MAYA ROMÁN

our clients and their research

Researchers at Pitt’s department of computer science and information, Dr. Rosta Farzan and Dr. Adam Lee, are researching how people interact with Internet of Things devices. They are specifically looking into the disparity between people’s perceived privacy, how safe they think their privacy is in the presence of IOT decides, versus their actual privacy, how safe their privacy actually is. I led the team of four that was tasked with making mechatronic devices intended to give users more control over their privacy.

defining the problem space

Our clients knew they wanted a few different ways to manipulate a Google Nest camera, each of which would be controlled in various ways. After a difficult few meetings, my team defined our design space as three mechanisms, all with visual user feedback, that each could be controlled by a range of methods.

Showing rough designs to our clients.

The team testing our devices.

mechanisms

After multiple rounds of iteration, the final set of mechanisms delivered to the clients included i) a simple relay that completely cut power to the camera; ii) a cylindrical design that rotated different lenses in front of the camera, allowing for an open state, a closed state, and an obscured state in which the image is blurred; and iii) a paddle flipping mechanism that had three states, open and closed, and a third in which the camera is covered and uncovered in at regular intervals.

Each device can be controlled by manual buttons or switches, by an IR remote, or through a Bluetooth app. Visual recognition of the state can be provided through an LED ring on each device.

Cylindrical design prototype one.	Cylindrical design prototype two.	The final CAD of the cylindrical design.
The final cylindrical mechanism.	The final relay mechanism.	The final flipping mechanism.

In addition to soft skills like project management, communication, and general leadership, I developed more technical skills, including circuit design, gcode generation, and printed circuit board (PCB) milling. I researched and tested custom PCBs that acted as shields for the microcontrollers. I designed them in Eagle, milled, and soldered a few iterations of the circuits, integrating button, infrared remote, and Bluetooth control.

Our work on this project was highlighted at Science 2019, Pitt’s annual celebration of science and technology during the undergraduate research poster reception, and won second place at Pitt's University Honors College Data Privacy Day poster presentation.

The Arduino shield PCB layout.

The relay/Arduino shield PCB layout.

The mess of wires required for the project.

A soldered PCB.

The control box with its laser cut cover.