Vikram Krishnamurthy, Joanne Pokrzywa, Anjali Shankar

Project Description

Problem: In 4180, students need to checkout various parts for labs that are not included in the 4180 parts kits. To do this, a TA or Professor Hamblen must be present in the lab to get the parts and record what the student checked out. This is also the case when students want to return parts.

Solution: We have created a 4180 Parts Check-Out System prototype. This system implements a C# GUI, mbed, RFID scanner, compartment box, 4 5V solenoids, and 4 MOSFET relays. The system works by prompting the user to scan their RFID card. The users are recognized by their RFID card and if the student is in the class he/she can now checkout parts using the GUI. The GUI helps the student either check-out or return parts by looking at the database(which consists of text files) and updates the database accordingly. The GUI then send signals back to the mbed which then uses the solenoids available to unlock the specified compartment.Once the student is done, he/she can logout and the system is available for the next student.

Parts Used

ID12 RFID

Pinout

Datasheet

https://cdn.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/ID/ID-2LA,%20ID-12LA,%20ID-20LA2013-4-10.pdf

Small 5VDC Sparkfun Solenoid

Datasheet

https://cdn.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Robotics/ZHO-0420S-05A4.5%20SPECIFICATION.pdf

MOSFET Relay

Datasheet

https://developer.mbed.org/users/4180_1/notebook/relays1/

Demo Video

Code