Project Number: 696129 Project Acronym: GreenSoul Project ... · WEIZ 4 ECOLUTION 5 DEUSTO 5 Seville 5 . Disemination Level: PU D3.5 Desing documento of GreenSoul-ed Things 7 Acronyms

Disemination Level: PU D3.5 Desing documento of GreenSoul-ed Things 1

Project Number: 696129

Project Acronym: GreenSoul

Project full title: Eco-aware Persuasive Networked Data Devices for User

Engagement in Energy Efficiency

Call: H2020-EE-2015-2-RIA

Deliverable number: D3.5

Title of the deliverable: Design document for GreenSoul-ed things (v1)

Contractual Date of Delivery to the EC: 30/04/2017 Actual Date of Delivery to the EC: 05/03/2018 Organisation name of lead contractor for this deliverable:

DEUSTO

Author(s): Diego Casado-Mansilla, Jonathan Ruiz de Garibay, Iván Barquero, Alexandros Zerzelidis and Stelios Krinidis

Participants(s): DEUSTO, CERTH, WSC and 4ER Work package contributing to the deliverable:

WP2 – Eco-aware and energy monitoring devices and GreenSoul platform

Nature: Report Version: 1.2 Total number of pages: 76 Start date of project: 01.04.2016 Duration: 36 Months

Dissemination Level

PU Public X

PP Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services)

RE Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services)

CO Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services)


This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and

innovation programme under grant agreement No 696129.

The information and views set out in this deliverable are those of the authors and do not

necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union

institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the

use which may be made of the information contained therein.


Abstract

The overall goal of this Deliverable is to select a set of everyday objects from the pilots’ sites

and instrument them with persuasive interfaces, local intelligence and remote actuations

mechanisms. Thus, they will fulfil a two-fold purpose: (a) users will get feedback and cues

that help them understanding and learning how to better interact with them in an energy-

wise sense and (b) devices will help in their environment’s global energy saving objectives by

autonomously or upon request adaptation of their operation, e.g. switching themselves off.

To this end, we will design and implement pluggable embedded devices, namely Smart

Adaptors, which can be integrated with and adapted to different electric equipment. Those

latter capabilities will be exported through an open RESTful API which will be orchestrated

by a given installation controlling platform (see T3.4 [4]).


Changes History

VERSION DATE DESCRIPTION

V0.1 22/09/2017 DEUSTO - TOC

V0.2 10/10/2017 DEUSTO – Contribution to Smart plug and Interactive

Coaster

V0.3 13/10/2017 CERTH – Contribution to Light dimmer

V0.4 17/10/2017 DEUSTO – Merging and accommodation of all

contributions

V0.5 24/10/2017 CERTH – Minor changes

V0.6 30/10/2017 DEUSTO – Some pictures added and final text provided

V0.7 31/10/2017 DEUSTO – rework the document and fixing format.

Abstract, introduction and executive summary added.

Conclusions added.

V1.0 1/11/2017 DEUSTO – Final review, integration and finalization of the

Deliverable

V1.1 15/02/2018 DEUSTO – Adapt the document to the requirements

provided by the reviewers during the 1st Project review.


Changes addressed according to reviewer’s feedback

Reviewers’ comments

Pages where

changes are

addressed

Summary of changes

Section 2 of the report is not

satisfactory. 15-56

The whole Section has been updated

with more information about the

rationale behind the design of the IC

and more justification related to the

implementation of the SP

The rationale for the design of

the smart coaster is not

adequately explained.

15-23

The state of the art of previous

ambient persuasive devices has been

provided in order to easy the

understanding of the decisions

adopted in the IC (2.1.1.1). The whole

Section of “Design process” has been

upgraded with more information to

facilitate the comprehension of the

rationale behind the IC (2.1.1)

The features of the Interactive

Coaster need to be described in

more detail.

21-23

We have added a whole Section to

cover the different features of the IC

before the month 18th of the project

(2.1.1.5)

How these features correspond

to the selected persuasion

strategies needs a more detailed

explanation.

40-46

Section 2.5.1 cover all the aspect

related to the mapping among IC

features, persuasive principles and

user profiles. Diagrams are provided to

easy the comprehension.

A rationale for why smart plugs

already available on the market

couldn’t be used needs to be

added.

27-29

The state of the art of the different off-

the-self Smart Power Strips is provided.

Furthermore, the justification for

devising and implementing a GS smart

power strip is addressed in relation to

the gaps that market product have in

relation to the project needs.


Executive Summary

The aim of WP 3 is to prepare the technical infrastructure of the project. It will give place to

the technological components that will comprise the GreenSoul platform. The relation of the

WP with this deliverable is the creation of the Smart Adaptor component. It will transform

standard appliances into more energy consumption sensitive devices. Indeed, the main

objective of this deliverable in relation to its WP is to create persuasive Internet-connected

objects which incentivize users’ energy consumption behaviour change. DEUSTO and CERTH

are the partners that contribute to the project with new devised hardware pieces that will

explore their inclusion in the workplace environments. Therefore, this deliverable explains

the methodology of creating the initial ideas of the GreenSoul-ed things and how these have

been conceptualized into reality by creating the first prototypes tested in the partners’

laboratories. We envisage deploying several units of the GS-ed Things across the different

pilot buildings according to the following distribution (Table 1)

Table 1. Number of GreenSoul-ed Thing envisaged to be deployed in pilot sites

Pilot Number of GreenSoul-ed things

Pilea 3

WEIZ 4

ECOLUTION 5

DEUSTO 5

Seville 5


Acronyms

Abbreviation Definition

AP Access Point

GS GreenSoul

IC Interactive Coaster

SP Smart Plug

DSS Decision Support System

BT Bluetooth

PCB Printed Circuit Board

IoT Internet of Things

MQTT Message Queue Telemetry Transport

REST Representational state transfer

CoAP Constrained Application Protocol

Li-Po lithium polymer battery

WWW World Wide Web

UX User Experience

IxD Interaction Design

LCD Liquid Crystal Display

PID Proportional Integral Derivative

HID Human Interface Device

AC/DC Alternating Current to Direct Current

MCU Microcontroller Unit

AC Alternating Current

DC Direct Current

UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter

I2C Inter-Integrated Circuit

PWM Pulse Width Modulation

IGBT Insulated-gate bipolar transistor

SP3T Single Pole Three Throw


Contents

Abstract ..................................................................................................................................3

Changes History ......................................................................................................................4

Changes addressed according to reviewer’s feedback ............................................................5

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................6

Acronyms ...............................................................................................................................7

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................13

1.1 GreenSoul-ed Things definition ..............................................................................13

1.2 Devices Proposals ...................................................................................................14

1.2.1 DEUSTO’s GreenSoul-ed Thing.........................................................................14

1.2.2 CERTH’s GreenSoul-ed Thing ...........................................................................15

2 DEUSTO’s GreenSoul-ed Thing .......................................................................................16

2.1 Description .............................................................................................................16

2.1.1 Design process ................................................................................................16

2.2 Project planning .....................................................................................................25

2.3 Architecture ...........................................................................................................26

2.3.1 Communications Protocol and data provided ..................................................27

2.3.2 Communication between Smart Plug and Interactive Coaster .........................28

2.4 Smart Plug ..............................................................................................................28

2.4.1 State of the art of smart plugs .........................................................................28

2.4.2 General Description of the SP ..........................................................................30

2.4.3 Smart Plug v1.0 ...............................................................................................31

2.4.4 Smart Plug v2.0 ...............................................................................................38

2.4.5 Future Steps ....................................................................................................41

2.5 Interactive Coaster .................................................................................................42

2.5.1 Interaction Design, Persuasive strategies and Experimental procedure ...........42

2.5.2 Interactive Coaster v1.0...................................................................................44

2.5.3 Interactive Coaster v2.0...................................................................................48

3 CERTH’s GreenSoul-ed Thing .........................................................................................59

3.1 Device capabilities ..................................................................................................59

3.2 User interaction with the device .............................................................................59

3.3 Architecture ...........................................................................................................61

3.3.1 Human Interface Device (HID) .........................................................................61

3.3.2 Alternating to Direct Current Converter (AC/DC Converter).............................62

3.3.3 Wireless (Wi-Fi) / Microcontroller Unit (MCU) .................................................62

3.3.4 Digital Ambient Light Sensor (Lux meter) .........................................................63

3.3.5 AC Phase Cut Dimmer Controller .....................................................................63

3.4 Modules .................................................................................................................64

3.4.1 LCD Display......................................................................................................64

3.4.2 AC/DC Converter .............................................................................................64

3.4.3 Microcontroller integrated with Wi-Fi (MCU / Wi-Fi) .......................................65

3.4.4 Digital Ambient Light Sensor (Lux meter) .........................................................65

3.4.5 AC Phase Cut Dimmer Controller .....................................................................66


3.5 PCB Design .............................................................................................................67

3.5.1 Top layer .........................................................................................................67

3.5.2 Bottom layer ...................................................................................................68

3.5.3 Device 3D Model .............................................................................................68

4 Future Steps ..................................................................................................................70

4.1 DEUSTO’s GreenSoul-ed Thing ................................................................................70

4.2 CERTH’s GreenSoul-ed Thing ..................................................................................70

5 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................71

List of References .................................................................................................................72

External Reviewer #1 ........................................................................................................74




List of Figures

Figure 1. GreenSoul-ed things within the project IoT Architecture ........................................13

Figure 2. Impact on energy saved and awareness gained across different scales/levels:

Individual vs. group vs. collective ..........................................................................................15

Figure 3. Different physical devices and ambient interfaces to aware employees about

energy or resources wastage. ...............................................................................................18

Figure 4. The ideas extracted from the first ideation session. ...............................................19

Figure 5. The extracted ideas applied to four design strategies. ............................................20

Figure 6. First Sketches of the design ideas for the GreenSoul-ed Things ..............................21

Figure 7. The Interactive coaster (top) and the Smart Plug (bottom) ....................................22

Figure 8. Original tree's rings ................................................................................................22

Figure 9. 3D models for Interactive Coaster (left) and Smart Plug (right) ..............................23

Figure 10. Main features of the IC.........................................................................................24

Figure 11. Diagram of the relations and the architecture of GreenSoul-ed Things ................26

Figure 12. Simplified GreenSoul’ed Things architecture ........................................................27

Figure 13. Device agents controlling the different GS devices that can be monitored ..........27

Figure 14. SP v1.0 Architecture .............................................................................................32

Figure 15. Dupont connectors ..............................................................................................32

Figure 16. SP V1.0 Electronic schematics ..............................................................................33

Figure 17. SP v1.0 Prototype .................................................................................................33

Figure 18. Current sensor electrical schematics ....................................................................34

Figure 19. SP v2.0 Architecture .............................................................................................38

Figure 20. SP v2.0 Prototype .................................................................................................39

Figure 21. SP v2.0 Electronic layout ......................................................................................39

Figure 22. SP v2.0 Electronic schematics ...............................................................................40

Figure 23. Display lighting system prototype ........................................................................40

Figure 24. The relation between persuasive strategies and design features of the IC ............44

Figure 25. IC module design ..................................................................................................45

Figure 26. IC v1.0 implementation ........................................................................................46

Figure 27. IC v1.0 remote controller developed in Processing language ................................46

Figure 28. A picture of the IC (a) and screenshots from the video recorded at the user testing

session (b, c, d). ....................................................................................................................48

Figure 29. Bluetooth HM-10 module.....................................................................................51

Figure 30. Roll, pitch and yaw rotations. ...............................................................................51

Figure 31. General architecture for the IC v2.0 .....................................................................53

Figure 32. IC V2.0 schematic .................................................................................................54

Figure 33. IC V2.0 board (top view) .......................................................................................55


Figure 34. IC V2.0 board (bottom view) ................................................................................55

Figure 35. IC V2.0 prototype. ................................................................................................56

Figure 36. Silicone button pad top view (left) and botton view with conductive surface (right)

.............................................................................................................................................56

Figure 37. Bluetooth module with external conection ..........................................................56

Figure 38. GreenSoul-ed Lights System Architecture.............................................................61

Figure 39. diagram of the AC Phse cut ..................................................................................63

Figure 40. Newhaven 20x4 NHD-0420H1Z-FL-GBW-33V3 .....................................................64

Figure 41. IRM-03-3.S ...........................................................................................................65

Figure 42. Espressif ESP8266 ................................................................................................65

Figure 43. OPT3001 block diagram .......................................................................................66

Figure 44. OPT3001 spectral response ..................................................................................66

Figure 45. FL5150 block diagram ..........................................................................................67

Figure 46. Top PCB layer .......................................................................................................67

Figure 47. Bottom PCB layer .................................................................................................68

Figure 48. Device top 3D model ............................................................................................68

Figure 49. Device bottom 3D model......................................................................................69

Figure 50. Interrealation among GreenSoul activities ...........................................................71


List of Tables

Table 1. Number of GreenSoul-ed Thing envisaged to be deployed in pilot sites ....................6

Table 2. Smart Plug versions .................................................................................................25

Table 3. Interactive coaster versions .....................................................................................25

Table 4. Data log of initial test ..............................................................................................34

Table 5. Data log of second test ............................................................................................35

Table 6. Data log of third test ...............................................................................................35

Table 7. Data log of the fourth test with the printer .............................................................35

Table 8. SP v2.0 Prototype power consumption ....................................................................41


1 Introduction

The overall goal of this Deliverable is to select a set of everyday objects from the pilots’ sites

and instrument them with persuasive interfaces, local intelligence and remote actuations

mechanisms. Thus, they will fulfil a two-fold purpose: (a) users will get feedback and cues

that help them understanding and learning how to better interact with them in an energy-

wise sense and (b) devices will help in their environment’s global energy saving objectives by

autonomously or upon request adaptation of their operation, e.g. switching themselves off.

To this end, we will design and implement pluggable embedded devices, namely Smart

Adaptors, which can be integrated with and adapted to different electric equipment. Those

latter capabilities will be exported through an open RESTful API, which will be orchestrated

by a given installation controlling platform (see T3.4 [4]).

Figure 1. GreenSoul-ed things within the project IoT Architecture

1.1 GreenSoul-ed Things definition

As was stated in the Public GS’s Deliverable 2.4 [3], a set of everyday electrical devices and

appliances (i.e. coffee-makers, elevators, printers, desk’s power strips, lighting and HVAC

systems) have been selected from the pilot sites to become GreenSoul-ed Things. To this

end, we are designing and implementing pluggable embedded devices, namely GreenSoul-

ed adaptors, which can be integrated with, and adapted to, different energy consuming

electrical equipment. The GreenSoul-ed adaptors should be equipped with persuasive

interfaces, local intelligence and remote actuation mechanisms. Thus, GreenSoul adaptors (

the electronic hardware which augment the everyday devices) should fulfil a two-fold


purpose for the GS-ed Things: (a) provide users with feedback and cues that will help them

understand systems in an energy-wise manner and learn how to optimise interaction with

them and (b) provide a control interface to devices in order to enable and optimise agreed

convenient energy-modes and practices, e.g. remote switching (ON/OFF), temperature

control, and so forth as per the device decision trees tables.

The GS-ed adaptors will be composed of several Open Source Hardware and Software

components. Essentially:

1) A low-power microcontroller working as the core.

2) Sensing equipment able to infer in real time the on-going working mode and the

status of the appliance that it is attached to.

3) Different human-device interfaces providing sensorial User Experiences (UX) that

aim to motivate users to reduce energy consumption.

4) A set of communication interfaces will be implemented to let the GS-ed Things to

send the sensed data to the GreenSoul back-end (LinkSmart/GIM). These

mechanisms also allow the adaptor to be fully reachable through remotely operable

IP protocols. These latter capabilities will be exported through an open RESTful API

that will be orchestrated by a given installation-controlling platform (see T3.4 [4]).

1.2 Devices Proposals

As stated in previous sections, different devices were selected to be augmented with GS-ed

adaptors in order to become GreenSoul-ed Things. The devices selected that are described

hereafter are desk’s power strips (conceived and developed by DEUSTO) and lighting

systems (conceived and developed by CERTH).

1.2.1 DEUSTO’s GreenSoul-ed Thing

The former device is intended to provide visual cues to individuals whilst they are sat in their

desk at workplace. The device seeks to optimise the energy consumption in desktops due to

misuse of laptops or PCs, monitors, chargers or personal fans and lights. Whereas the

GreenSoul project reckons that the energy saved by these devices will not attain reductions

in the pilot buildings beyond 5%-10%; we hypothesize that the awareness caused by these

individual devices at the workers space will higher than at another scales and that will spark

spill-over impacts to other shared devices and appliances at work setting (see Figure 2).


Figure 2. Impact on energy saved and awareness gained across different scales/levels: Individual vs. group vs. collective

Thus, the intentions and attitudes to behave more sustainably in an holistic way start with

the individual awareness taking into account that the role of individuals' influence on their

own behaviour is critical and covers employees' beliefs, attitudes and awareness through

value–belief–norm (VBN) theory (Stern, 2000) and the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen,

1991).

1.2.2 CERTH’s GreenSoul-ed Thing

The latter device, the lighting system, draws into group factors to behave more responsibly

with the environment. This is a key category that focuses on employees' day-to-day

relationships with colleagues and managers to agree in how environmental conditions

(lighting, heating or cooling) should be in the workplace. Controlling and making the light

more efficiently is an important factor for saving energy as lighting accounts for more than

15% in the workplace’s and households bills1.

1 http://wwf.panda.org/how_you_can_help/live_green/energy_efficiency/


2 DEUSTO’s GreenSoul-ed Thing

The GreenSoul Smart Adaptor proposed by the University of Deusto consists of two twin-

devices that aim to educate and aware users about the energy consumption of surrounding

electrical devices on their office desktops (e.g. laptops, chargers, monitors, etc.). The devices

are: (1) a power strip augmented with technology to gather energy data at desktop level; (2)

an interactive ambient display that shows different information according to the energy

being drawn by the power strip.

2.1 Description

Greensoul Smart Adaptors will turn everyday things into persuasive, co-operative and

reactive networked eco-aware things through local monitoring of consumption per device,

and real-time interaction with the user in their individual space where all the energy

decisions about surrounding devices have to be taken by them. Thus, the devices controlled

by the power strip are devices of personal use (e.g. laptops, chargers, monitors, etc.).

The devised GreenSoul-ed thing that we present in this deliverable is composed of two main

parts. On the one side, an augmented device for measuring energy consumption; On the

other side, a device that displays to the user the assessment and information relative to its

energy consumption. The former device, called the Smart Plug (from now on SP), is a power

strip that features three plugs where devices will be connected to monitor their energy

consumption. The latter is a physical device that displays information related to energy

consumption to the users. It has been coined as Interactive Coaster (from now on IC). This

device is also in charge of providing persuasive cues that will inform the user about the

energy consumption performance at his/her desktop.

2.1.1 Design process

It ensembles four steps: (1) Reviewing the state of the art of existing approaches similar to

the overall idea of GreenSoul-ed Things, besides (2) ideation, (3) sketching and (4) digital

implementation. These steps are described hereafter.

2.1.1.1 State of the art

In the last decade, researchers, hobbyists, and corporations have contributed to expand the

Internet of Things to enhance many different everyday objects. As embedded platforms

implementing the TCP/IP standards and more powerful embedded platforms became


available at low cost (e.g., Arduino, .NET Gadgeteer or Raspberry Pi), the advantages of

connecting them to the whole World Wide Web (WWW) have arisen. Bohn et al. [15]

argued that objects become smart when microelectronics and sensing components are

endowed within them.

In the research literature, grey literature and commercial world we found works where

everyday devices were augmented to make users aware about their energy and resources

consumption by using physical metaphors and aesthetic interfaces. Power-aware Cord [19]

was an electrical power-strip in which the cord was designed to expose the electricity

through ambient light. The more the energy drawn by the power-strip, the brighter the cord

is. Waterbot provided ambient feedback about water usage in a bathroom's sink through

visual and auditory remainders [20]. Similarly, `Show-me' [17] displays the amount of water

that is being used during the shower through a LED strip assembled to the shower's stick.

Stroppy Kettle is an augmented appliance that aimed to break user's kettle overfill behaviour

applying barriers to goal-attainment and punishment through a built in smart-phone and

controllable gauges. Watt-lite and Energy Aware clock [18] were two works that aimed to

explore tangible data and non-obtrusive interaction to reduce energy consumption. Thieme

et al. devised BinCam [16], a social persuasive rubbish-bin with a built-in camera to motivate

tenants to form recycling habits and reduce food waste. Interactive living plants were

explored by Huh et al. The authors created a robotic analogue of a plant that mimics photo-

tropic behaviour. A product that is commercially available is Wattson from DIY Kyoto2. It

shows the overall electricity use in numbers and colours. Another product is the Energy

Orb3. It is a frosted-glass ball that illuminates a varying degree of colours to represent critical

peak demand conditions on the smart grid. Finally, the Nest Thermostat is a smart device

that aims to learn a user's heating and cooling habits to help optimize scheduling and power

usage. Some of these reviewed approaches can be observed in Figure 3.

2 http://inhabitat.com/diy-kyotos-wattson/ 3 http://ambientdevices.myshopify.com/products/energy-orb


Figure 3. Different physical devices and ambient interfaces to aware employees about energy or resources wastage.


2.1.1.2 Ideation process

Once reviewed the background on existing solutions without finding a satisfactory one for

the GreenSoul project (i.e. that may fit in the workspace for encouraging green behaviour),

the second step was ideation. Some reasons behind rejecting existing approaches were: the

reviewed approaches were not conceived for desktops at office environments, the hardware

is not configurable to be monitored and controlled from the GreenSoul framework, the

information did not provide granularity that we need for certain profiles of users, the all lack

of ecological features to provided sustainable values in end-users.

As can be observed in Figure 4, we carried out a design thinking methodology to come up

with initial ideas. Ideation works on the basis of initial needs to generate new ideas,

prototypes, etc. For that, the Interaction Designers (IxD) of the team developed an ideation

session to extract the designs that could be applied to the GreenSoul-ed Things. After the

discussion and evaluation of the initial brainstorming; they were applied to different design

systems and strategies (see Figure 5 where these mapping appear in a white board). At this

early stage, all ideas were valuable and taken into account without discarding any of them.

Figure 4. The ideas extracted from the first ideation session.


Figure 5. The extracted ideas applied to four design strategies.

2.1.1.3 First sketches

In the third phase, and based on the ideas generated in the ideation phase, the most

interesting ideas were drawn in order to make a comparison between all of them.

Below (Figure 6) are showed some of the drawings conceived as a starting point for the

conception of the final IC. As can be observed in the figure, all of the designs represent an

object that any office worker may have in their desktop: coaster, lamp, clips, pencil/pen

holders, USB hub, etc. Hence, we wanted to provide a design that is insightful for users

through the feedback provided, but also practical for other uses at the same time.


Figure 6. First Sketches of the design ideas for the GreenSoul-ed Things

2.1.1.4 Materialising the idea

Once analysed each of the previous sketches, the designers selected the coaster (Figure 7).

The methodology selection was based on the “Six thinking hats” approach [6] where the

designers evaluated for each of the sketches their feelings, ideas and concerns as follow:

• Managing Blue – what is the subject? what are we thinking about? what is the goal?

Can look at the big picture.

• Information White – considering purely what information is available, what are the

facts?

• Emotions Red – intuitive or instinctive gut reactions or statements of emotional

feeling (but not any justification).

• Discernment Black – logic applied to identifying reasons to be cautious and

conservative. Practical, realistic.

• Optimistic response Yellow – logic applied to identifying benefits, seeking harmony.

Sees the brighter, sunny side of situations.

• Creativity Green – statements of provocation and investigation, seeing where a

thought goes. Thinks creatively, outside the box.


Figure 7. The Interactive coaster (top) and the Smart Plug (bottom)

As can be observed in some of the sketches previously introduced, the shape of the coaster

is based on concentric circles. These bring about the ecological metaphor of tree’s rings for

providing to the user a sense of connection with the nature. The selection of wood as

material for making some parts of the case of the coaster goes in the same direction.

Inspirational ideas for the final design can be observed in Figure 8. The main aim of the

prototype is to create an emotional attachment to the earth following the theory of Value–

Belief–Norm (VBN) [7].

Figure 8. Original tree's rings

The digital design of the twin IC+SP was designed on Autodesk Maya [2]. A software

Computer Aided-Design (CAD) tool that allows to create a 3D model of the 2D sketch for the

sake of a deeper analysis. The results can be observed in Figure 9.


Figure 9. 3D models for Interactive Coaster (left) and Smart Plug (right)

After having the first digital results and defined the bare interactions with the devices, the

UX and IxD teams consult with the members of the hardware team the potential technical

limitations that may arise during the implementation phase. Minor changes were applied to

the design according their guidelines coming up with the design of Figure 9.

2.1.1.5 Main features of the IC

In this subsection, the different parts of the IC are explained. As explained before, the UX

provides a mimic of a three evoking ecological feelings that aim to sustain the pro-

environmental behaviour change. In the digital design, we substituted the tree’s string by

light strings that will be coloured depending of the message that the system want to convey

to the user, e.g. alerts, connectivity, performance, etc. The button in the middle of the

device has been conceived as the main mean of interaction with the coaster. Taking into

account that the intention of the persuasive device is to warn users about their energy

consumption, when an end-user presses the button he/she will receive a message through

ambient lights according to the user profile. The initial version of the Interactive Coaster is

wireless, featuring a USB connector for recharging the battery and a simple LED indicating

whether the battery is full of charge or about to be depleted. All these features are

highlighted in Figure 10.


Figure 10. Main features of the IC

2.1.1.6 Similar approaches to the IC

Today, with a plethora of connected or augmented everyday objects, it was not surprisingly

to find some similar coasters in existing literature, blogs or Youtube channels. Hence, when

it was decided to go ahead with the idea of the coaster, we first revised the existing

approaches that were similar to our idea.

In existing research, we found some works that used coasters for different purposes.

“Hydrate with Friends” proposes a coaster that measures the intake of drinkable beverages

and report mass measures to a distant Cloud server [8]. A mobile app is connected to this

information to provide daily progress, and a reward system for incentivizing the individual to

keep up with his or her daily goals. Elumeze [9] presented the concept of learning sensors in

his PhD dissertation. One example application of learning sensors is demonstrated with a

“smart coaster”. His coaster monitors the temperature of drinks placed on it, giving a visual

indication to the end-user about how hot or cold the drink is. For example, when monitoring

a hot beverage (e.g. a cup of warm sake), a red light indicates that it is too hot, a green light

indicates that the temperature is just right. He applies a tilt interaction to establish the set-

point for each temperature and beverage4. CogWatch instrumented coaster (CIC) has been

created to hold a 3-axis accelerometer and 3 force sensitive resistors (FSRs) in a small

package that fits to the base of objects such as mugs, jugs and kettles [10]. It is designed to

be small and unobtrusive so that it does not affect the usage of the objects and has very

little effect on their appearance. The accelerometer provides data that can be used to

monitor changes in movement and orientation of the object that the CIC is attached to. The

FSRs are used to monitor changes in weight of the object. Initial data collection has shown

that these sensors are able to create very strong characterizations of actions such as pouring

4 http://www.instructables.com/id/Smart-coaster/


a kettle of water into a mug. Another research-based project sough to devise a smart coaster

to warn the restaurants or pubs staff that the last bottle of beer served to a customer is

getting empty, allowing its immediate replacement and consequently reaching a higher level

of client satisfaction [11].

Beyond to existing literature, we found a project from M. Exposito5 that devised a smart

coaster that works as a smart assistant for people at work. It has a weight scale to coach

users on healthy hydration habits at work through ambient lights and a mobile app to follow

up the performance. It also has different modes specifically designed for having efficient

meetings and workflows at work. The latter interaction was made by applying colours and

lights on the border and the side of the coaster. The H2COASTER was another prototype

designed to promote water intake at work6. After 15 minutes without drinking water, the

coaster will light up and vibrate indicating that the employee has to take a sip of water.

Finally, we found a project of a coaster that detected the different types of beverages placed

on top of it, with a cocktail the Smart Coaster glows in some atmospheric and slowly

changing colours7. If someone places a cup of hot tea on it, it automatically starts a special

tea timer program, which shows when the tea is ready to drink. If the glass is empty or filled

with a cold drink the Smart Coaster glows blue.

2.2 Project planning

Once the idea of the concept was designed and digitalized in the CAD application, the

project development was organized by providing a number of hardware versions. On these

versions or prototypes, we will be able to validate both the selected devices and the

interactive response of the users.

The summary table of these versions is as follows:

Table 2. Smart Plug versions

Smart Plug Versions:

Main objectives

SP V1.0 Test the major hardware components and take a general view of the project.

SP V2.0 Suitable version for an end user test.

Table 3. Interactive coaster versions

Interactive Main objectives

5 http://www.marcexposito.com/oia-smart-assistant-for-work/ 6 https://cambridge.nuvustudio.com/studios/products-for-wellbeing/the-h2coster#tab-portfolio-url 7 http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-controlled-smart-coaster/


Coaster Versions:

IC V1.0 Test the design and concept of communication with end users.

IC V2.0 Test hardware components.

2.3 Architecture

Figure 11. Diagram of the relations and the architecture of GreenSoul-ed Things

In Figure 12 it can be observed, in a simplified way, the architecture of the Deusto’s

GreenSoul-ed things being able to have more than one Smart Plug distributed by different

spaces and communicating, all of them, with a central device. In some cases, users can have

an additional device, the Interactive Coaster, but this second device is optional.


Figure 12. Simplified GreenSoul’ed Things architecture

The Smart Plug cannot communicate between them and they use a WiFi interface to connect

with the server. Interactive Coaster is an wireless device and it can communicate with the

Smart Plug through a Bluetooth interface.

2.3.1 Communications Protocol and data provided

The GreenSoul-ed Thing communicates directly with LinkSmart through Device Agents as can

be shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13. Device agents controlling the different GS devices that can be monitored

As in one pilot building several instances of the Greensoul-ed Things can be deployed, there

is a device broker running in the server side to identify each SP and provide to it an specific

virtual device agent to monitor and control them.

The GreenSoul-ed Broker deployed in LinkSmart is in charge to convert the chain of values in

milliampere (mA) sent from each current sensor into a Greensoul Information Model (GIM)

for further storage and processing.


2.3.2 Communication between Smart Plug and Interactive Coaster

These two devices form the GreenSoul-ed Thing. The SP is in charge of sensing the energy in

each of the plugs of the power strip while the IC provides visual cues to the user to change

its behaviour.

In the current version, we have implemented the hardware needed to establish the

communication between them by using a serial wired communication. In the next version of

the prototype, we will remove the wire device for a Bluetooth communications so the users

can place the IC wherever they pleased. Beyond that, future iterations of the device have to

define the information model to share data and the protocol communication between them.

2.4 Smart Plug

The SP is a power strip that monitors energy consumption and is able to communicate

measured data in mA to LinkSmart through a Wi-Fi interface. It can convey information to

the IC in order for this device to display information to users. In following iterations of the

SP, it will be able to receive operations from distant devices or de Decision Support System

(DSS) to change its state or send some operations to the IC.

2.4.1 State of the art of smart plugs

Before to start designing and developing a new power strip within the project, the

background on existing off-the-self devices was done to find a solution that may suit to GS

interests.

The most close power strips to our needs were:

• Frontoppy8: It is a power strip with three plugs and four USB connectors. It can be

controlled remotely through Wi-Fi because it features one relay to switch off or

switch on the power strip from a mobile app or from other Internet-services such as

Alexa Echo. The strip does not measure the energy consumption of the appliances

connected to the socket. It is not marked with CE as the main provider is China.

• Smart Socket Wi-Fi Plug9: It is a power strip with three plugs, four USB connectors

and one switch. It can be controlled remotely through Wi-Fi featuring one relay by

each plug. The different plugs can be operated from a mobile app or from other

Internet-services such as Alexa Echo or Google Home. Whereas it is marked with CE

8https://www.amazon.es/Frontoppy-Enchufe-Inteligente-Temporizador-individual/dp/B0788FRXSN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513860465&sr=8-1&keywords=wi-fi+inteligente+socket+strip 9 https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B077SKV9BF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


label, the strip does not measure the energy consumption of the appliances

connected to the socket.

• YOUMO10: This multi-power charging strip lets you choose flexible options for power.

Using the different modules and plugging into the base, one YOUMO Power Strip

allows you to have USB ports, standard EU or US outlets, and even provide a wireless

speaker, wireless charging, a smart hub for your appliances, and home security. Each

module plugs into another while safely distributing the power. Because each of the

modules effortlessly snaps into place, the YOUMO Power Strip is a snap to assemble.

This is still a kickstarter project.

• Xiaomi power strip11: The Xiaomi 3-socket power strip is one of two power strips that

Xiaomi produces and is the one that features 3 built-in USB charging ports (in

addition to the 3 standard sockets). Power indicator LED on power switch and Wi-Fi

connection to control it remotely (it features one relay for the whole strip and one

current sensor for the whole strip). It is not marked with CE as the main provider is

China.

• VOCOlinc12: Is an smart strip with voice-activated Home Control and that allows the

control of your appliances with Alexa, Siri & LinkWise App. It features 3 widely spaced

smart outlets (EACH up to 1800W); 2 powered USB ports and 1 Qualcomm QC 3.0

USB port, all of them can charge simultaneously. The App allows to create scenes

(iOS ONLY), set schedules, and view devices by groups (iOS ONLY). Energy monitor &

Intelligent Status Feedback it is only available for iOS devices. One smart outlet is

equipped with a Power Meter that allows you to track power consumption of a

specific light or appliance. Clear visibility of Wi-Fi connection and status of the

individual outlet through colourful and dedicated LED indicators. The power Strip is

only available for the US market.

Having reviewed the assortment of off-the-self power strips, we did not find any that fulfil

our characteristics and expectations for GreenSoul project:

• Energy meters in all the outlets not only the aggregated energy consumption but the

individual.

• Remote control for each of the different power outlets. Thus, a relay must be

installed in each plug to be controlled by a remote application.

• Allow different measuring rate depending of the different appliances connected to

the outlet/plug.

10 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1300499319/youmo-your-smart-modular-power-strip/description 11 https://es.aliexpress.com/item/Originla-Xiaomi-Smart-Power-Strip-mijia-Smart-Socket-Intelligent-6-Ports-WiFi-Remote-Power-Plug-on/32826784191.html?spm=a2g0s.13010108.99999999.8.YAmjmO 12 http://www.vocolinc.com/products_detail/productId=24.html


• If possible, marked with CE labelling.

• Configurable to obtain the data to convey them to our GS system (LinkSmart)

• Wi-Fi connection easy to be deployed in different pilots.

As the majority of the requirements previously claimed were not addressed by off-the-self

smart power strips, we decided to devise and develop our own device. Furthermore, the

reason why these GS-ed devices were custom implemented rather than using off-the-shelf

smart meters is because the sampling rate of our power strips can be remotely controlled to

improve the system responsiveness, and they can be switched between polling or event-

driven mode to reduce the number of wireless packets whenever possible, thereby saving

more battery energy. Moreover, they can dynamically connect to other GS-ed Things, such

as the IC, hence we improved the configurability to provide more desirable and flexible

services and meaningful interaction.

2.4.2 General Description of the SP

The SP features the following main parts.

2.4.2.1 Outer body

The outer or the shape is the physical separation between the electronic components from

the outside. It has a power cable attached to the housing, which feeds the power strip.

Several plugs will supply power to the devices in order to be monitored.

An external push button, that will allow the user to take control over the smart plug or to

perform other interactions as can be observed in Figure 9. A light on the button will report

about its status.

2.4.2.2 Central Control Unit

It is the central microprocessor, responsible for the correct operation of the smart plug. It

will take the consumption values of the sensors measured in mA, control the different power

switches, and the interactive and display elements.

2.4.2.3 Energy consumption sensor

It consists of a sensor that measures the current consumed in mA in each plug (the devised

device feature three plugs). With the reading of instantaneous current at each socket, we

are able to extract the power consumed by each device plugged to them. This operation is

done in the server side being the SP only responsible for sending data to LinkSmart.


2.4.2.4 Lighting or display system

This part of the smart plug can be conceived as an optional extension of the IC. If featured in

the SP, it will inform the user about their energy consumption in real time mimicking the

idea of the power-aware cord [1].

The variation of brightness throughout the cord will indicate to the user, in a natural and

intuitive way, about its energy consumption in real time.

2.4.2.5 Communications

The smart plug will communicate to the Internet through a wireless Wi-Fi system. The data

and orders can be sent and received remotely, either to interact on the SP or to activate

other services and alerts.

A Bluetooth communication system will allow the smart plug to communicate wirelessly

with the interactive coaster, and it will allow us to communicate and interact with the IC. A

further extension may consist on involving the mobile app through BT.

2.4.3 Smart Plug v1.0

According to the Table 2, the main objectives of this version were to test the major

hardware components and validate selected technology of the project.

This electronic prototype consisted of a prototype PCB on which the following devices have

been assembled.

• AC / DC transformer.

• Central control unit based on the Arduino MKR100013 with integrated Wi-Fi system.

• Current sensors.

In Figure 14 the components of the v1.0 of the SP are provided in a visual way.

13 https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/MKR1000


Figure 14. SP v1.0 Architecture

2.4.3.1 Design & Implementation

The hardware design criteria for this initial prototype were as follows:

● Easy implementation.

● Low power devices.

● Availability of knowledge

When selecting the MKR1000 development board, the connection ports for Analog inputs

are available via Dupont connectors (such as those of Figure 15), which greatly simplified the

connections. In order to use the current measuring chips, embedded boards with the signal

conditioning electronics already integrated have been selected.

Figure 15. Dupont connectors

The set is powered by a small fully encapsulated AC/DC transformer with 5 VDC output.

The schematic design of the circuit is as follows in Figure 16:


Figure 16. SP V1.0 Electronic schematics

This development has been implemented on a prototype board as shown below.

Figure 17. SP v1.0 Prototype

To use the ACS712 current sensor, we acquired a custom module with the electronics

already integrated. Its electrical scheme from the manufacturer is as follows:


Figure 18. Current sensor electrical schematics

To test this hardware, and to be able to display an orderly history of data, an Apache server

was configured locally, using a phpmyadmin database14. The current measurement data

were recorded and sent to the local server. It was handy to create a simple graph of

historical data.

With this set, we made the first measurements of consumption, stored the data in a server

in the cloud, and the first tests of identification and intelligent interpretation of electrical

consumptions have been made.

Some of these measurements are presented in following tables and plots:

Table 4. Data log of initial test

Date Equipment

measured Microcontroller Sensor

20/02/2017 Flat screen. Think

vision Model. Brand

Lenovo.

Mrk100 Sensor ACS712 5A

14 https://www.phpmyadmin.net


Table 5. Data log of second test

Date Equipment


21/02/2017 Portable. Brand Acer

i7 in use.


Table 6. Data log of third test

Date Equipment


21/02/2017 BN Printer Mrk100 Sensor ACS712 5A

* Peaks due to heat in ink

Table 7. Data log of the fourth test with the printer

Date Equipment


09/03/2017 BN printer printing 5

sheets.



2.4.3.2 Technical Justification

The requirements for the control unit selection were as follows:

● Extensive usage information.

● Integrated development environment.

● Analog reading ports.

Selected components:

The following components can be found already assembled in an MKR1000 development

board, which simplifies and saves time in the concept testing phase.

A good 32 bit computational power , the usual rich set of I/O interfaces, low power Wi-Fi

with a Cryptochip for secure communication, and the ease of use of the Arduino Software

(IDE) for code development and programming. All these features make this board the

preferred choice for the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) battery-powered projects in a

compact form factor. The USB port can be used to supply power (5V) to the board.

Control unit: SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32bit low power ARM MCU15.

The Atmel® | SMART SAM D ARM® Cortex®-M0+ based microcontroller (MCU) series builds

on decades of innovation and experience in embedded Flash microcontroller technology. It

not only sets a new benchmark for flexibility and ease-of-use but also combines the

performance and energy efficiency of an ARM Cortex-M0+ based MCU with an optimized

architecture and peripheral set. The Atmel | SMART SAM D gives you a truly differentiated

general-purpose microcontroller that is ideal for many low-power, cost-sensitive industrial

and consumer applications.

Communication: WINC1500 low power 2.4GHz IEEE® 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi16

15 http://www.atmel.com/products/microcontrollers/arm/sam-d.aspx


Microchip's WINC1500 is an IEEE 802.11 b/g/n IoT network controller. It is the ideal add-on

to existing MCU solutions bringing Wi-Fi and Network capabilities through SPI-to-Wi-Fi

interface. The WINC1500 connects to any SAM, PIC24 and PIC32 MCU with minimal resource

requirements. The WINC1500's most advanced mode is a single stream 1x1 802.11n mode

providing up to 72 Mbps PHY throughputs.

The WINC1500 features a fully integrated Power Amplifier, LNA, Switch and Power

Management. The WINC1500 provides internal Flash memory as well as multiple peripheral

interfaces including UART and SPI. The only external clock source needed for the WINC1500

is a high-speed crystal or oscillator (26 MHz). The WINC1500 is available in a QFN package or

as a certified module.

The ATWINC1500 has 4Mb of flash memory which can be used for system software. The

ATWINC1510 has 8Mb flash memory for even greater flexibility.

Current sensors: ACS712 series.

These sensors are out of the MKR1000K Arduino board. The requirements for the intensity

sensor selection were as follows:

● Possibility of implementation on PCB board.

● Reliable and Low price.

● Little size.

● Extensive usage information.

According to these requirements, a sensor based on the hall effect has been chosen. They

are widely used in electronics, reliable and with a minimum size they reach measurements

up to 30 amps. These ACS712 type sensors have a comprehensive and well-explained

datasheet and there is extensive documentation available on their use. The sensors

evaluated were17:

Sensor ID Measurement

Range Url

ACS712ELCTR-

05B-T 5A

http://www.allegromicro.com/Products/Composition.aspx?PN=ACS712ELCTR-

05B-T

16 http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/en/ATWINC1500 17 To validate the data, a constant current source M10-380T-303C has been used to verify the readings of our prototype sensor. In all measurements made, the error is below 5%.


ACS712ELCTR-

20A-T 20A


20A-T

ACS712ELCTR-

30A-T 30A


30A-T

2.4.4 Smart Plug v2.0


The hardware design criteria for this prototype were as follows:

● Suitable version for an end user.

● Same technology as SP v1.0

In this prototype, the electronics of measurement and control have been implemented in a

base of conventional plugs, adding the following functionalities (see Figure 19):

● Illuminated external button and interactive lighting system

● Monitoring up to 3 sockets (in v1.0 we only measured one plug)

● Interactive voltage cut-out and EEPROM memory

● Bluetooth connectivity for providing connectivity to the IC

Figure 19. SP v2.0 Architecture

The design has been tested in a functional prototype, which was built from a standard

commercial model as can be observed in Figure 20.

http://www.allegromicro.com/Products/Composition.aspx?PN=ACS712ELCTR-20A-T

http://www.allegromicro.com/Products/Composition.aspx?PN=ACS712ELCTR-20A-T


Figure 20. SP v2.0 Prototype

For the implementation of the electronic components, a PCB has been designed on which to

weld the different elements. The schematic diagram can be appreciated in Figure 21 and

Figure 22.

Figure 21. SP v2.0 Electronic layout


Figure 22. SP v2.0 Electronic schematics

The lighting information system will provide the smart plug user with information about

their energy consumption. This information may reflect the user’s current usage. The colour,

intensity or frequency of light may be indicators of the quality of performance.

This indicator of consumption is interesting and very necessary, when there is no other

device that shows the efficiency in the electric consumption (e.g. if the IC is not present).

Figure 23. Display lighting system prototype

For its design, a high-power led RGB has been used which illuminates fiberglass filaments

placed around the power cable. Two examples of the testing can be observed in Figure 23.

To facilitate the testing, this system was tested on a separate SP device.


The current consumption of these devices is as is showed in Table 8:

Table 8. SP v2.0 Prototype power consumption

Device Power

consumption

SmartPlug 1,28 Wat.

SmartPlug

illuminated 2,07 Wat.

It should be noted that savings mechanisms are not yet in place in the IC (e.g. no sleep

mode, no efficient lighting system, etc.). What is shown in Table 8 is the maximum

consumption with all devices activated, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microprocessor and lighting.


Number of plugs: Since the smart plug is going to be installed in workspaces, the main

working devices will be a fixed Personal Computer. The PC, consists of 2 sockets, the one of

the mainframe and the other one for the monitor. There will be a free socket to connect

another device such as a mobile phone charger or a second monitor.

The illuminated external button featured on top of the SP is necessary so that the user,

without any other device, can interact with the smart plug in order to switch it off

completely. The light integrated within this button will inform the user about the state of the

SP.

2.4.5 Future Steps

At this stage, since we do not have a final design of the prototype, we have opted to use a

housing of a standard strip of plugs, and make the minimum changes necessary to place our

electronics inside. With this choice, we saved time and money in designing and building a

temporary housing, which would eventually be replaced by another in the final part of the

project.

Future steps are:

● Design a self-contained housing that fits the electronics and installation site.

● Reduce energy consumption to a minimum.

● Integrate all components into a PCB.

http://www.allegromicro.com/Products/Composition.aspx?PN=ACS712ELCTR-05B-T

http://www.allegromicro.com/Products/Composition.aspx?PN=ACS712ELCTR-05B-T


The new version of SP (v3.0) is in the design process. It incorporates the vast majority of

embedded components. It will be suitable for mass production, to cover its subsequent

production and distribution in the pilot buildings.

Communication protocols must be verified and optimized to ensure the security and

efficiency of communications, both with the server and with the Interactive Coaster.

2.5 Interactive Coaster

The Interactive Coaster is the basic device of interaction with the user since in most of the

cases; the Smart Plug will only monitor the user's energy use.

2.5.1 Interaction Design, Persuasive strategies and Experimental procedure

The version 1.0 of the IC was designed to be tested with users in order to evaluate the

usability of the shape and its minimum functionality. In this very first version, we aimed at

extracting the most relevant strategies addressed to each user profile that should be applied

to the IC in order to iterate in new versions.

Taking the wide assortment of strategies and principles available [12][13] into account, their

filtering and selection process was paramount for the design of the IC. The first step

consisted of a review of the main principles provided by literature. The filtering was done

through a collaborative document where each of the persuasive principles were explained.

The document was filled out by 5 experts on the area. They had to link each principle with

one or more user types (based on the characterization provided by Lockton et al. [14]). In

the next step, a meta-review of the information obtained from the 5 researchers was done,

adding the votes and identifying the strategies that reached an unanimity in the previous

matching process (i.e. all the researchers linked one persuasive principle to the same user

type among Pinball, Shortcut and Thoughtful). 18 out of 93 strategies reached the unanimity

on one or another user profile. These are listed below. Hence, the final step was to select a

subset to be implemented on the IC in order to evaluate their suitability for such ambient

device.

● Social proof: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Social recognition: This strategy was linked with the Thoughtful user profile.

● Cooperation: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Personalisation: This strategy was linked with the Thoughtful user profile.

● Real-world feel: This strategy was linked with the Thoughtful user profile.

● Verifiability: This strategy was linked with the Thoughtful user profile.

● Conditioning: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Cause and effect: This strategy was linked with the Thoughtful user profile.

● Physical attractiveness: This strategy was linked with the Pinball user profile.


● Authority: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Linking: This strategy was linked with the Pinball user profile.

● Reduction: This strategy was linked with the Pinball and Shortcut user profiles.

● Tailoring: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Self-monitoring: This strategy was linked with the Thoughtful user profile.

● Praise: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Suggestion: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Similarity: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

● Reciprocity: This strategy was linked with the Shortcut user profile.

2.5.1.1 Mapping final strategies to user profiles

The final selection of the strategies that were going to be implemented in the IC needed to

accomplish certain selection criteria. The main requirements were:

1) implementation of three different operational modes based on the three user

profiles defined by Lockton et al. [14]: Pinball, Shortcut and Thoughtful;

2) link one specific design feature of the Interactive Coaster derived from persuasive

principles to each of the three Lockton’s profiles;

3) definition of transversal strategies that can be addressed to every user profile acting

as an anchor for custom-built strategies;

4) selected strategies must provide positive experience and feelings in the use of the

device in order to improve the adoption, the desire to maintain the behaviour and

adherence to the device.

2.5.1.2 Persuasive Principles linked to user types

The behaviour change strategies derived from persuasive principles to be implemented in

the IC must be selected taking the user diversity into account. Hence, 3 out of the 18 filtered

persuasive principles (where we found a matching unanimity among experts in persuasive

technology) were selected and linked to each user profile. These are ‘Reduction’,

‘Suggestions’ and ‘Self-monitoring’ which are linked to Pinballs, Shortcuts and Thoughtful

people respectively. This mapping can be observed in Figure 24 that also provides how the

principles are translated into design principles/features.

2.5.1.3 Transversal Persuasive Principles

Following the requirements for strategy selection presented in section 2.5.1.1, we decided

to apply some transversal principles in the design to underpin the custom-built strategies for

specific user profiles. The transversal strategies applied were Cooperation, Physical

attractiveness, Personalisation and Tailoring. To address Cooperation theory, the power of


the IC is turned on and off by turning the IC from the upper side to the bottom side. The

rationale behind is to engage the user with saving energy consumed by the device itself by

turning off the power of the device when the visual cues are not needed (e.g. when leaving

the work or during the breaks). To cope with Physical attractiveness principle, the design

feature addressed is visual design. The use of wood for the cover and the rounded shape of

the device enhance the aesthetical appeal of the prototype. Besides, the rounded visual

signals of the RGB lights improve the visual design making it more appealing. The

Personalisation principle is applied with the 3 modes of use based on the user

characterization proposed by Lockton et al. [14]. Finally, the Tailoring principle is applied

through the 3-mode selector. Regardless we seek to match custom-persuasive principles to

specific end-users, the user is always free to select the mode that he/she prefers.

Figure 24. The relation between persuasive strategies and design features of the IC

2.5.2 Interactive Coaster v1.0

Since the handicap of this design is focused on selecting the appropriate design and media, a

first version of the IC has been designed that focuses mainly on analysing these parameters,

leaving behind the technical part of the design.

The IC is conceived to interact with the user the user through ambient lights. Therefore, in

the first version of the IC it features the next interactive elements:

● LED rings.

● LED button.

● Isolated LEDs.


The architecture of its operation is depicted in Figure 25. In the diagram are showed the

different hardware parts that make up the IC: Sensing, Controller, Communication and

Actuation.

Figure 25. IC module design

2.5.2.1 Implementation

The coaster‘s design has been made as a functional element, which will also provide to the

user with information about its energy consumption at the workplace’s desk.

The different parts of the prototype, have been designed in 3D and subsequently have been

manufactured in wood by laser cutting.

This physical design derived from the digital sketches can be observed in Figure 26. It

features three types of light displays which are described hereafter.

● Optic fibre circles with perimeter RGB illumination.

● Spot RGB lighting.

● LED spotlight.


Figure 26. IC v1.0 implementation

At this stage of design, the height of the coaster was not optimized since we desired to get

insights from the type of information provided and not so much for the shape of the device

itself. The dimensions of the IC v1.0 were: 115 x 38 mm.

In the first version, the different elements can be illuminated through software developed in

Processing language which was installed on a PC. As can be observed in Figure 27, it features

a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to control the IC. The Software running in a PC and the IC

had to be connected via a USB wire.

Figure 27. IC v1.0 remote controller developed in Processing language

2.5.2.2 Validation of the v1.0 through qualitative research

As previously stated, the aim of this initial prototype is its evaluation with end-users to

include diversity in the final device. Following a qualitative approach, we sought to share the

first design ideas and strategies with them, understand their opinions, beliefs and needs,


and validate the preferences of each user profile. Hereafter, the evaluation methodology is

exposed.

The participants were 3 males and 4 females, ranging 27-45 years old. They all work at a

shared space, mainly using the computer (either laptop or PC) and besides, different

electronic equipment depending of their job. They were not aware of anything related to the

IC before the qualitative session. The research conducted with the 7 end-users followed a

semi-structured interview approach. The interviews were recorded with a video-camera

aiming at the interaction of the user’s hands with the coaster. The interviewees were initially

provided with free time (2-5 minutes) to interact with the device and then, we started asking

questions. We asked them about their opinion of the IC, which metrics were preferred to

understand their energy consumption, which kind of feedback was more understandable for

them, how they comprehend the coding of the provided information, etc.

The experiment driver (an application developed in Processing running in a PC dedicated to

this purpose) operate the IC illuminating a number of elements (rings) with different colour

ranges and brightness. This program allowed us to control the different lights offered to the

interviewees so the cognitive process and the evaluation was drove according to our needs

and preferences depending on the user.

The qualitative validation of the IC was already presented in the Public Deliverable D3.3 [5].

However, we mention here the study results since they were of high importance to enhance

the IC in v2.0. Also, we present some pictures of the session in Figure 28.

Things that worked

• Visual cues are not needed if the information provided by the light rings is consistent

with the real-world (less-more, near-far, small-big). This finding was very consistent

with the mental models provided by Nielsen18.

• Bare information is needed for bootstrapping. However, the learning curve using the

device is very fast as it has been designed.

• Aesthetic plays a paramount role for adoption and use.

• Individual metrics are preferred than other data such as collective or group

consumption.

• Clear mapping from light rings to devices is evident. Hence, it make sense to match

rings and devices for next versions.

• Multi-modality selection is favoured among respondents.

18 https://www.nngroup.com/articles/mental-models/


Things that did not work

• Paired comparisons/competition between peers was not of interest among

respondents.

• Comparisons with non-comparable units (bigger, far, the best, the worse, the best,

etc.) were evaluated out of the interest of the interviewees for their low value for

understanding energy performance.

• Absolute colours (i.e. displaying with one colour all the device) were, in some cases,

misunderstood because of the light rings.

Other conclusions and remarks:

• The size of the first Lo-Fi prototype (v1.0) was considered quite big for a work-desk

(115 x 38 mm).

• The outer light ring was the most visible which provided advantages and downsides

for next designs.

Figure 28. A picture of the IC (a) and screenshots from the video recorded at the user testing session (b, c, d).

2.5.3 Interactive Coaster v2.0

In the second version of the Interactive Coaster device users will not recruited to test the

functionality nor the shape of the prototype. The objective of this second version was to

check the operation of the different hardware components to be integrated in one

component. After a previous study, and based on different criteria of the hardware team, we

have chosen a set of electronic components that have been first tested individually to after

select those that resulted most suitable for this new version.

At this stage of project development, additional electronic components may be included,

which may subsequently be removed from the final system. This is justified because at this


stage the acquisition of knowledge and experience is more important than the precise

selection of these components.


At electronic level, the main functional modules of the interactive coaster v2.0 are the

following: (1) microcontroller, (2) battery charging and power adaptation, (3)

communications, (4) sensor and (5) lighting system. The latter two modules will be the main

elements of interaction with the user.

2.5.3.2 Microcontroller

The microcontroller will be a key component of the system, since it will be the device

responsible for managing the operation of the interactive coaster, interaction with the user

and interaction with the rest of the system (mainly with the SP).

Three families of microcontrollers have been analysed:

● Microcontrollers PIC18, they are very used in the last years, with more than enough

processing capabilities for this prototype, easily integration and with very powerful

development tools.

● ARM Cortex M0+, the families of ARM Cortex controllers are enjoying great success

thanks to very powerful and economical processors. The M0+ family takes into

account energy consumption. It is possible to work with them at different levels of

abstraction and includes powerful debugging tools.

● Arduino, very popular for makers, proposes a development environment and simple

and free hardware for applications. Its simplicity means that it does not have

professional development tools.

The study concluded that ARM Cortex M0+ may be the best option but the experience of our

work team is still low with them. However, with PIC and Arduino, the team has a great

experience based on the development of multiple previous projects. For this reason, the

decision was that the interactive coaster v2.0 was based on Arduino because a previous

work with a new platform is not required. In parallel, we will start working with ARM Cortex

M0+ microcontrollers and it will be incorporated in future versions of the interactive coaster,

as long as the benefits are confirmed.

In particular, the Arduino Micro version will be used as the base of the system, mainly

because it has 2 serial ports (one for programming and debugging and another one for use

with the communication module).


2.5.3.3 Battery charger

The interactive coaster will be a device that must work autonomously and independently so

it will be necessary to include a battery. This battery will be a 3.7 volts rechargeable LiPo and

we will use a USB port to facilitate the charge process. Additionally, for this version of the

interactive coaster we will test a photovoltaic system that allows us to obtain energy of the

interior office lamps. Although, a priori, does not seem to be a realistic option because they

have small capacity.

For the USB charge, different load controllers for LiPo batteries have been analysed,

selecting among them the Microchip MCP73831 chip. This device is very simple and has a

high use of energy, plus a control line that indicates whether the load is complete or not.

2.5.3.4 Power adaptor

Some of the hardware components need a specific supply voltage and cannot be fed directly

from the battery so a voltage regulating module will have to be designed. After analysing

each component, it is concluded that it will be necessary to regulate the supply voltage to +

3.3 volts. As the Li-Po battery to be used will be 3.7 volts, it will be necessary to use a

regulator with low dropout such as the ADP3338 with a dropout of 125 millivolts supporting

a current of 500 milliamps.

2.5.3.5 Communication

At first, the interactive coaster will communicate only with the Smart plug device so the

possibilities are several: Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Bluetooth, IR, etc. Some of these options, such as Wi-

Fi, are discarded by the high energy consumption of its transceivers and the second criterion

used when selecting the communication system has been the future possibility that the user

can interact directly with the interactive coaster through mobile phones or other electronic

devices. With this, the Bluetooth option has been selected, specifically the ultra-low power

Bluetooth version. After the study, the HM-10 module was selected, simple to integrate and

configure based on AT commands.


Figure 29. Bluetooth HM-10 module

2.5.3.6 Sensing

The interaction started by the user with the interactive coaster is very basic and simple. In

this phase of the design it is proposed to limit it to an electromechanical button and a

vibration sensor to detect roll or pitch movements as can be observed in Figure 30. For the

first of these interactive systems, no button has been found yet that meets all the

requirements defined so in this version, the interactive coaster features a typical pushbutton

and another one will be tested based on silicone with a conductive band.

Figure 30. Roll, pitch and yaw rotations.

In the case of the vibration sensor for detecting IC roll or pitch movements, we initially only

want to identify if the user turns the interactive coaster so only a single sensor is needed.

Users use the vibration sensor to put the device in standby mode when they put it upside

down. In this case, the device turns off most components (lights, Bluetooth module, etc.)

and enters in an ultra-low power consumption state.

All sensors have enabled circuits, mainly based on NMOS transistors, for disable them when

they are not used. Thus, the system can reduce power consumption.


In addition, to efficiently manage the battery, a battery level sensor will be implemented

with a voltage divider. It is not a precise sensor but it is very simple and allows to know when

the battery has a level too low, which is the only requirement raised in this regard.

2.5.3.7 Illumination

In terms of lighting (interaction started by the IC to the user), and based on the

requirements, the decision has been to work only with red, green and blue tricolour LED’s,

so that the lighting possibilities are diverse. Once the components that meet this

requirement have been analysed, two of them have been selected:

● Tricolour LEDs, cheap but requires a real-time management of them to establish the

desired illumination.

● LEDs based on the WS2818 controller, which is responsible for managing the

operation of the LED diode and whose interface is very simple, based on

asynchronous serial cascade communication (which means that multiple LEDs can be

controlled with one single line of control).

For this version of the interactive coaster, the two types of lighting presented above will be

implemented for a more detailed evaluation of them.


Next Figure shows the general architecture for the v2.0 of the interactive coaster. It is

divided in four modules: power supply, controller, sensing, acting and communication.


Figure 31. General architecture for the IC v2.0

In this version, central button illumination has been implemented with an individual RBG

LED with common cathode, and it works independently for the rest of SMD LEDs with the

WS2818 controller. As this version is for testing the hardware component, it only include

four SMD LEDs, one per ring.

Bluetooth module will be used with an external break board for simplify the design so, it is

just necessary to include the interface for it.

For controlling the battery level and the charging process, the µcontroller receive two signal

and act over the battery indicator, which is composes by a bicolour LED (red and green

colours). Signals received are:

● battery level, which generate an analog signal that has to be converted to a

percentage with an maximum error of 5%, and

● charging state, which provide a binary value that indicate if the battery is been

charged or not.

2.5.3.9 Schematic

In the following Figure you can see the complete schematic circuit of version 2 of the

interactive coaster.


Figure 32. IC V2.0 schematic

2.5.3.10 Printed Circuit Board

In order to verify the correct integration of the hardware components, a printed circuit

board (PCB) has been implemented without taking into account the form factor because it

will not be integrated into any physical prototype. The following figures show the design of

2-layer printed circuit board.


Figure 33. IC V2.0 board (top view)

On the right side of the design of Figure 33 it can be shown the circular shape of the button

with the tricolour LED, which will allow us to validate the correct behaviour of the silicone

button.

Figure 34. IC V2.0 board (bottom view)

2.5.3.11 Prototype

In the following image, it is shown the prototype of the PBC with all the components

soldered for their validation in one single circuit:


Figure 35. IC V2.0 prototype.

Figure 36. Silicone button pad top view (left) and botton view with conductive surface (right)

Figure 37. Bluetooth module with external conection

2.5.3.12 Validation of the prototype

The tests performed on the prototype are separated based on the functional modules that

compose it.


2.5.3.13 Microcontroller

The start-up of the ATMEGA 32U4 microcontroller, under the Arduino platform, has been

correctly tested and integrated with the other peripherals.

2.5.3.14 Battery charger

In relation to the load from USB, it has been verified its correct operation and the efficiency

that was foreseen based on the technical specifications of the integrated circuit MCP73831.

Although the charge has been started through the photovoltaic cell, the results obtained

harvesting-wise have performed poorly. It has been confirmed that the charge level of the

cell is very low as well as the low efficiency of the auxiliary circuits required to charge a 3.7V

LiPo battery. It is not profitable to use this type of cells in applications of the level of

consumption of the interactive coaster since it increases its energy autonomy of almost

negligible form.

2.5.3.15 Power adaptor

The controller ADP3338 works correctly. However, for future versions of the interactive

coaster we will test other regulators since it supports a maximum current of 1 Ampere,

which is much more than necessary, so it is possible to find a component with the same

efficiency and a lower price.

2.5.3.16 Communication

Communication tests with the Bluetooth module have been performed against a computer

with a Bluetooth dongle installed and against another HM-10 Bluetooth module. In both

cases, the results have been very positive although the discovery stage of other Bluetooth

devices and the establishment of the connection will have to improve in future versions of

the interactive coaster, since they were not as efficient as we expected.

2.5.3.17 Sensing

The silicone pushbutton has worked very well but we continue to have problems with it

when it comes to integrate it into the physical prototype to be developed in the near future,

so it is necessary to continue working on this module. The conductive band of the silicone

button opens us new lines of research to consider even creating an ad-hoc button for the

prototype.

In the case of the vibration sensor, the results have not been entirely satisfactory:

It does not work accurately, when turned the sensor has electrical rebounds and is not 100%

reliable. Being a metal ball inside a metal cylinder emits a noise that can be unpleasant for

the user after a while.


For the next version of the interactive coaster, we must evaluate the results of using this

sensor to see if it is included, if it is removed from the system or if we are looking for an

alternative.

Finally, the battery sensor based on a voltage divider lacks the precision necessary to obtain

a representative load level to inform the user. However, as already anticipated, we can use

it to inform of a level state battery to charge the battery if necessary.

2.5.3.18 Illumination

In the case of illumination, our assumptions have been confirmed for the use of real-time

controlled three-color LEDs and LEDs based on the WS2818 controller.

In the next versions of the interactive coaster, the use of direct control of tricolor LEDs is

ruled out to illuminate the rings since 3 lines of control are needed for each LED diode.

Although multiplexing techniques are used, the number of control lines remains high.

Likewise, the control of these is much more complex than those based on the WS2818

controller.

2.5.3.19 Future Steps

In the next version of the interactive coaster, the objective will be to develop a new

electronic board that will be fully embeddable within the physical prototype to be deployed

in pilot buildings. In addition, the following aspects will be improved:

● Energy management. We will begin to analyse the energy consumption of each

component to verify if the technical specifications obtained from each of them are

correct.

● Vibration motor. Different options will be studied to include in the prototype a

vibration motor that improves the interaction with the user.

● Mode selector. It is desired to include in the prototype different modes of operation,

selectable by the user, so that each user is able to customize the behaviour of the

device. Different models should be studied to allow selection, as well as its

implementation and validation.

● Implement functionality. Starting with the most basic, and validating it with the

corresponding user tests, until we have a fully functional device that meets the

requirements.


3 CERTH’s GreenSoul-ed Thing

The GreenSoul-ed Lights is a Wi-Fi-enabled device capable of sensing the luminance of a

room, dimming incandescent and LED light sources, accept user input for the required

luminance level and display various information about luminance on a LCD display. The

device can supplant a standard light switch on a wall and offer dimming functionality.

3.1 Device capabilities

The device is equipped with an ambient light sensor (lux meter), a dimming controller circuit,

a microcontroller with embedded Wi-Fi, a LCD display and input buttons.

Integrated Wi-Fi functionality enables for remote operation of the device through a local

webserver. The device is able to connect to an existing Wi-Fi network and create a

webserver that can be used for further configuration and control of the device. If the

available Wi-Fi network has an Internet connection, the device will fetch the current date

and time from an online service, as well the sunrise and sunset time for the day based on

current location.

User can configure personal room luminance and create profiles with day and night

preferred lux values. The device is also capable of scheduling the lights status (ON/OFF) with

weekly repeats or for one time occurrence.

The dimming function is implemented with the use of a dimming controller. Once the

dimming is ON the device calculates the required output, which is connected to the input of

the dimming controller, using a PID (Proportional–Integral–Derivative) controller with input

feedback from the ambient light sensor.

3.2 User interaction with the device

Users have two ways of adjusting the settings and preferences of the device:

• via the integrated buttons and display

• via the local Wi-Fi webserver

The integrated buttons and display are both part of the Human Interface Device (HID) which

enables the user to read information on the LCD display and physically interact with the

device with the help of six input buttons:

• 3 buttons for menu navigation

• 1 button for ON/OFF functionality of the lights

• 1 button for toggling ON/OFF the dimming of the lights

• 1 button for toggling ON/OFF the device


Via the HID and the integrated menu, the user is able to:

• View the active profile and the profile’s day and night lux

• View the current luminance of the room

• Select another profile as active

• Change the day or night lux for the active profile

• Find the local IP address of the device

For advanced capabilities of the device, the local webserver must be used. Through the

interface of the server, the user has the ability to:

• Turn the lights ON/OFF

• Switch the dimming mode ON/OFF

• Create, delete, change and activate profiles

• Create, delete, change and activate alarms

• Change the PID parameter configuration

• Scan available Wi-Fi networks

• Restart the device

• Update firmware


3.3 Architecture

Figure 38. GreenSoul-ed Lights System Architecture

GreenSoul-ed Lights consist of the following functional blocks:

• Human Interface Device (HID)

• Alternating to Direct Current Converter (AC/DC Converter)

• Wireless (Wi-Fi) / Microcontroller Unit (MCU)

• Digital Ambient Light Sensor (Lux meter)

• AC Phase Cut Dimmer Controller

3.3.1 Human Interface Device (HID)

3.3.1.1 Button Interface

The HID interface is the user input and the output of the System. It consists of a button array

for the user input and a LCD display for the output. Each button is placed between two

resistors of a total 6-resistor network. After a single press of a button, the <BUTTONS>

output voltage changes corresponding to the individual button press, because of the forming

voltage divider circuit. The output of the button array is connected to the internal ADC

converter of the Wi-Fi / MCU module, which reads and converts the input voltage to an

integer number. Each number corresponds to a single button.


3.3.1.2 LCD Display

Two types of LCD display are supported by the designed system:

• LCDs with two pin headers on the sides of the display

• LCDs with a single pin header on the upper side of the display

Control of the LCD display is performed by the Wi-Fi / Microcontroller module through Data

Lines <D[4…7]> and <LCD_RS>, <LCD_E> pins. The controller of the LCD is based on the chip

HD44780 chip from Hitachi. To change the ON / OFF status of the LCD a control line from the

Wi-Fi / MCU is presented, line <LCD_CTR>. When <LCD_CTR> is high, a small base current

drives the transistor to the saturation region and turns it ON, thus the input voltage of the

LCD module is 0V and display is OFF. Keeping <LCD_CTR> line low, base current of the

transistor is zero and the transistor is in cut-off region thus the input voltage of the LCD is

3.3V, turning it ON.

3.3.2 Alternating to Direct Current Converter (AC/DC Converter)

The sole purpose of an AC/DC converter is to rectify the AC mains voltage to a DC voltage

usable by the system and be able to supply it with the needed power. The 230V mains

voltage is connected to the AC/DC converter through a terminal block. The output of the

converter is a DC voltage of 3.3V completely isolated from the mains and therefore with a

separate reference ground (GND). A 0.5A fuse protects the LINE input of the converter for

overcurrent. Every component is powered by the AD/DC converter except from the dimming

controller which is powered directly from the AC line.

3.3.3 Wireless (Wi-Fi) / Microcontroller Unit (MCU)

Microcontroller is responsible for the logic and control of the system and in combination

with the integrated Wi-Fi controller used for communication consist the “brains” of the

device.

MCU needs 6 GPIO pins in order to drive a normal HD44780 compatible LCD display. A Serial

to Parallel shift register is used as a buffer between the MCU and the LCD to minimize the

required pins to control the display. Instead of 4 data lines and 2 control lines that an LCD

normally uses, MCU can drive the shift register with only 3 lines.

A UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) port is used for serial

communication of the MCU with a PC, enabling logging and uploading firmware to the

microcontroller. Communication between the microcontroller and the ambient light sensor

is achieved through I2C port (<SDA>, <SCL> pins).


The Analog to Digital Converter pin of the microcontroller is connected to a resistor/button

network and converts the input voltage of the network to a level in range [0, 1024] with 0

corresponding to 0V and 1024 to 1V. Each button once pressed is outputting different

voltage level in accordance to the resistor network that forms. Therefore, the software of

the microcontroller detects which button the user pressed after the conversion of the

voltage to a digital value.

3.3.4 Digital Ambient Light Sensor (Lux meter)

The ambient light sensor is an optical sensor that converts the total luminous flux incident

on its surface area (measured in lux) in a digital value. It gives an indication to the perception

of the intensity of the light by the human eye. The stored value of the lux is sent to the

microcontroller through the available I2C port of the module (pins <SDA>, <SCL>). The MCU

periodically reads this value from the sensor.

3.3.5 AC Phase Cut Dimmer Controller

Figure 39. diagram of the AC Phse cut

The AC dimmer controller is responsible for dimming the lights to a desired level. The

voltage applied to the input pin (<DIM_Control>) of the dimmer controls the light intensity.

A PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal from the <PWM> pin of the MCU is converted to a

DC voltage at a RC filter, which is connected to the <DIM_Control> pin of the dimmer circuit.

Power input of the dimmer at pin <VS> on positive cycles of the mains voltage sine wave is

fed through diode D1 which is connected to the LINE and on negative cycles through diode

D2 which is connected to LOAD (Lights).


If the controller detects zero voltage input (0V) at the DIM_Control pin (in the case where

the lights are OFF) then it automatically shuts off the KSP44 transistor through the

<Low_Power> pin in order to reduce the power consumption of the controller.

The dimming of the lights is achieved through the switching part of the circuit, which uses

two IGBT transistors to control the flow of the current to the <LOAD>.

A Single Pole Three Throw (SP3T) switch is used for switching the control of the lights from

manual ON / OFF to MCU/Dimmer controlled.

3.4 Modules

3.4.1 LCD Display

3.4.1.1 Newhaven 20x4 NHD-0420H1Z-FL-GBW-33V3

The selected Newhaven LCD display is capable of displaying 4 lines of 20 characters each and

requires 3.3V for power input. The backlight colour is yellow and the character colour is

black with pin headers attached to the left and right side of the module.

Figure 40. Newhaven 20x4 NHD-0420H1Z-FL-GBW-33V3

3.4.2 AC/DC Converter

3.4.2.1 IRM-03-3.3S

The AC/DC converter rectifies the AC mains voltage to DC. The operating voltage of the

system is 3.3V with the power consumption peak at 400mA. The required power

specifications are met by the Mean Well’s IRM-03-3.3S, which can output a maximum

900mA at 3.3V.


Figure 41. IRM-03-3.S

3.4.3 Microcontroller integrated with Wi-Fi (MCU / Wi-Fi)

3.4.3.1 ESP8266 ESP-12E

Espressif’s ESP8266 Wi-Fi module integrates an internal 32-bit microprocessor running at

72MHz, which eliminates the need for an external MCU saving valuable PCB space and

trimming cost. The ESP-12E version of the ESP8266 family that is used in the GreenSoul-ed

Lights has 12 GPIO pins, ADC converter, I2C port and a full Wi-Fi stack with support for the

IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. 3 pins are used for the control of the LCD, 6 pins are used for the HID, 1

PWM signal pin for the dimmer controller and 2 pins (I2C) for the digital ambient light

sensor.

Figure 42. Espressif ESP8266

3.4.4 Digital Ambient Light Sensor (Lux meter)

3.4.4.1 OPT3001

In order to control the luminance of the lights the system needs a feedback from the

environment. This function is handled by an optical sensor, which converts ambient light into

digital information. The sensor selected for this task is the TI’s OPT3001, which has a spectral

response that matches the photonic response of the human eye and includes significant

infrared rejection.


Figure 43. OPT3001 block diagram

Figure 44. OPT3001 spectral response

3.4.5 AC Phase Cut Dimmer Controller

3.4.5.1 FL5150

The main principle of the phase cut dimmer is to detect when sine wave of mains voltage is

0V (zero cross detection) and then starts an internal timer. When the internal timer reaches

a certain value defined by the voltage at the input pin of the dimmer, it breaks the circuit

connecting mains voltage with the lights, switching the lights off. This is perceived as a lower

intensity light by the human eye and thus dimming is achieved.

Fairchilds FL5150 is a phase cut dimmer controller, which can generate a programmable gate

drive for controlling the pulse width of an external IGBT transistor. The pulse width can be

controlled from the DIM_Control input pin of the chip, as it is analogous to the input voltage

applied (0-3V). An RC filter before the input pin converts the PWM output of the

microcontroller to a DC voltage depended of the duty cycle of the signal. The pulse width of


the IGBT gate can be overridden from the chip in order to ensure that no flickering will

occur.

Figure 45. FL5150 block diagram

3.5 PCB Design

For the PCB design the mains AC dimming controller part has been separated from the rest

of the DC circuit. This is required for better noise immunity on the DC side of the board. Both

up and bottom layer of the DC board is poured with copper that is connected to the DC

ground reference

3.5.1 Top layer

Figure 46. Top PCB layer


3.5.2 Bottom layer

Figure 47. Bottom PCB layer

3.5.3 Device 3D Model

The PCB with the 3D models of the components is presented below. The SW7 which control

the lights manually, directly connecting mains voltage with lights, will be placed on the right

side of the board. Ambient light sensor is placed at the upper side of the board but it can be

replaced with an external breakout sensor board using P7 header and be placed elsewhere.

Figure 48. Device top 3D model


Components inside the drawn circle will be placed in the slot of the switch inside the wall.

These components (except the missing AC/DC converter) are part of the dimmer controller

circuit and are mains voltage connected.

Figure 49. Device bottom 3D model


4 Future Steps

4.1 DEUSTO’s GreenSoul-ed Thing

The GreenSoul-ed devices should be able to communicate between them, Interactive

Coaster and Smart Plug, and the second one with the rest of the system: data model and

protocol have to be defined.

In case of the Interactive Coaster, next version of the device have to be tested with final

users again, within real or simulated behaviour, with the objective of re-evaluate and

improve it. We envisage to create at least 20 units to be deployed in different pilot buildings.

4.2 CERTH’s GreenSoul-ed Thing

The GreenSoul-ed device should be able to have two modes of operation:

• User mode where all the decisions are based on the selected user profile and the

default settings of the device

• GreenSoul mode where the device communicates with the DSS.

In user mode the device is constantly comparing the preferred lux value based on the

selected profile and the current lux that is read by the lux meter. Dimming is based only on

the user profile lux preference.

In GreenSoul mode, the device shares the lux information with the DSS engine which replies

with a decision for the preferred lux. Based on that decision it overrides the user preferences

and dims the lights.

Further improvements of the GreenSoul-ed Lights include:

• Master node capability, where the device will act as a master for other GreenSoul-ed

Light devices which are connected on the same network.

• Profile and schedule saving

• Firmware upgrade which will enable users to save their profiles and schedule settings

in the device internal memory (EEPROM). Current location (for time settings) of the

device will also be configurable.


5 Conclusions

This deliverable has covered the design and implementations of the first versions of the

GreenSoul-ed things (Deusto and Certh’s) that are going to be deployed in Pilots Building to

test whether the devised persuasive strategies encourage workers to save energy bypassing

the barrier of the 15-20% of energy reduction obtained by other means in existing literature.

New versions of the GS-ed things will arise in next months. These will enhance the energy

consumed by the devices, their performance and their usability since they have to be

deployed in real settings. The outcomes of this initial deliverable has a major impact on

WP4, 5 and 6 (have a look to Figure 50).

Figure 50. Interrealation among GreenSoul activities


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https://doi.org/10.1504/JDR.2012.046137


Comments from External Reviewers

External Reviewer #1

09/11/2017

Issue Yes No Score

(1=low to

5=high)

Comments

Is the architecture of the document

correct?

X 5

Does the architecture of the document

meet the objectives of the work done?

X 5

Does the index of the document collect

precisely the tasks and issues that need to

be reported?

X 5

Is the content of the document clear and

well described?

X 5

Does the content of each section describe

the advance done during the task

development?

X 5

Does the content have sufficient technical

description to make clear the research and

development performed?

X 5

Are all the figures and tables numerated

and described?

X 5

Are the indexes correct? X 5

Is the written English correct? X 5

Main technical terms are correctly

referenced?

X 4

Glossary present in the document? X 4

Dr. Stelios Krinidis

[email protected]

CERTH

mailto:[email protected]



10/11/2017

Issue Yes No Score

(1=low to

5=high)

Comments


correct?

X 5

Does the architecture of the document


X 5



be reported?

X 5


well described?

X 5



development?

X 5




X 5


and described?

X 5




referenced?

X 4 Some references are missed

Glossary present in the document? X 4 Some abreviation are not

defined in the glosary

Jose A. Morales

[email protected]

Wellness Smart Cities


01/03/2018

Issue Yes No Score

(1=low to

5=high)

Comments


correct?

X 5

Does the architecture of the document X 5





be reported?

X 5


well described?

X 5 Please, check the state of the

arts of the GreenSouled

Things.



development?

X 5




X 4 I think that you have

addressed all the reviewers‘

comments. But see minor

comments in the text.


and described?

X 5




referenced?

X 4 Review references. See

comments.

Glossary present in the document? X 5

Jose M. Avila

[email protected]

Wellness Smart Cities

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