Radiant Recliners PCB - Livonia EDD

Livonia High School EDD Club

The Engineering Design and Development (EDD) Club at Livonia High School is a student-driven engineering program focused on designing, prototyping, and building innovative technology. Students in the club work on a variety of engineering projects where they apply concepts from mechanical design, electronics, and programming to create real, working systems. Members collaborate in small teams to develop ideas, test prototypes, and refine their designs through hands-on experimentation.

Much of the learning in EDD comes from solving real engineering challenges. Students design mechanical structures, build custom electronics, integrate sensors, and write the software needed to make their systems function reliably. Through this process, members gain experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team while developing practical engineering and problem-solving skills. The club encourages creativity, experimentation, and continuous improvement as students push their designs further each year.

Designed to slot into Arduino Uno R3

 Radiant Recliners Project Team

Within the Livonia EDD Club, Radiant Recliners is a project group focused on designing and building a motorized reclining chair that also functions like a mobility device. The goal of the project is to create a chair that combines the comfort of a recliner or lounge chair with the mobility of a powered chair. It is designed for use primarily inside the home, allowing users with mobility challenges or anyone seeking additional comfort and convenience to move around their living space while still enjoying the support and relaxation of a recliner.

The chair is intended to move in a way similar to a powered mobility chair, comparable to the movement system used in devices like a motorized wheelchair. Users will be able to control the chair’s movement using joystick controls, allowing them to steer and drive the chair around a room. In addition to movement controls, the design will include buttons for reclining and comfort functions, letting the user adjust seating positions and lounge settings easily. This combination aims to create a comfortable motorized mobility scooter–style chair that can both transport the user around their home and serve as a relaxing recliner.

To support this system, the Radiant Recliners team is developing a custom electronic control system using both a microcontroller and a small onboard computer. Custom printed circuit boards (PCBs) will manage power distribution throughout the system, delivering regulated power to both an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi will handle higher-level processing and system coordination, while the Arduino will manage lower-level hardware control tasks such as motor drivers, joystick inputs, and button functions.

Because the two systems operate at different logic voltages, the design includes a logic level shifter so the Raspberry Pi and Arduino can safely communicate with each other. Power entering the system will be regulated through a buck converter, and the PCB includes screw-terminal inputs to securely connect that power source and distribute it across the electronics.

Through this project, the Radiant Recliners team combines mechanical engineering, electronics design, and embedded programming to build a system that prioritizes both mobility and comfort. The project gives students hands-on experience designing custom hardware, integrating multiple computing platforms, and developing a device intended to make everyday life easier and more comfortable for users in their homes.