Mushroom pods

Mushroom pods

Technological innovation for Third-party people safety

Programme: Mechanical Engineering / Industrial Economy

Course: MT2569 – Design Thinking

Corporate partner: Volvo Construction Equipment

Challenge: Find new solutions to ensure Third-party people safety around construction site

Solution: Pods installed on the ground to detect the entrance of a person, alert the person that this is not the right path (sound and light) and warn the surveillance centre to avoid any accidents on the site.

Impact: Create a safer work area, reduce jobsite accidents, increase/maintain ongoing productivity

Prototypes: We used an arduino board, a buzzer, a LED and an ultrasound sensor. We printed the body of the pod using a 3D printer (in the shape of a building block). When someone passes in front of the sensor, the LED flashes and the buzzer sounds. We observed just how important the quality of the detector was, as fast movements were sometimes not detected, and the prototype was very prone to false positives.

Quotes from sponsor/partner: He advised us to work on the pod’s power supply system. A battery probably requires management. What’s more, the system may be in demand if it’s working all the time to ensure safety.

Project team:

  • Alexandre DUBUC, student in engineering school (5 years) in FRANCE at ESILV
  • Seif ABBAS, student in engineering in SWEDEN at BTH

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