Laser-Tripewire-Counter

The laser trwipwire counter system is a custom system to give an idea of how many people come into the main lab.

LaserTripWireBackEnd

The back end to handle persistence is written in Python and utilizes the serial input/output over USB. It is intended to be run on startup with Windows. When the Arduino is connected, it will send the last count. It will also recieve increment/decrement signals to store.

Protocol for Signals

The following commands are used for sending signals from the Arduino:

• STARTUP:counterName - Signal that the Arduino has started up and sends the current count.
  • counterName - The name assigned to the Arduino.
• NAME:counterName - Resets the internal state and sends the current count.
  • counterName - The name assigned to the Arduino.
• INCREMENT - Increments the counter by 1.
• MANUALADD - Increments the counter by 1. This is used instead of INCREMENT if it was added manually.
• MANUALSUB - Decrements the counter by 1.
• CLEAR - Clears the counter.
• REFRESH - Requests to send the latest count.

The following commands are used for sending signals to the Arduino:

• GETNAME - Requests the name from the Arduino.
• SET:count - Sets the count of the counter.
  • count - The current count.

Configuration

The following configuration options are avaliable in the given files:

• SerialReaderWriter.pyw
  • MAX_SERIAL_TO_CHECK - The maximum COM port to check as [1,MAX_SERIAL_TO_CHECK].
  • COM_REFRESH_TIME - The time between checking the COM ports in seconds.
  • COUNTER_STATE_FILE_NAME_END - The file name ending used for persistence.
• DataCollection.py
  • TIMESTAMP_DATA_FILE_NAME_END - The file name ending used for the timestamps.
• LaserCounterCircuit.ino
  • 5x configurable pins (see below)
  • laserEnabledOnStart - Determines if the laser is on when initialized.
  • photoresistorThreshold - The threshold between the laser being detected and not detected.
  • trippedLEDDebug - The LED to use for debugging the laser being tripped on the TM1638 board.
  • boardName - The name assigned for the laser.

Arduino Circuit

The hardware required for the system includes:

• An Arduino
• A photoresistor
• A lasre diode
• A TM1638 seven segment display and buttons

The pinout on the Arudino includes:

• Pin 7 - TM1638 Strobe (STB)
  • Configurable with displayStrobePin
• Pin 8 - TM1638 Data (DIO)
  • Configurable with displayDataPin
• Pin 9 - TM1638 Clock (CLK)
  • Configurable with displayClockPin
• Pin 10 - Laser diode power
  • Configurable with laserPin
• Pin A0 - Photoresistor
  • Configurable with photoresistorPin