustic waves have extremely low bandwidth and disturb marine life. Li-Fi provides a solution for short-range communications.
– Vehicles & Transportation: LED headlights and tail-lights are being introduced. Street lamps, signage and traffic signals are also moving to LED. This can be used for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside communications. This can be applied for road safety and traffic management.
– RF Avoidance: Some people claim they are hypersensitive to radio frequencies and are looking for an alternative. Li-Fi is a good solution to this problem.
– Location Based Services (LBS): Highly accurate location-specific information services such as advertising and navigation that enables the recipient to receive appropriate, pertinent information in a timely manner and location.
– Toys: Many toys incorporate LED lights and these can be used to enable extremely low-cost communication between interactive toys.
DIGITAL SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR:
This sensor can be used to test the moisture of soil, when the soil is having water shortage, the module output is at high level, else the output is at low level. By using this sensor one can automatically water the flower plant, or any other plants requiring automatic watering technique. Module triple output mode, digital output is simple, analog output more accurate, serial output with exact readings.
FEATURES
1. Sensitivity adjustable.
2. Has fixed bolt hole, convenient installation.
3. Threshold level can be configured.
4. Module triple output mode, digital output is simple, analog output more
5. accurate, serial output with exact readings.
WORKING: Soil moisture sensors measure the water content in soil. A soil moisture probe is made up of multiple soil moisture sensors. One common type of soil moisture sensors in commercial use is a Frequency domain sensor such as a capacitance sensor. Another sensor, the neutron moisture gauge, utilizes the moderator properties of water for neutrons. Soil moisture content may be determined via its effect on dielectric constant by measuring the capacitance between two electrodes implanted in the soil. Where soil moisture is predominantly in the form of free water (e.g., in sandy soils), the dielectric constant is directly proportional to the moisture content. The probe is normally given a frequency excitation to permit measurement of the dielectric constant.The readout from the probe is not linear with water content and is influenced by soil type and soil temperature. Therefore, careful calibration is required and long-term stability of the calibration is questionable.
