V ITAL S ENSE Senior Design I Spring 2015 [1]

Team Members Cody Smith Team Leader Electrical Engineer Eric Easterling Electrical Engineer Chris Kenney Computer Engineer Cory Coward Electrical Engineer Dr. Sherif Abdelwahed Faculty Advisor

Overview Problem Solution Constraints  Technical  Practical System Overview Approach Progress Timeline Q&A [2]

Problem From 1960 to 2009, 123 high school football players died from heat related illness [3]. A total of 489 concussions were sustained by NFL players between 2012 and 2014 [4]. Concussions can be hard to determine from the field. There are several long-term effects resulting from multiple concussions, such as memory loss, deterioration of cognitive skills, and personality changes. [5]

Solution VitalSense will monitor changes in acceleration on the helmet to determine if a force impacting the helmet could cause a concussion. Also, it will monitor the player for temperature changes to check for signs of heat stroke. The data gathered from VitalSense is then sent to a phone application used by personal trainers or coaches. If the player receives a hard enough hit to cause a concussion, the app will notify the trainer/coach. [6] [7]

Technical Constraints Physical DimensionsAll components must be installed inside a football helmet without compromising the integrity of the helmet while minimizing the additional weight Wireless CommunicationsThe wireless transmission must have a range of 100m and communicate with an Android operating system Biometric SensorsTemperature sensors must measure up to 106°F. Accelerometers must measure up to 150g and trigger an alarm at 60g Battery LifeOn-board battery must have a life of 4 – 6 hours and be rechargeable Store DataIntermediate storage will be on the microcontroller RAM. Long-term storage will make use of an external database

Practical Constraints SustainabilityImpact and Weather Resistant System must withstand the conditions of inclement weather and the forces associated with contact sports ManufacturabilityEase of Installation and Replacement Must be designed to allow for easy installation and replacement of inoperative or damaged components

Sustainability VitalSense must operate in the elements and forces associated with outdoor, contact sports Heat/cold Moisture Impacts exceeding 150 G-forces

Manufacturability VitalSense must be designed for ease of installation and replacement All-in-one system Plug and play

Accelerometer and temperature sensors Microcontroller Phone application User Wireless Communication System Overview

Wireless Communication Approach ComponentFeaturesPrice Bluetooth Class m range Direct communication ~ $35 ZigBee 70 m range Low power consumption ~ $40

ComponentFeaturesPrice Arduino Yun Internal WiFi system ~ $75 Pic33 Familiarity External libraries ~ $15 Approach Microcontroller Selection

Accelerometer Approach ComponentFeaturesPrice ADXL 377 +/- 200 g rating 35 µA consumption ~ $18 Model 832M1 +/- 200 g rating <20 µA consumption ~ $150

Temperature Sensor Approach ComponentFeaturesPrice MLX90614 Infrared Sensor Medical application -70°C – 382°C ~ $20 MCP °C – 125°C Low power ~ $0.25

Phone App OS Approach ComponentFeaturesPrice Android Java Easy for our group to test N/A Apple iOS Objective C Difficult to install on iPhone N/A

Progress – Phone Application App has 3 expandable lists into which players are placed Danger At Risk Healthy App appears on phone To Do:  Add Bluetooth Functionality  Make Player List Dynamic  Upload App to Android Phone

Progress To Do: Program microcontroller Test/debug microcontroller Test accelerometer(s), temperature sensor, and Bluetooth

Timeline Initial Design Research Components Begin Software Development Connect Components Test Components Program and Test  C Complete App Continue Testing and Debugging Complete Prototype

References [1] Football helmets colliding: head-injuries-and-football-helmets_ _m.jpg [2] Two football players: Britt.jpg [3] E. Brady. (2011, Aug. 15). Heat Related Illness Still Deadly Problem for Athletes [Online]. Available: [4] K. Belson. (2014, Jan. 30). Concussions Show Decline of 13 Percent, NFL Says [Online]. Available: html?_r=0. [5] Helmet concussion: [6] Football helmet sensor: helmet.png. [7] Alert image:

V ITAL S ENSE Questions [1]