Statement of the Problem

Background:

           Human service corporations provide housing for mentally challenged and disabled individuals called clients that can not carry out certain tasks that a normal person may take for granted like going shopping to the supermarket. At the same time many refrigeration companies have been striving to create a refrigerator that can distinguish themselves from their competitors.
           The clients that are placed in group homes are in need of a way that can help them to get their shopping done without them having to leave their homes. This need can be met with a refrigerator that can create a shopping list for clients and inform some remote site what the client need for food. Existing grocery delivery companies will raise prices for their services and refrigeration companies will raise prices for their products.
           This prototype will change the whole refrigeration industry. Human service companies will not be the only ones that will be able to purchase such a refrigerator, but grocery shoppers whom are tired of going to grocery stores and waiting in long lines will be in need of this type of refrigerator as well.

The Design:

The Design: Following is a functional description of the design.

• The design must be completed and the prototype delivered in about eight months.
• The marketing plan depends on the manufactured cost being less than $500.
• The automated shopping list will be used primarily for grocery deliveries at home and refrigerators.
• The automated shopping list should include all types of groceries and be wirelessly updated via transmitters in food containers.
• The list must be used for grocery deliveries and refrigerators only. There is no need for it to include any other types of items.
• The quantity of each aliment should be displayed clearly.
• The accuracy of the design will be measured by the weight displayed and the actual weight of aliments. The tolerable error percentage will have to be determined.
• The user interface should be simple. It should clearly display all the data collected by the weight sensors and transmitted via the wireless transmitters.
• The list should be updated regularly within a reasonable time (about 2 minutes) to maximize the battery life of both sensors and transmitters and to decrease the number of duty cycles.
• Sensors and transmitters should be carefully chosen to operate at both room and freezing temperatures.
• The failure rate should be kept minimal because disabled people will depend on the design, as well as refrigeration companies.

Deliverables of the Design Project:

          The deliverables of our design project include a wireless sensor for measuring weight of food items, a means for attaching this sensor to the items, a wireless router and server capable of processing the information collected from the sensors, and a refrigerator with a LCD screen for monitoring the progress of consumption.

 

Updated 11/13/05