Vision statement
Brief Summary
BabySpy is an AMI system whose main aim is childcare and protection. It's able to monitor the activity of young children(toddlers and pre-schoolers) within a given environment and through a multitude of sensors placed throughout the room to determine if the child is in any potential danger, furthermore based on the severity of the situation the can intervene and distract the child while alerting the parents of the situation. There are many ways the system interacts with the child; playing music or pre-recorded audio from their parents, even a combination of lights, or instructive videos. Not only does it serve as a distraction for the child in times of danger, but also as a form on interaction with child by offering the child entertaining videos and music. More importantly the system constantly changes the way it interacts with the child so as not to be too predictable, altogether while monitoring its response to the interacting.
Target Enviroment
The target environment is meant to be any common household room, but ideally it is best suited for a child's room, since the child spends most of their time here and poses the highest risk of accidents.
User
The primary users of the system are meant to be young children, while the parents are considered as a secondary user.
Stakeholders
- Parents
- Childcare Facilities
- Baby Sitters
- Shopping Centre Day Cares
- Kindergartens
Environment Support
- Offers the ability to retrieve hard to reach books of shelves
- Provide the means of accessing videos and music
Problems
- Randomize the interaction with the child
- Deciding which type of interaction to use against the child
- Verifying if the child has responded positively to the distraction, and moved away from the danger
Benefits
- Not only does the system monitor the child for potential danger but also provides entertainment options
- Protecting, Monitoring the child for constant dangerous situations and acts accordingly
Main Steps
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| Sensing | Identifying the position of the child relative to the area of the room where the sensor is positioned |
| Acting |
|
| Interacting |
|
| Reasoning |
|
AMI Features
| AMI Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Sensitive | Sensors are placed near the possible dangerous, and triggered if the child approaches nearby. The information provided can be used to judge the severity of the scenario |
| Responsive | The system can decide which type of interaction to use to distract the child, but also uses different means each time. |
| Transparent | The presence of the system will not be noticed by the child apart from the features which are purposely put in place to have direct interaction with the child, such as the graphical interface for the web application |
| Ubiquitous | - |
| Intelligent | It takes the appropriate course of action, based on the severity of the situation. The system is able to judge the severity of the situation on its own |
| Adaptive | It is able to change the way it interacts with the child each time so it will not become repetitive and predictable, and recognize if the child is responding in a positive way, by checking whether it walks away from the danger or still remains there |
Purpose and Scope
These days we face increasing number of children incidents within their room; Falling from windows, cupboards falling over kids as they climb it. The goal of our project to detect the dangers in the room and protect children from them.
In order to surmount this problem we use a variety of sensors such as motion sensors and door/window sensors to detect if the child is in any potential danger, then using the appropriate actuators to distract the child.
Included within scope
- Note the activity of the user when the user approaches the potentially dangerous places
- It uses interactive methods to distract the user from heading towards the danger
- Potential threats are pre-defined
Excluded from the scope
- We do not know the position of the user when he is not in near areas of potential danger.
- It doesn’t do any physical work to move the user from potentially dangers places or vice versa.
- When a new potential threat is introducing to the environment without informing the system then it does not detect it.
Project Features
Below you can find several features that our system has to offer:
| Feature No. | Features | Description | Priority | Grouping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sense if the child is near a potentially dangerous area | Able to tell if the child’s position or action will lead to a dangerous situation | 1 | Child Protection |
| 2 | Distract the child from potential danger. | By getting the child’s attention using lights, music, by controlling remote control toys, even a voice recording of the parents. | 1 | Child Protection |
| 3 | Entertain the child. | The system can tell when the child is bored and interacts in many ways, for instance like Hide and Seek. | 2 | Entertainment |
| 4 | Provide communication link between parents and the child. | Using a webcam in the room along with speakers, and a microphone in the room to establish communications. | 2 | Communication |
| 5 | Update the parents about any dangerous situations. | By means of a notification on their mobile phones. | 1 | Communication |
| 6 | Monitor the entrance of the room | Checks if the child leaves the room or prevents a pet from entering the room for instance. | 1 | Child Protection |
| 7 | Checks if the distraction used against the child works. | The system randomizes the distraction method to make sure the child doesn’t get bored. | 1 | Child Protection |
| 8 | Monitor the heart rate of the child | Track the physical well-being of the child | 3 | Child Health |
| 9 | Monitor the temperature and humidity of the childs' room | Provide a comfortable environment | 3 | Climate |
Technical Data
System Architecture
Hardware Architecture
Software Architecture
| Software | Function | Location | Interaction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python | Main application and flask server | RaspberryPi |
|
| Arduino | Control the Braccio | Arduino Braccio | Request the movements to be performed by the Braccio from the flask server |
Network Architecture
| Device | Connections | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Philips Hue | RaspberryPi | Wifi |
| Arduino Braccio | RaspberryPi | Ethernet |
| Door/Window Sensor | RaspberryPi | Wifi |
| Zwave 4-in-1 Sensor | RaspberryPi | Wifi |
| Secondary User Device | RaspberryPi | Wifi |
| RaspberryPi | Cloud(Router) | Wifi |
System Specifications
Hardware Components
Off the shell Components
| Device | Description |
|---|---|
| ZWave 4-in-1 Sensor | It detects movements and it is used above doors and windows |
| Door/Window Sensor | It detects the opening of doors and it is used in drawers |
| Philips Hue | It is used in different parts of the room to control the HUE lights |
| HUE Light Bulbs | Flashing used to interact with kids, used in different parts of the room as well |
| Arduino Braccio | It is a robatic arm controlled by a Raspberry Pi, to retrieve objects from high shelves |
| Speakers | Allows the music or voice recorded audio to be played |
| TV screen | It is used to interact and communicate with the web application and to show videos |
Software Components
| Module |
|---|
| Main App |
| Z-wave |
| Philips-Hue |
| Arduino Braccio |
| Audio & Video Player |
| Flask Server |
Video Presentation
Open issues
- The system will have to encounter is to be able to distinguish difference in the movement or the position of the child and that of an object(toys)
- We must find a way to control the movements of its toys, since it was stated as one of the methods used to distract the child
- The next issue is to come up with an algorithm to identify the severity of a situation and the initiate the appropriate response
- More importantly we also must come up with a method to randomise the interaction method with the child, so the system won't be too predictive from the point of view of the child
- The appropriate mechanism to inform the secondary users(parents in this case)
- If the new threats are introduced to the environment without being defined to the system
Meet the Team
The ones who created and developed BabySpy
Stefano Di Blasio
s224669
SW/HW Developer
Github Username: sdiblasio
Contact details: s224669@studenti.polito.it
Charith Amarasekara
s226587
SW/HW Developer
Github Username: Yeshitha
Contact details: s226587@studenti.polito.it
Amirhooshang Zeraatkardevin
s227714
SW/HW Developer
Github Username: AmirZeraa
Contact details: s227714@studenti.polito.it
Kavinda Herath
s237194
SW/HW Developer
Github Username: Rishvara
Contact details: s237194@studenti.polito.it