Team 34 was instructed to create a device that would allow the user to collect various environmental data points inside a factory setting. The environmental sensor box would be able to collect data regarding the light level, air particulate, sound level, temperature, humidity, differential pressure, air flow, and motion. These metrics were chosen due to their impact on the functionality of the factory space the device would be measuring. Requirements included allowing the environmental sensor box to be portable and run on local battery power for a minimum of 24 hours if there is no outlet near its location. Additionally, the environmental sensor box was required to be industrially hardened with the data easily retrievable. Current existing technology, like a building control system, can produce alarms for no apparent reason due to the complexity of their nature. The environmental sensor box in question aimed to resolve this negative impact by allowing the user to move the box to any desired location and conduct more precise measurements there to identify what may be causing the problem that the building control system is producing. Then, the user would be able to extract the data produced by the environmental sensor box into a table format and compare it to the building control system to determine if there is a need to update the building control system programming. The impact of this solution generated an ideal way to verify the accuracy of real-world building control systems in any facility operation or factory environment.
The team aims to resolve the difficulty of verification of building control systems and their programming by providing an environmental sensor box that facility operators can use to verify the building control system.