a device you simply set in your car and it will alert your phone

 Project Introduction:

When the temperature of the vehicle becomes unsafe, the device will notify the owner via message of choice. Ex.(Text, Call, Voicemail)

When we first started, we thought of different ways to trigger a phone to make a text. We decided to go with a basic household thermostat in the beginning which enabled us to use the same function the thermostat was designed for. When the thermostat reaches a temperature outside the range, it sends a signal out which would normally turn on the A/C or heater, but with our project it would push the send button. When we came up with this idea and bought the materials, we quickly realized our problems. If we used the thermostat to press the send button, the thermostat only sends one signal, and if the phone went to sleep it would have to be pressed twice to send the draft. We also realized that we would not be able to type the message reliably before sending.



Project Description:
Every year hundreds of dogs die by being left in cars on a hot day. They can die in little as 15 minutes on a hot summer day. On a 78-degree day inside of a car’s temperature can get up to 100-120 degrees and on a 90-degree day, temperatures can get as high as 160 degrees! Now imagine a device that will notify you if your car is too hot for the animal to withstand so you can save your precious pooch before it's too late. Well we have created the “hot dog” which is a device you simply set in your car and it will alert your phone if the temperature is near the danger zone. Our goal for this product is to save hundreds of dogs lives each year.


Observation of Need:

Leaving animals in hot cars is a problem that has existed automobiles started to be manufactured. Why? Because they die. If you need scientific power to prove you should not leave you dog in a hot car, here is your evidence.
Cars get hot fast. One study conducted in 2002 found that the temperature inside an enclosed car rose 19 degrees Fahrenheit in just 10 minutes. Researchers found that 80 percent of the temperature rise occurred in the first 30 minutes, and that cracking windows was not effective at reducing or delaying that temperature rise. All dogs and cats can suffer organ damage or even death if left too long in the heat. People also make excuses from animals dying in cars. “Oh it will be just a few minutes while I go into the store,” or “But I cracked the windows…”
There are 19 States where it is illegal to leave your dog in a parked car and for good reason. There are an uncountable number of pets that die each year in parked cars, cracked windows or not.

Design Norms:
With the product that we are creating we had three main objectives in mind. The objectives that we tried to achieve were making a cost affordable, durable, and ergonomic product. With these goals in mind we started creating our product. So we needed to make the product cost affordable so that we could market to a larger group. We want to sell our product for around thirty dollars so we need to be able to produce the product for an amount of approximately ten to fifteen dollars in order to make a reasonable amount of profit
The product also had to be durable. When we say durable we mean that it should be able to withstand more than a normal amount of usage. It needs to be able to survive being jostled around in a car. Customers want a product to last for a good while. People would most likely not like if the product broke after 3 hours of usage.
Lastly it needed to be ergonomic. The very definition of something being ergonomic, is something that is, “intended to provide optimum comfort and to avoid stress or injury especially of workplace design.” This is very important because people don’t want a product that is overly troublesome and awkward to use.

Design Description:
The requirements we needed to fill for this project needed to include the safety of an animal left inside of a vehicle. As the temperature raises we need to send text messages that alert the owner of the heating car. When the car has reached is danger area, the text message will clearly tell the owner that the vehicle is too hot. If the vehicle's temperature increases or is not fixed within a certain amount of time, then the phone will attempt to make a phone call.
There are two major components of this project, there is the thermostat and the cell phone. We have chosen a household digital thermostat for a couple reasons, one because it is extremely user friendly as well as its functions. The thermostat can easily be programed to adjust the heat range to cooler or warmer. We picked a very simple

sprint phone because of the reliability of service and cost. The phone we chose was $10 and the plan we picked is 3$ for 30 minutes or 30 text messages, this works perfectly because if the product isn't being used, it isn’t costing the consumer any money.
The circuit board will trigger the send button on the phone so a pre entered text message will send to the desired recipient. The Prepaid Phone, also encased in a single housing with the circuit board, will be compact and cheap. The Housing will hold both the phone and circuit board in order to keep things organized and efficient enough to be extremely user friendly.

Overview:
In the end this project will be able to alert the animal's owner with a text message telling them that the temperature of the car is too hot. We hope when the owner gets the text, they will immediately stop what they are doing and tend to their animal.

Prototype:
When we have completed our first prototype, it will be a simple trigger system from the thermostat that will allow the text message to send. The phone and the thermostat are simply wired together with two signal wires; this is a very simple design.

Testing:
When testing the prototype, we had trouble finding the correct pins that enabled the trigger. After finding the correct pins we had trouble having the correct voltage for the signal. When we got the trigger correct, and the text message pre-typed in, the phone was able to send the message. We are being extremely careful with the prototype for many reasons, including the limited text messages for our plan, the wiring on the phone is extremely poor, and with the phone and thermostat being one we have not found a joint home for the two items to be held yet.

Final Design Plans and Modifications:
In the final design, the product will be very convenient to hold and natural looking in a vehicle. The product will be reliable, efficient, and cost effective. The final product will cost around $20-$30 and be produced for around $10 or less. Modifications that will be changed will be the case to hold the electronics together and a longer battery life. We have not tested the current battery life, but we don’t want to risk the safety of the animal so we will strive for the best.
Simple Business Plan:
After analyzing the following data, we have found that people are more willing to pay less than $20 or between $20-$30 for this device. With only 35 responses, this data isn't as accurate as we want, but it is a reasonable start. With the cost of building the prototype being around $20 as a start, it is kind of unreasonable. If we buy the raw parts instead of finished products that we are innovating, we should be able to build this product for under $10 and have it in a much more compact size.
After 35 Responses on a survey, we have the following results.


Conclusion
We have built a working prototype and have the style of the finished product in the following CAD drawings, we will implement our electronics to work with the ergonomic shape of the case. The case will be able to velcro, stick, or rest on your dash or center console and be easily accessible. With the convenient control knobs for adjusting the temperature, you will be able to make sure your animal is safely cool. With the digital display and keyboard/number pad, you are able to make emergency phone calls and texts if needed at ease.

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