Electronic Office Signage Device

Stephany Coffman-Wolph; Alexander James Diehl; Timothy Huff; Tyler Justin Hammel

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2022 ASEE - North Central Section Conference
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Publication Date: March 18, 2022
Start Date: March 18, 2022
End Date: April 4, 2022
Page Count: 9
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--39243
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/39243
Download Count: 286

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Stephany Coffman-Wolph Ohio Northern University

visit author page

Dr. Stephany Coffman-Wolph is an Assistant Professor at Ohio Northern University in the Department of Electrical, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science (ECCS). Research interests include: Artificial Intelligence, Fuzzy Logic, Game Theory, Teaching Computer Science, STEM Outreach, Increasing diversity in STEM (women and first generation), and Software Engineering.

visit author page

author page

Alexander James Diehl

biography

Timothy Huff Ohio Northern University

visit author page

Tim is a senior undergraduate computer engineering student at Ohio Northern University. Tim has worked in the university's IT department for a year before accepting a co-op at Marathon Petroleum for the Fall Semester of 2021.

visit author page

author page

Tyler Justin Hammel

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

The objective of this project is to communicate a professor’s status outside of their office to students and other faculty members. One scenario is that students will arrive at a professor’s office to find the professor missing for an unknown reason and an unknown amount of time. Another scenario is finding the professor busy, and unable to communicate their working status, for example, when presenting virtually at a conference. Our design will allow for a professor to display their whereabouts, thus alleviating the issue. The design must be electronic, readable from a distance of 3 feet or more, and fit within the constraining area of the faculty member’s office window. Competitors to this product include what is currently being used by our clients: sticky notes, whiteboards, and papers to convey messages about the professor’s whereabouts. Other competition includes existing electronic signage and streaming devices such as Chromeboxes and Extron devices. Stakeholders in this project will be professors of the university, students or other persons wishing to seek a professor in their office, and the Information Technology (IT) department for integration with existing infrastructure.

To meet our constraints and evaluation metrics, our selected design comprises a low power microcontroller, an e-paper display with multiple colors, a rechargeable battery source with solar panels, and a series of backend services to coordinate settings from users to the signage device. The system will function thusly: users will sign into a website or mobile app with their university credentials. Users will be able to scan a QR code or enter an identifier that will both be displayed on the signage device to associate the device with their account. After associating a device with their account, users will be able to set messages to be displayed, format the layout and colors of the display, and upload images that will be displayed on the signage device. These user settings will be uploaded to a backend storage system along with the time the user updated those settings. The device, when powered on, will attempt to contact a server on the university network for a display update. When the server receives the update request, it will check the device identifier against the storage system to determine if the device is associated with any existing account. If the device is not registered, the server will ignore the request. If the device is registered to an account, the updates with that account will be transmitted to the signage device, where it will be parsed and displayed appropriately.

Our device would be usable in any space that has a window by, or in, the door of the office where the device fits. The university IT department has stated that the device could spread campus-wide if it can perform reliably and within our constraints, and is more cost effective than the current competitors. Source code for our device and hardware design files will be made available upon the completion of the project. Initial development will involve prototyping materials, such as development boards and 3D printed enclosures. The inclusion of all these components will lead to better manufacturability.

Citation
Format

Coffman-Wolph, S., & Diehl, A. J., & Huff, T., & Hammel, T. J. (2022, March), Electronic Office Signage Device Paper presented at 2022 ASEE - North Central Section Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--39243

TY - CPAPER
AB - The objective of this project is to communicate a professor’s status outside of their office to students and other faculty members. One scenario is that students will arrive at a professor’s office to find the professor missing for an unknown reason and an unknown amount of time. Another scenario is finding the professor busy, and unable to communicate their working status, for example, when presenting virtually at a conference. Our design will allow for a professor to display their whereabouts, thus alleviating the issue. The design must be electronic, readable from a distance of 3 feet or more, and fit within the constraining area of the faculty member’s office window.
Competitors to this product include what is currently being used by our clients: sticky notes, whiteboards, and papers to convey messages about the professor’s whereabouts. Other competition includes existing electronic signage and streaming devices such as Chromeboxes and Extron devices. Stakeholders in this project will be professors of the university, students or other persons wishing to seek a professor in their office, and the Information Technology (IT) department for integration with existing infrastructure.

To meet our constraints and evaluation metrics, our selected design comprises a low power microcontroller, an e-paper display with multiple colors, a rechargeable battery source with solar panels, and a series of backend services to coordinate settings from users to the signage device. The system will function thusly: users will sign into a website or mobile app with their university credentials. Users will be able to scan a QR code or enter an identifier that will both be displayed on the signage device to associate the device with their account. After associating a device with their account, users will be able to set messages to be displayed, format the layout and colors of the display, and upload images that will be displayed on the signage device. These user settings will be uploaded to a backend storage system along with the time the user updated those settings. The device, when powered on, will attempt to contact a server on the university network for a display update. When the server receives the update request, it will check the device identifier against the storage system to determine if the device is associated with any existing account. If the device is not registered, the server will ignore the request. If the device is registered to an account, the updates with that account will be transmitted to the signage device, where it will be parsed and displayed appropriately.

Our device would be usable in any space that has a window by, or in, the door of the office where the device fits. The university IT department has stated that the device could spread campus-wide if it can perform reliably and within our constraints, and is more cost effective than the current competitors. Source code for our device and hardware design files will be made available upon the completion of the project. Initial development will involve prototyping materials, such as development boards and 3D printed enclosures. The inclusion of all these components will lead to better manufacturability.
AU - Stephany Coffman-Wolph
AU - Alexander James Diehl
AU - Timothy Huff
AU - Tyler Justin Hammel
CY - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
DA - 2022/03/18
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Electronic Office Signage Device
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/39243
DO - 10.18260/1-2--39243
ER -