Notes to read for capstone presentation

My Project is creating the code to be able to run a bio fuel/gasifier, without the constant need for manual changes or fixes, and so that any average person could utilize the benefits of this energy saving need. I will be utilizing a banana pie interface that will work with the machine and allow me to write the code to keep track of temperatures while the bio fuel is going through all phases of the process. The code will allow for the control of the points of the phases where I will need different parts of the machine to perform in different ways in order to retain and maintain energy safely and productively without the constant need for human intervention.

Just being able to understand bits and pieces of what my client needed his machine to do, help me find a beginning point to start the process. Just knowing the differences of each phase of the machine helped me to further understand what I needed to do in order to begin this project. Understanding the ranges in temperatures and what parts of the machine needed to react according to those different ranges in temperatures helped me gain more knowledge in order to begin the project. Having the ability to find the correct hardware (meaning the interface that might client needed for this project to work, allowed me to get a better understanding of the program I would be using with the hardware so I could do preparation research. Just knowing the language I would be using helped me by directing my research to Python specific online research.

I utilized some of the Agile Scrum process in that I did originally break up my tasks into smaller workable sprints, but when it came to working on the code I really used Kanban because I am a one person group and was able to combine most of the sprints into one workable sprint.

This is the continued User stories slide.

Explain Ed’s code

We have 2 LED lights and to prove the concept of being able to control when the gasifier needs to either do something or nothing we are having the LED lights blink, blink in different variables of time, or stop blinking to signal that something needs to be done with the machine/* Stacey Dreher: explained code for first sprint of capstone project *//* Red led1 simulating when temperature is to hot. *//* Yellow led2 simulating when temperature is to cold./* Simulating a thermometer. *//* A flag that tracks the value of the thermometer. *//* Simulating a blink on the led light. *//* Used to label each variable when printed to the screen so we can see what is happening. */

int led1 = 13; int led2 = 11; */ int thermometer = 0; int up_down = 0; int blinker = 0; String labelVar;

/* Configures the red led1 light to behave as output. *//* Configures the yellow led2 light to behave as output. */ /* Baud rate, meaning how fast the communication is with the machine. */

void setup() { // put your setup code here, to run once: pinMode(led1, OUTPUT); pinMode(led2, OUTPUT); Serial.begin(9600); }

/* When the thermometer is greater than 1500 up_down switches to 1 *//* else when the thermometer is less than zero up_down switches to 0. */

void loop() { // Put your main code here, to run repeatedly: if(thermometer > 1500){

up_down=1; }else if(thermometer < 0){

up_down = 0; }

/*when up_down is equal to zero, thermometer increments else when up_down is equal to 1, thermometer decrements and the delay allows us to see this on the consol. */

if(up_down == 0){ thermometer++; }else if(up_down==1){ thermometer--; } delay(50); /* label to see thermometer variable on console. *//* label to be able to see both thermometer variables concatenated on the console. *//* label to see up_down variable on console. *//* label to be able to see both up_down variables concatenated on the console. *//* label to be able to see the blinker variable on the console. *//* label to be able to see both blinker variables concatenated on the console. */ labelVar = "thermometer: "; labelVar.concat(thermometer); labelVar.concat(" up_down: "); labelVar.concat(up_down); labelVar.concat(" blinker: ");

labelVar.concat(blinker); /* Prints data to the console for the character variable strings as is. *//* when thermometer is less than or equal to 400 the red led light is on. *//*when thermometer is greater than 400 and less than 600 and the blinker is less than 21, which only cycles on the console up to the count of 40 for a simulated variable of time, the red light is on. */ /* when thermometer is greater than 400 and less than 600 and the blinker is greater than 21, which only cycles on the console up to the count of 40 for a simulated variable of time, the red light is off. *//* when thermometer is greater than or equal to 600 and the blinker is greater than 21, which only cycles on the console up to the count of 40 for a simulated variable of time, the yellow light is on. *//* when thermometer is greater than or equal to 600 and less than 1300 and the blinker is less than 21, which only cycles on the console up to the count of 40 for a simulated variable of time, the yellow is off. *//* when thermometer is greater than 1300 the yellow light is on. *//* when the blinker equals 40 the blinker count starts back at zero *//*for the variable of time count to increment. */

Serial.println(labelVar); if(thermometer <= 400){ digitalWrite(led1,HIGH); } else if(thermometer >400 && thermometer < 600 && blinker<21){

digitalWrite(led1,HIGH); } else if(thermometer >400 && thermometer < 600 && blinker>21){ digitalWrite(led1,LOW); } else if(thermometer >= 600 && blinker >21){ digitalWrite(led2,HIGH); } else if(thermometer >=600 && thermometer < 1300 && blinker <21){ digitalWrite(led2,LOW); } else if(thermometer>1300){ digitalWrite(led2,HIGH); } if(blinker == 40){ blinker = 0; } blinker++; }

Utilizing Python code

The # symbol marks comments in Python syntax.

Python is a line-oriented and statements are not terminated by a semicolon, but by the end of the line.

The first line is a special meaning for UNIX type systems and it specifies what program should interpret the file.

Basically I am having the console print from 1 to 50 and if we reach 10 we will have the machine do something. If we reach 35 we will have the machine do something else, and if we reach 50 we will stop something. This just proves the same concept as before with Ed’s Arduino, but I wanted to use Python because it’s the language I will be using with the banana pie interface once I receive it.

#!/usr/bin/python

a = 0

while a < 51:

print a,

if a == 10:

print "do something!"

elif a == 35:

print "do something else!"

elif a == 50:

print "Stop!"

a = a + 1

When I finally spoke with my client about what he ultimately wanted his machine to do I was then able to begin narrowing down the process and I wasn’t going off track on other tangents.

When I was able to break down the processes into smaller sprints it gave me more of an understanding on where to begin with the coding process.

Just being able to utilize my teachers Arduino interface helped me the most because I was able to actually see the concept be proven and then work on that same concept except with the language that I knew I had to use for the banana pie interface instead.

When I was able to find a tutorial based program online that dealt with the Python language I was able to mess around with the code and ultimately prove the concept again, but this time with the language I needed to learn for the project.

My client and I ordered the banana pie interface but my client had the shipping set to 14 day delivery and somehow the ordering process with UPS was messed up and we had to re-order it so I was unable to begin the coding process so I had to find other things to work on while I was waiting.

I ordered the Arduino for the project and also for me to learn more, but UPS took longer than they should have to deliver the interface, but also when it was delivered I never received it and I have to re order it.

Having a 9 year old a husband and living with a sister who has issues didn’t help me when I needed to be working on this project at home, and I should have spent more time at school either after hours or before in order to buckle down and get more done.

When I first decided on this project after I had spoken with my client who is my dad, I was all over the place with ideas and the project became overwhelming because of how big I made it, but when I actually did the interview process to narrow things down and the user stories it wasn’t as overwhelming.

I waited too long to work on researching the Python language and I know that if I would have been researching once I knew the language I would have been using I could have moved further with the coding process.

Last Slide and What I Learned I learned that you can have an idea on a project, but in order to keep it within a scope

that you can work with you need to utilize the user stories breakdown and ask the right questions from your client or yourself.

I learned that UPS is not that great when it comes to shipping and because of the setbacks in receiving the interface/s that I needed I will always have a just in case list prepared for these types of possible setbacks and ways to get around them in future projects.

I learned that it is hard to work by yourself on these types of projects and if I were to have other group members to bounce my ideas off of it would have made the process easier because two minds are always better than one.

I learned that when interviewing a client you need to be just as, if not, more prepared than the client and it’s always a good idea to have others look over your interview questions for possible changes.

I learned how an interface works and I learned some key concepts between the differences when it comes to digital and analog with baud rate(meaning how fast the communication is with the machine and the interface.)

I learned what procrastination causes and why not to procrastinate.

I learned basic information on how to utilize the Python language.