ARBR

Inspiration

We believe that the biggest problem in the context of sustainability is a lack of awareness and accountability. We currently live in an "out of sight, out of mind" society where once something no longer directly impacts us, it is no longer our problem. We want to create a tool that allows humans to recognize and relate to their own environmental impact even if it cannot directly be seen.

What it does

ARBR connects to your car's OBD2 port and draws critical vehicle information such as distance traveled for calculations and fuel efficiency to generate a user diagnostic report at the end of the trip. The user enters the expected fuel efficiency of their car and as they drive, and the module constantly updates a running sum of the cumulative CO2 emissions which translates to a number of trees based on the amount of CO2 a tree absorbs in a day. This number is displayed on the LCD screen that is also accompanied by buzzer every time the user generates a new tree's worth of CO2. Once the trip is complete, the user can request a diagnostic report that compares the fuel efficiency that they expected from their car with an average fuel efficiency over the trip that is calculated from the OBD2 output. The module will then provide quick recommendations on how to act based on the discrepancies between the two values.

How we built it

Because ARBR is meant to act as a module in a car, an Arduino is used to run the software and the user interface is comprised of four buttons, an LCD screen, two LEDs, and a buzzer. All of this hardware is then housed in a custom made casing that conceals wiring and protects components from dust or damage. To interact between the input and output devices, a base shield was used.

Challenges we ran into

A major challenge that we ran into was malfunctioning hardware. It was incredibly disappointing that several hours had to be wasted diagnosing the usability of several pieces of hardware, thus cutting into the hacking time. Only once these hardware issues were identified and properly mitigated, was the project able to progress.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of having a working demo that outputs meaningful and significant data. Although we may not have had the opportunity to pair this module with a web or Android app, the team was incredibly satisfied with the amount that we had learned and the experience of working with Arduino components.

What we learned

The things that we learned as a part of this project include but are not limited to: how to use and diagnose Arduino and Arduino components, CAD modelling, use of the GPS API, programming Arduino, and coordinating input and output interfaces.

What's next for ARBR

If we were to continue working on ARBR, the team would like to see some machine learning integrated into the system so that it would be able to provide users with more impactful diagnostic reports. Perhaps with more work, a diagnostic report of best driving practices could be made that would help the user drive more efficiently.

Built With

• arduino