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Development Of A Solar Powered Body Temperature Checker

Electrical Electronics Engineering | Industrial Physics | Physics

The development of a solar-powered body temperature checker represents an innovative convergence of sustainable energy and healthcare technology, addressing the increasing need for remote health monitoring in off-grid or resource-constrained environments. Leveraging solar energy to power the device ensures its autonomy and reliability, making it suitable for deployment in diverse settings, from rural communities to disaster-stricken areas. By integrating advanced sensor technologies, such as infrared thermometers, with low-power microcontrollers and wireless communication capabilities, this solution enables real-time monitoring of individuals’ body temperatures without the need for grid electricity. The incorporation of user-friendly interfaces and data visualization features enhances accessibility and usability, facilitating early detection of fever-related illnesses and supporting timely interventions. This endeavor underscores the potential of renewable energy-driven innovations to revolutionize healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved regions, while contributing to the global efforts towards sustainable development and public health resilience.

ABSTRACT

In this work, the design of a solar powered body temperature checking system is presented. The design was achieved using solar cell for a renewable energy source, ATMEGA 328P PU Microcontroller Unit, MLX90614 Infrared Sensor for achieving contactless measurement (wireless) and the DS1307 Real Time Clock (RTC) for accurate time keeping during the measurement of this parameter. The MLX90614 is factory calibrated in wide temperature ranges from – 40 ºC to 125ºC for the ambient temperature, while the DS1307 is a low-power clock/calendar with 56 bytes of battery-backed serial random access memory (SRAM). Power is supplied using a regulated 12 V DC from the solar panel which is stored in a rechargeable battery. The microcontrollers and RTC chip are powered by 5 V DC. The temperature sensor and liquid crystal display (LCD) require 3.3 V DC for operation and are supplied by passing the 5 V DC through a variable resistor. The sensors output values are both fed into the microcontroller. While monitoring temperature and telling time, the microcontroller sends the measurements in form of digital signal to the LCDs for display. This design was compared with a standard infrared thermometer by taking the body temperature measurements of two individuals at different times of the day. It was observed from the results that the difference between the temperature readings of the two thermometers ranges from 0 to 1 °C

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
PROBLEM STATEMENT
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
APPLICATION OF THE PROJECT
SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
METHODOLOGY
PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0      LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1      HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ANDDEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY
2.2     PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES OF THERMOMETRY
2.3      THERMOMETRIC MATERIALS

2.4 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY THERMOMETERS

2.5 CALIBRATION OF THERMOMETERS

2.6 REVIEW OF TWO KINDS OF CONVENTIONAL THERMOMETERS

2.7 OVERVIEW OF SOLAR CELL

2.8 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SOLAR CELL

2.9 EFFICIENCIES OF SOLAR PANEL

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
3.2 COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM

3.3 SOFTWARE DESIGN

3.4 SYSTEM FLOW CHART

3.5 MODE OF OPERATION

3.6 IMPLEMENTATION

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING

4.1 CASING AND PACKAGING

4.3 PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 CONCLUSIONS

5.2 RECOMMENDATION

5.2 REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Body temperature checker is an instrument used in measuring the temperature of a body. This device can also be called digital thermometer. The name thermometer is coined from the Greek words thermo, meaning “warm”, and meter, meaning “to measure”. So Body temperature checker measure temperature by using materials that change in some way when they are heated or cooled (Saidu et al, 2014; Bellis, 2011). Measurement of temperature has been a usual process since the early 11^th century. Monitoring of temperature of a particular place or system is important so as to monitor the behavior of such a system (Med, 2002).

Temperature cheking devices are of integrated technology and are found in the area of electronics, computers, material and information Engineering. They play an important role in the medical/patient simulation system (Péter & Balázs, 2009). With the help of the temperature monitoring device, a doctor can get a lot of information about the condition of health of the individual. Patients who pay no attention to their body temperature are easily susceptible to contracting diseases/infections as well as some kind of sickness. Thus, for a good guarantee of the patient’s daily life, a monitor designed for measuring the body temperature at a specific time is needed.

Current advancements in the technology of temperature measurement have led to a huge variety of sensors and measuring instruments now being available for making accurate measurements.

This work focuses on a solar powered body temperature checking device, In the field of healthcare, temperature monitoring has assumed a very vital role both in the management of patient’s condition and general hospital storage facilities.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Before this time, temperature has been measured using analogue meter. This means of measurement is subjected to error of parallax during the reading of the measurement and the battery that powers it dies after short period of time. Due to the precision requirements of the applications of a body temperature checker, there is a need to measure the quantity digitally in order to eliminate parallax error and also need to have alternative power supply – renewable energy. Moreover, in recent times, technology has moved from the phase of analogue to digital. Hence, this work focuses on a digital body temperature measurement using solar power. It presents the design and implementation of a digital body temperature checking system with clock to monitor the temperature of a system while also checking the time/period at which the measurement is made.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The objective of this work is to design a solar powered device used to measure the temperature of body which displays the reading via LCD.

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The main purpose of this project is to determine the temperature a body which is powered by a solar energy.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

Accuracy: The temperature reading does not depend on scale reading and instead shown directly on the display. Hence temperature can be read exactly and accurately.
Speed: the device can reach a final temperature in 5 to 10 seconds compared to conventional thermometers.
Safety: Digital thermometers don’t use mercury, hence the hazards of the mercury is eliminated in case the thermometer breaks.
Strong: The thermometer doesn’t needs to be shaken for the proper mercury level, hence the risk of the tube getting broken is eliminated.
LCD display: this device has the ability of displaying the temperature value in Celsius

1.6 APPLICATIONS OF THE PROJECT

The body temperature checking system measures human body temperature around 37⁰C. These thermometers are mostly probe type or ear type. It measures without making physical contact with the person.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The above system consists of temperature sensor IC MLX90614 which is 4 pin IC and can measure temperature from -40ºC to 125ºC for the body temperature. It contains two pins which indicate if the measured temperature exceeds the user defined temperature. Thus this device can also be used to control the switching of loads incase of any temperature fluctuations.

In the above system, the temperature sensor first measures the ambient temperature and converts this temperature to digital data and feeds it to the microcontroller which displays the temperature reading on the display. Using the push button switches the user defined temperature can be set. When the ambient temperature increases or decreases than the user defined temperature, the microcontroller display the value via LCD.

1.8 LIMITATION OF THER PROJECT

The measured body temperature of this device displays its reading in Celsius.
The temperature range is from -40ºC to 125ºC for the body temperature

1.9 METHODOLOGY

To achieve the aim and objectives of this work, the following are the steps involved:

Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
Draw a block diagram.

Test for continuity of components and devices,

programming of microcontroller
Design and calculation for the work was carried out.
Studying of various component used in circuit.

Construct the whole circuit.
Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.

1.10 PROJECT WORK ORGANISATION

The various stages involved in the development of this project have been properly put into five chapters to enhance comprehensive and concise reading. In this project thesis, the project is organized sequentially as follows:

Chapter one of this work introduces the whole work. Chapter two is on literature review of this study. In this chapter, all the literature pertaining to this work was reviewed. Chapter three is on design methodology. In this chapter all the method involved during the design and construction were discussed. Chapter four is on testing analysis. All testing that result accurate functionality was analyzed. Chapter five is on conclusion, recommendation and references.