Hello! So this is my very first post here, so I apologize if this seems random. I am at an engineering college and during every year, for our first semester we have to make small projects that get harder as the years go by. For my first year we had to make a program on computer, any program we desire and display it at the end of the semester for evaluation. I was able to achieve that with ease and got the highest grade.
For this year however we have to make a project that consists of both software and Arduino hardware. The teacher is... questionable and initally said we can make whatever we want as long as it is both physical and digital. I was considering making a videogame console that can run Gameboy-esque games and therefore be both both programmed and built. However recently the teacher said the idea has to be "revolutionary" and be something that can be used in every day house like chores which turned of my original idea right away.
As a result, I considered making a device that can detect human presence, and that could for example be used around security systems. For example if it can be used in server rooms that have fire extinguishing by removing oxygen from the room, and if there is a human in the room, and if it detects human presence, the oxygen removal won't start as it will kill the human. I have some components selected for purchase but I dont know which ones might be best for my idea... I was wondering if y'all have any suggestions that could be of use and help.
Do you specifically need to detect the presence of a human ? In your server room example you could use a PIR to detect the passive IR of a human as it is unlikely that a cat, dog etc would be in there. Alternatively you could use "break beam" detectors placed at strategic locations in the room to detect the movement of a human
Count the number of air molecules in an empty room. Pick a minimum volume body you want to detect and determine the number of air molecules that would occupy that volume. When the number of air molecules decreases by more than or equal to the minimum body number, set the occupied flag.
Your professor will probably not be impressed by your example usage, even if you get it to work, but they may give you some credit if you also mention the usual industry precautions for human safety associated with CO2 fire extinguishing systems. You can find them in the US document NFPA 12.
ETA: instead of the server room example, my project write-up would say that my device could be useful for controlling bathroom lights, where there are minimal life-safety issues (and plenty of real-world examples).
In the final year of school, I would expect a good understanding of the resources introduced, and gaps in useful technology where your fresh ideas would fit. The warborne "drones" of today started as simple RC toys and a camera with filters to observe red tide in the ocean... then defense contractors saw it as a tool for other things.
Rather than asking for ideas... do it yourself. Think outside the "better mousetrap"... something like...
Saving the world, one relationship at a time, with a toilet paper dispenser that senses the roll turning "the wrong way" and corrects the abomination with a rotation of the dispenser. Non-standard ideas are the "revolutionary" ideas bought out by defense contractors.
Server room fire suppression or bathroom lights (or some other room lights) I think you can substantially increase the accuracy by combining motion sensing with a double IR beam to cross at the doorway and count the movements going into an leaving the room. And for the server room shut off the room lights upon the last person leaving and no motion detected. If somebody is in there being really still perhaps because they are sitting at a terminal thinking about the infernal machine, and they have not been counted, the likelihood of them getting up to find the light switch is pretty great.
Here’s another idea and if you get it going I would like to buy one from you. I’ve been thinking about a way to keep my dog from roaming into the kitchen. I am thinking of a 2 IR beam system near dog body height to detect the direction of travel through the entryway, and another 2 IR beam system above dog body height. If somebody breaks the lower set of beams only and the direction of travel is into the room, swing a flyswatter out and into his path. That would be enough to remind my dog to stay out.