Date of Award

6-2016

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Electrical Engineering

Second Department

Economics

First Advisor

Steven Gustafson

Second Advisor

J. Douglass Klein

Language

English

Keywords

device, web, actuator, cost

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to design and build an Internet of Things (IoT) Robotic Light Switch. This light switch would act as a complementary device to existing toggle switches and equip them with typical smart device features such as remote control (via Wi-Fi), digital voice assistant control, motion-sensing and integration with other smart home solutions (such as IFTTT). All these features would be supported by a dedicated web page that would also be able to view the usage statistics of the device. This device is aimed at offering users an extremely easy-to-install home automation solution that needs no wiring and gives users the flexibility to implement a phased transition to home automation rather than having to revamp their entire home lighting system. The device was designed to meet certain basic constraints. First and foremost, the device must be extremely simple to install to an existing light switch and should not require any professional services for installation. Secondly, the configuration of the device should be relatively simple and there should be ways to easily re-configure the remote communication method settings when moving the device from one location to another. Besides this, the device should offer a remote communication platform such as a webpage that can be used to control the switch, view all switching/sensor activity and integrate the switch with other smart home solutions/services. The body of the device was 3D printed and an adhesive was used to snap the device on to existing switches. A webserver was set up to offer a web platform that allowed the use of all features of the device. Also, the webserver allowed integration with 3rd party services such as IFTTT and digital voice assistant. Integration with other services allowed additional features such automated switching based on motion-sensing and GPS-location of user, voice command control via Cortana/Siri etc. Finally, a business canvas model was developed using this device as a case-study. The model addressed all aspects that would need to be considered if the proposed device was commercialized including a detailed cost analysis.

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