More than 300 million students worldwide have experienced a level of disruption to their education. Unlike any time in the past, most institutions have been able to continue with education even with schools closed. Such is the case at Umass Lowell, where the shift to complete virtual classrooms has been the culmination of the spring semesters’ experience.
While the move to re-create an in-person learning experience online has been far from smooth, UMass Lowell students in the IoT class taught by William Moloney were able to quickly adapt to changes and develop interesting projects from home. Red Hatters Jeff Bown and Daniel Pivonka who volunteered their time as IoT expert leaders for the IoT class at Umass Lowell brought speakers to the class virtually and worked remotely with the students to build and improve hardware and software for each project . Some of the technologies combined in student projects include Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, the MQTT messaging protocol, video processors and temperature sensors.
On Thursday afternoon, April 30, UMass Lowell students converged on BlueJeans to present their semester-long projects to a panel of judges that included their professors as well as Red Hat engineers. Some of the ideas presented include:
- Smart mailbox by Christopher Goulart
The smart mailbox project by Christopher used IoT for delivery as well as security purposes. A user receives an alert when their mailbox is opened. The smart mailbox won the judges’ prize.
(Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj1itEO7C4o)
- IoT Connect 4 by Cam Knopp
The famous Connect 4 game, where two players face off in an attempt to get four chips in a row, was automated using an Arduino, Raspberry Pii and LEDs to display the game in real time.
(Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P447xZhtXsc)
- Home based security system using motion sensors to detect movement by David N
(Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwhbIU9T9_E)
- Home security system using facial recognition by Sean Nishi
(Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp8JbZoRlvU )
- Simon Says alarm clock that plays a Spotify playlist by Jasen Ripley
(Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7kG3whrJkw&feature=youtu.be)
