FogSafe

The product
The Circuit Diagram
The electronics inside the project

Inspiration

The inspiration for this project came from witnessing how dangerous driving can become during foggy weather, especially when drivers can’t see vehicles or obstacles ahead. A close call during a family trip in heavy fog made me realize the need for a simple, affordable solution to help drivers maintain safe distances. This experience sparked the idea to use ultrasonic sensors—commonly used in parking systems—to create a low-visibility safety aid that could make roads safer during such conditions.

What it does

The device works by using ultrasonic sensors mounted on the front of the car to emit sound waves. When these waves hit an obstacle or another vehicle, they bounce back to the sensor. The system calculates the distance based on the time it takes for the waves to return and calculates the distance between the two. Then it displays the distance on an LCD Display and alerts the driver through beeping sounds if the car is too close to something ahead. This helps the driver maintain a safe distance, especially in foggy or low-visibility conditions.

How we built it

We programmed the ultrasonic sensor mounted at the front of the project to display the distance that it calculates onto an LCD Display. We also connected a buzzer to the Arduino UNO, that is the microcontroller controlling all these processes, to make a beep and alert the driver if the obstacle or car in front gets too close. We made all the connections and programmed the microcontroller, before putting it all in a box.

Challenges we ran into

We had no experience programming an LCD Display without using an I2C connector and had a lot of problems programming the Display. Also the jumper wires were not of a good quality and kept coming off, which was a big problem when it came to tesing and debugging it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

One of our greatest achievements is the fact that we have finished building this project within the deadline of the hackathon, despite all the challenges we faced.

What we learned

We have learned a great deal about working with LCD Displays without using an I2C connector, and have also gained phenomenal experience in programming an ultrasonic sensor.

What's next for FogSafe

We plan to integrate this on a car dashboard and test it with real fog on roads. Further, we plan to implement the project idea in the entire country.