Category Archives: Updates

Return From Break. Design update.

Winter break is over and Spring semester 2019 is starting up. For spring, the Smart Locker team will be working on the prototype and refining any problems that arise.  The local chapter of the IEEE will be hosting an event at San José State University on February 18. The Smart Locker team will be attending and will be getting feedback from the community and partners.

During winter break, the design was revised to accommodate for manufacturing.  The unit will have three major unique parts. A door, side panels, and top-bottom panel. This minimize the number of different parts while still be able to manufacture. The team is currently working on camus shops as well as local sheet metal shops to develop the process to bend sheet metal effectively.

End of Semester Update and the Farewells

Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is around the corner.  Fall semester is winding down for winter break and the Holidays.

Because the EPICS senior project course is partially an elective course, some of the members of the team may not be returning for next semester.  We would like to bid farewell and good luck to Sabrina Miller, Irina Tabor, and Prabhpreet Singh.  Their input into was vital to the progress of the project.

Here are the current drawings and dimensions of the smart locker system.  Each unit is 13 by 13 by 17 inches.  These dimension were chosen to allow a 15-inch notebook computer to fit.

Happy Holidays 2018 and Happy New Year 2019

Happy Holidays and Smart Locker UI

Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas it just around the corner. With the year coming to an end, the Smart Locker team would like to remind everyone to stay warm, hydrated, a wish everyone a happy 2019.

Below is a draft of the Front-end UI flow chart on what we expect the screen will show for the advance locker system.  Our team software engineer will be using Adobe XD to create the UI. The backend will be running on a Raspberry PI with a touch screen as interface.

A mock up of what main screen can be seen below.  The UI will be touch screen so anyone that has experience touch screen smartphone will have a easy time navigating the menus.  

Our software and computer engineer are still working out the bugs of the system.  More to come.

11/11/18 Project Update

After a number of group meetings and the valuable feedback from the design review, the group is working on clearly addressing the modularity of the lockers. It was found after a Monday team meeting and a Wednesday class breakout session, that the idea of modularity was not consistent between team members. The issue was addressed in a discussion and the mechanical team is now drafting methods of attaching the three types of locker door units: the large one door unit fit to hold two full backpacks, the two-door standard locker size, and the slimmer electronics charging lockers. Additional feedback from returning design review guests and former EPICS students helped guide the goal for this task. At least ten different attachment ideas are to be created and examined this week as well as the decision of whether or not the module aspect of this locker project would overcomplicate and set back the deliverables. Already, nine sketches for a module design were sketched during the lecture’s breakaway. The full list of module ideas as well as the team’s thoughts on their applicability will be posted after the group’s next team meeting.

Project Update

Initially, combining the two distinct needs of the Gilroy Compassion Center and AtHack Inc was a glaring setback for the team. We have found a solution by working on two separate but related deliverables for each community partner: new working lockers for the GCC and a more complex smart locker system design for AtHack. Acknowledging the lack of tech support the GCC has had with their smart lockers, we are planning on creating easy to use mechanical lockers with charging ports inside. The lockers are set to be modular in design so there will be a level of customizability with the size and shape of locker doors. The GCC locker designs will serve as a starting point and will be updated with more features for the AtHack design.

Currently, two locker designs have been drafted in SOLIDWORKS incorporating the Ikea inspired idea, one shown below.

We are also considering the concept of an openable frame that opens all lockers at once to act as a master key for all the lockers. The lock design and manufacturing company, Digilock, also provide a possible solution to a smart mechanical lock. The product we are considering offers a fair amount of security with its mechanical user set combination and master key override.

Digilock’s mechanical locker lock
Find more information here: https://digilock.com/locker-locks/mech/

On, Friday, October 12, we met with technical advisor Dr. Rhee to discuss the potential problems with the designs. She has given us valuable insight on subjects to analyze with the proposed locker such as the heat generated from the outlets if all were used at once and a manufacturer-friendly design.