Engineering Update: Tackling the Hardware Challenge

Where We've Been: Laying the Technical Foundation

Our project embarked on a mission to create a state-of-the-art handheld pH sensor, and an essential early decision was to open our doors to collaboration. Recognizing the value of diverse perspectives, we welcomed a team of skilled Masters students from Cornell University. This collaboration wasn't just about increasing manpower; it was about enriching the project with fresh ideas and avoiding the tunnel vision that can come from working in isolation.

In these initial stages, our primary focus was on laying a solid groundwork for the sensor. We started by meticulously defining the sensor's requirements, ensuring that our objectives were clear and achievable. Parallel to this, we delved into creating detailed software architecture diagrams. This step was pivotal in visualizing the system's structure and planning out how each software and hardware component would interact both in software and on the physical board. For the phone app, with an eye towards accessibility and future development, we're leaning towards using MIT App Inventor, which supports bluetooth on android device, and hopeful in the future, iOS as well.

The hardware aspect was no less critical. After extensive research and deliberation, we selected the appropriate hardware components, each chosen for its reliability and performance. The culmination of this phase is our development board, the testbed for all our current programming efforts.

 

Current Focus: Tackling the Low-Level Programming Challenge

As of now, our focus has shifted to the more intricate aspects of sensor development, specifically the programming side. We're currently primarily engaged in the challenging phase of writing driver-level code and Arduino compatible libraries for some advanced chips from Analog Devices. These chips are key to achieving the precision and accuracy we desire in our device, but come without user-friendly Arduino libraries, presenting us with a unique coding challenge. This phase is demanding, involving a lot of trial and error and many hours debugging code and writing test cases, but it's a crucial step toward making our sensor as reliable as possible.

Looking Ahead: Completing the Puzzle

What's on the horizon for our sensor project? The next major steps involve two critical components. Firstly, we'll be diving into more application software development, particularly focusing on the mobile app that will interface with our sensor. This app is vital for user interaction and data management. Secondly, we're gearing up to design the physical enclosure for the sensor, ensuring it's not only functional but also durable and user-friendly. This stage will complete the physical aspect of our sensor, making it ready for real-world application. Once we have a physical instrument ready we can get working on the lab testing and verification of the measurement method