Lab 1 – Don't Forget Me Product Description
Patrick Markham
CS411
Janet Brunelle
February 28, 2008
Table of Contents
1
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................4
2
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................6
3
4
2.1
Key Product Features and Capabilities ........................................................................6
2.2
Major Components (Hardware/Software)....................................................................8
2.3
Target Market/Customer Base ...................................................................................11
PRODUCT PROTOTYPE DESCRIPTION ..........................................................................11
3.1
Prototype Functional Objectives ................................................................................12
3.2
Prototype Architecture ...............................................................................................12
3.3
Innovative Features ....................................................................................................16
3.4
Challenges and Risks .................................................................................................16
PROTOTYPE DEMONSTRATION DESCRIPTION ..........................................................17
GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................19
List of Figures
Figure 1. Nontraffic fatalities involving children and automobiles, 2002-2006 ............................5
Figure 2. DFM Algorithm ..............................................................................................................8
Figure 3. Major Functional Component Diagram (MFCD) ...........................................................9
Figure 4. Annual U.S. Motor Vehicle Production ........................................................................11
Figure 5. Prototype Major Functional Component Diagram (Prototype MFCD) ........................13
Figure 6. Prototype and Actual Product Comparison ...................................................................14
Lab 1 – Don't Forget Me Product Description
1
INTRODUCTION
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report relates that, from July
2000--June 2001, more than 9,000 children received emergency room treatment for
nonfatal injuries related to nontraffic automobile incidents (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, n.d.). According to a national database maintained by kidsandcars.org,
the same period saw more than 450 children involved in over 350 nontraffic, noncrash
incidents, resulting in at least 92 deaths. This figure has risen steadily each year. Last
year (2007), 942 children were involved in 725 such incidents, resulting in the deaths of
231 of America's future youth (Kids and Cars, n.d.). Contributing factors include, among
others, hyperthermia and hypothermia, strangulation (e.g., in a window or seatbelt),
inhalation of vehicle-generated carbon monoxide and collision (i.e., backovers and
frontovers).
As shown in the diagram below (Kids and Cars, n.d.), twenty-four percent of all
nontraffic, noncrash fatalities involving children in the years 2000 through 2004 were a
direct result of neglect during excessively hot temperatures. While 50% in the same
years resulted from backovers and frontovers, numerous commercially viable systems
which address this cause have since been introduced into the market. As a result, data is
expected, in several years' time, to reflect this introduction in the form of a drastic decline
in this percentage. At the same time, the data will show a dramatic increase in the other
percentages. Figure 1 clearly shows hyperthermia to be, after collisions, the leading
cause of nontraffic, noncrash fatalities involving children by far. Minus collisions,
hyperthermia was the cause of 48% of such fatalities (Kids and Cars, n.d.).
Figure 1. Nontraffic fatalities involving children and automobiles, 2000-2004 (Kids and
Cars, n.d.).
Conceived by the Old Dominion University (ODU) CS410/411 Blue Team, Don't
Forget Me (DFM) is a sensor-based occupant protection system that can be installed in
any vehicle. It is a combination of sensors and software which, in cooperation with a
standard car alarm, prevents a child from being left unattended in a vehicle for any period
of time. Additionally, DFM notifies the parent or legal guardian (i.e., the driver) that the
child is in danger, in the event that, in spite of the system's attempt to prevent neglect in
the first place, the driver has left the child in the vehicle unattended and conditions
subsequently suggest that the child's life is in danger. Hence forward, the Blue Team will
be referred to by its legal name, DFM Inc.
Due to the nature of the solution, and in light of extensive market research, DFM
Inc.'s board of directors determined that such a solution would best be implemented as a
before-market add-on at the vehicle manufacturing level. As a result, rather than
manufacture units of the system in-house, DFM Inc. will simply license the use of
patented software to vehicle manufacturers and provide the necessary specifications and
documentation along with the licenses.
2
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The Don't Forget Me system combines multiple sensors, advanced software and an
alarm in order to prevent drivers from leaving children in their vehicles unattended,
as well as to alert drivers when unattended children in their vehicles are in danger
2.1
Key Product Features and Capabilities
The DFM system's "intelligent" software is the cornerstone of the system, since the
software is the component which decides the appropriate response to input received from the
sensors. There are five sensors altogether: one for detecting the presence of a heartbeat, one for
pressure, one for CO2, one for motion and one for audio. Each sensor is assigned a unique
weight. If the combined weight of the sensors is greater than five, the system concludes that an
occupant is present. In other words, it is not necessary for all five sensors to detect an occupant
in order for the DFM system itself to determine that one is present. If no audio is detected, for
example, the system is still capable of determining the occupant's presence based on heartbeat
and seat pressure. If a sensor fails entirely, the system can detect an occupant based on input
from other sensors.
If no occupant is present, the DFM system does not set off the keyfob or the car alarm
under any circumstance. However, if one is present, the system attempts to prevent the driver
from leaving the occupant unattended by setting off the alarm if the driver steps further than 20
feet away from the vehicle in any direction. If the alarm goes off, the only way to reset the alarm
is to return to the vehicle and manually press a reset switch. Returning to a distance of less than
20 feet from the vehicle will not turn off the alarm.
The only way for the driver to leave an occupant unattended and step further than 20 feet
away from the vehicle is to press the reset switch prior to leaving the vehicle. However, in order
to minimize the risk that the driver might press the reset switch out of habit and then leave the
occupant unattended unintentionally, the switch is located in the backseat of the vehicle.
Therefore, to do this, the driver must step out of the vehicle and open a door to the backseat (i.e.,
where the driver will be forced to see the occupant and make a conscious decision whether or not
to leave them unattended).
Nevertheless, even if the driver presses the reset switch prior to leaving the vehicle with
the unattended occupant inside, the system is still active. If the interior of the vehicle approaches
extremely hot or cool temperatures, both the keyfob and the car alarm will be set off. In this case,
it is not enough to return to the vehicle and press the reset switch; if the interior of the vehicle
does not return to an acceptable temperature, the occupant must be removed from the vehicle
entirely.
Although the various sensors and other devices have existed for years, never before
have they been combined in this manner and coupled with advanced software to address the
problem outlined in section 1 of this document.
The algorithm which the DFM software follows, summarized above, is shown in greater
detail in Figure 2, below:
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Figure 2. DFM Algorithm (Brandon Fields).
2.2
Major Components (Hardware/Software)
The following is an illustration of the major functional components of the Don't Forget
Me system.
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Figure 3. Major Functional Component Diagram (MFCD – Brandon Fields).
The first component is the heartbeat sensor. The presence of a heartbeat indicates the
presence of an occupant. Additionally, this sensor can determine if an occupant is experiencing
any sort of heart condition, trouble breathing or other problem which would result in a particularly
high or low heartrate.
The second component is the pressure sensor. The presence of sufficient pressure on a
seat indicates the presence of an occupant.
The third component is the CO2 sensor. Since humans exhale CO2, the presence of a
sufficient level of CO2 indicates the presence of an occupant.
The fourth component is the motion sensor. The presence of motion indicates the
presence of an occupant.
The fifth component is the microphone. The presence of audio, such as a baby crying,
indicates the presence of an occupant.
The sixth component is the car alarm. The DFM system works in conjunction with the
vehicle's existing car alarm. The alarm serves primarily to prevent the occupant from being left
unattended in the first place. However, the alarm is also set off in the event that the interior of the
vehicle approaches extremely hot or cool temperatures.
The seventh component is the temperature detector. This sensor determines the
temperature of the interior of the vehicle only.
The eighth component is the keyfob. This device is actually a combination of a keychain
beeper and a wireless receiver, as it must be able to communicate with the CPU. If the driver
steps further than 20 feet away from the vehicle in any direction, or if the interior of the vehicle
approaches extremely hot or cool temperatures, both the car alarm and the keyfob are set off.
The ninth component is the remote detector. This device determines if the keyfob is in
proximity for communication.
The tenth component is the transmitter device. This is the wireless technology necessary
for such communication.
The eleventh major functional component is the reset switch. The reset switch turns off
the alarm. It also allows the driver to step further than 20 feet away from the vehicle; however, it
is located in the backseat to mitigate the risk of leaving an occupant unattended unintentionally.
The final major functional component is the Central Processing Unit (CPU). The CPU
includes a central processor (i.e., the computer hardware component), an embedded operating
system and the DFM software, outlined in section 2.1 of this document.
2.3
Target Market/Customer Base
DFM Inc. will target one market in particular: vehicle manufacturers. Vehicle
manufacturers produce over five million passenger cars and more than seven million commercial
vehicles annually. From 1997 through 2005, the total number of vehicles manufactured, both
passenger cars and commercial vehicles, averaged 12,181,000 annually. The goal is to capture
1-2% of this market in the first two years. In other words, the goal is to have the Don't Forget Me
system installed on 1-2% of all vehicles manufactured in the second year. Further expansion,
although difficult to project, is expected to result from natural growth. Alternatively, if federal
legislation is introduced that requires manufacturers to install safety measures meeting the
general description of the DFM system in their vehicles, DFM Inc. has the opportunity to dominate
the market decisively for years to come. Revenue will be derived from the sale of licenses to
install the system in the vehicles a manufacturer produces. The anticipated cost of a single
license to the manufacturer is fifty U.S. dollars. The figure below details the number of vehicles
manufactured annually for the 1997-2005 period.
Table 1-15: Annual U.S. Motor Vehicle Production (Thousands of units)
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Production, total
12,131
12,003
13,025
12,774
11,425
12,280
12,087
11,960
11,947
Passenger cars
5,934
5,554
5,638
5,542
4,879
5,019
4,510
4,230
4,321
Commercial vehiclesa
6,197
6,448
7,387
7,231
6,546
7,261
7,577
7,731
7,625
Figure 4. Annual vehicle production, 1997-2005 (Dan Holloway).
3
PRODUCTION PROTOTYPE DESCRIPTION
The prototype of the Don't Forget Me system will demonstrate the feasibility of
combining multiple sensors, advanced software and an alarm in order to prevent drivers
from leaving children in their vehicles unattended, as well as to alert drivers when
unattended children in their vehicles are in danger.
3.1
Prototype Functional Objectives
The first objective is to successfully demonstrate the ability of the DFM software
to determine appropriate responses to the most common scenarios involving unattended
children in automobiles. These scenarios include, among a host of others, when the
driver first walks away from the vehicle with the child left inside; when an unattended
child is exposed to extremely hot or cool temperatures; and when an unattended child's
heartbeat can nolonger be detected. The ability of the software to determine the
appropriate response can actually be demonstrated without the use of any sensors, vis-àvis software simulation of the input from such devices (i.e., such devices as the heartbeat
sensor, the temperature detector, etc.).
The second objective is to successfully demonstrate the ability of the software to
function in cooperation with the actual sensors, whereby input such as a heartbeat or a
dramatic increase in temperature is not simulated at all, but detected by physical devices.
Third, in an effort to show the full capability of the DFM system, we will
demonstrate that we have successfully incorporated the use of a keychain alarm into the
prototype.
3.2
Prototype Architecture
Figure 4, below, illustrates the major functional components of the Don't Forget
Me prototype, and the relationship between the devices. It is nearly identical to the
MFCD shown in Figure 2, with the addition of the USB-600x Data Acquisition Kit,
developed by National Instruments. The Data Acquisition Kit includes the USB-600x
Data Acquisition (DAQ) unit, the LabVIEW software and the necessary analog outputs
for accurate output signals. The DAQ unit, which connects to a student laptop, allows us
to receive the output of the five sensors and the temperature detector. The LabVIEW
software allows us to read the output from the sensors. Output is fed as input into the
DFM software, which then determines the appropriate response based on the input.
When necessary, the DFM software will set off an alarm on the computer (i.e., the "car
alarm"), or it will set off both the car alarm and the keychain alarm.
Figure 5. Prototype Major Functional Component Diagram (Prototype MFCD – Brandon
Fields).
There are, however, a few notable differences between the prototype of the Don't
Forget Me system and the actual product, yet to be developed. The table below
juxtaposes the prototype with the actual product, and clearly outlines such differences:
Features
Heartbeat Sensor
CO2 Sensor
Temperature Sensor
Motion Sensor
Actual Product
An accelerometer will be
installed that is capable of
sensing a heartbeat through
the vehicle’s back seat. The
accelerometer can detect
small fluctuations in
movement, thereby
indicating a heart rhythm. It
will also be used to monitor
health based on heartrate.
The sensor will measure the
level of CO2 in the vehicle.
A steady increase will
indicate there is no
ventilation and there is an
occupant in the vehicle.
The temperature sensor will
read in very precise values
to determine the rate of
temperature change, in
order for the software to
determine when a threat is
imminent.
The software will analyze
the values read from the
motion sensor over time to
determine if the readings
are influenced by an
occupant.
Pressure Sensor
As with the motion sensor,
the values given to the
software will be used to
determine if there is a
pattern that indicates the
presence of an occupant.
Microcontroller/CPU
A microcontroller will be
Prototype
A pulse oximeter is attached
to a volunteer’s finger. This
device gives the same input
values as the accelerometer,
but requires the volunteer to
attach the device.
Additionally, the software
will only monitor the
presence of a pulse, not the
heartrate.
No CO2 sensor is used for
the prototype. Rather, the
sensor is simulated in
LabVIEW.
A temperature sensor reads
the current temperature of
the room, and the software
decides not if a dangerous
temperature is imminent,
but if the temperature is
already dangerous.
The motion sensor reads in
several values over a short
time period. If motion is
detected over that time
period, then the software
assumes that an occupant is
present, at least as far as the
motion sensor is concerned.
The sensor is placed under a
cushion for the volunteer to
activate. By sitting, he or
she activates the pressure
sensor. This simulates a
child sitting in a rear or
safety seat.
LabVIEW simulation
used to run the software
created by the DFM
development team. The
controller will interface
with all the hardware and
run the analysis algorithms
to evaluate the state of
any/all occupants.
Reset Switch
Infrared
Receiver/Transmitter
Alarm
Microphone
A switch will be placed in
the rear of the vehicle so
that the driver can manually
shut off the alarm in case of
a false alarm. However, the
system will still set off the
alarm if it detects an
occupant is in danger.
A receiver will be placed in
the car with the generator as
a keyfob. When the
generator goes out of range
(20 ft.), the car’s alarm will
sound.
The alarm will be
implemented according to
the preference of the
manufacturer. It is strongly
recommended that the
vehicle’s built-in horn or
alarm system be used given
the public’s familiarity with
car alarms.
A simple microphone will
be integrated into the DFM
system in the middle rear
section of the vehicle,
behind the seat. The
microphone will merely
check the intensity of noise
in the vehicle. In the event
that the noise is above a
predefined decibel level, the
software will determine an
occupant is present, at least
as far as the microphone is
software is run in order to
implement all the logic
necessary to run the DFM
system. Rather than having
the sensors wired into a
microcontroller, they
simply interface with the
underlying software using
an input/output device
known as a DAQ.
A switch is added to the set
of hardware, but the logical
implementation is not as
elaborate.
The same implementation
takes place, but the
generator is not in the form
of a keyfob.
A small speaker is used to
generate noise and simulate
a car alarm.
The computer’s microphone
will be used in conjunction
with LabVIEW to
determine if the decibel
level has reached a
predefined level.
concerned.
Figure 6. Prototype and Actual Product Comparison.
3.3
Innovative Features
As previously mentioned in section 2.1, the truly innovative characteristic of the Don't
Forget Me solution is that, although the various sensors, the processor, the embedded operating
system and the wireless communication devices (i.e., the keychain and related devices) have
existed for years, never before has anyone combined them all into one comprehensive system –
together with advanced software–so as to actually address the problem outlined in section 1 of
this document.
3.4
Challenges and Risks
A number of challenges and risks must be overcome during the development of
the Don't Forget Me prototype.
First, a set of scenarios (i.e., set of inputs) to which the DFM system should
respond must be clearly defined. The appropriate response to each scenario must also be
clearly defined. This task represents a challenge because the result should be
comprehensive.
Second, for each of the sensors to be incorporated into the prototype, as well as
for the receiver for the keychain alarm, we must find an off-the-shelf product which will
work with our particular DAQ device, National Instruments' USB-600x. This may take
some time.
Last, the failure of the DFM software or of any of the devices during the
prototype demonstration must be prevented at all costs. This can and will only be
mitigated by repeated testing and re-testing of the final version of the Phase I prototype.
4
PROTOTYPE DEMONSTRATION DESCRIPTION
The Don't Forget Me prototype demonstration will require each of the
components found in the Phase I MFCD from Figure 4. Additional sensors (e.g., the
pressure sensor) not found in the Phase I MFCD from Figure 4 may be added to the
prototype as determined by DFM Inc.'s board of directors. In addition to the components
found in the Phase I MFCD and any/all additional sensors, the demonstration will require
a volunteer to provide a heartbeat, a heater to simulate extremely hot conditions inside
the vehicle and a bucket of ice to demonstrate extremely cool conditions inside the
vehicle. Both the LabVIEW software and the DFM software will be pre-installed on the
laptop, and all other devices will be identical to the devices used in prototype
development.
The demonstration will begin with an overview of the major functional
components of the prototype and an explanation of how the DFM software processes the
input and determines the appropriate response. We will then provide an outline of the
common scenarios in which the prototype is designed to respond, as well as the expected
appropriate responses. Finally, we will demonstrate the effectiveness of the prototype by
simulating the most common scenarios and watching as the prototype responds as
expected.
GLOSSARY
DAQ: National Instruments' USB-6008 or -6009 Data Acqusition device.
DFM: Don't Forget Me. Usually the Don't Forget Me system or the Don't Forget Me
software.
DFM Inc.: The Don't Forget Me company.
LabVIEW: Software included in National Instruments' Data Acquisition Kit for use
with the DAQ.
MFCD: Major Functional Component Diagram.
ODU: Old Dominion University.
REFERENCES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.).
Retrieved January 21, 2008, from
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website: http://www.cdc.org/
Kids and Cars. (n.d.). Statistics. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from Kids and Cars
Website: http://www.kidsandcars.org/
National Instruments. (n.d.). NI USB-600x Student Kits. Retrieved January 21, 2008,
from National Instruments Website:
http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/14681