FanSafe
FanSafeTeam Members: Team Faculty Advisor: Project SummaryFanSafe is based on a technology known as SawStop. SawStop is a technology that stops a table saw when human flesh comes in contact with the blade. This technology uses capacitance fluctuations to detect human flesh on the blade. Team FanSafe plans to implement this same goal on a fan by monitoring the electric field around the fan’s blades. Initially, the team planned to implement the idea on a chainsaw but due to university safety standards, decided to use a fan. The project keeps true to the fact that we are still stopping a motor and detecting human proximity. The design incorporates using the fan blades as electrodes emitting an electric field from electric field imaging IC’s. This field is affected by natural capacitive properties of the human body. We monitor changes to the field on the electrodes. These changes translate to the proximity of flesh to the fan’s blades. Using a microcontroller we can then trigger the stopping mechanism accordingly. Technology such as FanSafe could not only be used for safety in an industrial environment but also in creating a new family of fans. A fan without a protective grill would not only be aesthetically unique, but also easier to clean, and provide better air circulation. |
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