The SensorTag project we did was a fun project spanning about a week in all. It was aimed at teaching us the ideas of design briefs, collecting data and then displaying it in an effective manner. To do this we split into groups, and using the TI SensorTag collected data on a thesis we had come up with previously as a group. Then we split off individually to write a scientific paper on our experiment and make an infographic displaying our data.
This project had many good things in it. I enjoyed making the infographic and Learning about exel to make charts. I learned a lot about writing scientific papers and design briefs though many of the things I learned did not show up on the test which was a bit of a problem. Overall the project was fun and at a good difficulty so it did not get tiring or tedious. However there are many things I would also like improved in the project. For one I felt the data collection was rushed and it was hard to spend a lot of time getting good, accurate readings and get back to class on time. second there were difficulties getting graphs from exel to google docs and then to photo shop and it would have been nice to be told a good way up front to do that. Finally, even though I learned a lot about scientific papers in the other areas this project was supposed to touch on I did not gain any new important information. Also, the information I did get, was not on the test causing a couple lower than normal grades:(.
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In the next couple of weeks in Sci. Vis. we will be using the TI SensorTag to collect data from around our school and display it in an effective manner. An idea for a way to use the SensorTag would be to collect data on the temperature of different rooms around the school and compare their average temperature. This could help the school learn were there might be problems in the heating or cooling units of the school. It would also be useful for knowing which classes you need to bring your big bulky coat to in order to stay warm.
There are however some key limitations to the TI SensorTag. One of these is the tendency for it to shut down certain sensors when its battery life runs low. A way to get around this is to only use it in short bursts and not to leave the SensorTag on over extended periods of time. Another key weakness is its disability to store data on your phone. This means we will have to be present with it as it records data so we can write it down as it is passed through our phones. A sensor is a device that detects a physical property and responds to it. They are used all around us; by forestry agencies to detect forest fires and refrigerated trucks to make sure the food doesn't spoil. Without sensors our world would be much less safe. It would be near impossible to monitor things that could be potentially dangerous and many needless deaths would occur every day.
In this unit we will be using the TI cc2650 SensorTag to detect various things around our campus. Among the 10 things this sensor can detect some things I think would be fun to monitor around campus are; the daily change of sunlight over time in different areas, the inside and outside temperature of the building or comparing the temperatures in different rooms, and the barometric pressure over time outside of the building. To display this data we need to use different graphs. To compare to the temperature of rooms or the outside we would use a bar graph. To show the change of sunlight or barometric pressure over time we would need to use a line plot. Monitoring environmental data can improve the safety of our lives. By looking for patterns in the data we can predict the weather and warn people of major storms before they even happen. It also helps us plan events ahead of time so less things get cancelled due to rain and we can all save a lot of time. |
AuthorSamuel Henry is a Senior at DSA in NC. He has 3 years of prior experience in the game design pathway and he's looking forward to becoming a great game designer. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools Categories
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