Document Type

Restricted Campus Only

Publication Date

4-23-2024

Abstract

The Pace-It team aims to design a prototype that tracks runners along a course to assist our sponsor with timekeeping. Our main objectives for this project include designing a device that satisfies our requirements, constructing and testing the device, correcting and revising, and finally, testing our prototype to fit our objectives. This report will include an overview of our design and its five subsystems and an evaluation of the final design against the team’s requirements and constraints. The main subsystems of our design are the timing software, receiver and RFID coding, storage/user interface (UI), power source or battery, and the cooling system.

The design constraints for this project include completing the project within the budget allotted to our team and delivering the final product by April 26, 2024. Additional system requirements include recording time to the nearest one-tenth of a second, running for two hours continuously without losing significant precision in data when running off an internal battery, and detecting runners from at least 3 feet away from the external antenna. We were able to track time to the nearest tenth of a second for a two-hour run while pulling a detection range of 50 inches from the antenna. Other requirements are listed in the “Introduction” section of the report. The Pace-It team fulfilled all the requirements for the project except for having a formal UI system. The team was not able to satisfy this because of time and compatibility issues between the data and Excel. However, the team did establish a method to transfer the data to an Excel spreadsheet so the prototype is usable.

The prototype for our timing system can perform most tasks outlined in the project test report but falls short of outputting data onto an external source. The design team has identified a potential solution to address this design flaw. To do so, the team would need to purchase a device to transfer data between two Arduinos. The additional device would ensure the data could be transferred to an Excel spreadsheet directly, as the current ones are unable to. Completing this process would be the team’s suggestion for a more permanent solution. However, the current prototype does meet the requirements and abides by the codes and standards of the Project Charter. Overall, the prototype is functional and can accommodate 6-10 running leaders while tracking time up to a tenth of a second and displaying the elapsed times of the runners.

Comments

Dr. Keith Bartels, Team Adviser

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