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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM ECE DEPARTMENT PROJECT IDEAS BRAKE FAILURE INDICATOR
Do you want to get an early warning of brake failure while driving? Here is a brake failure indicator circuit that constantly monitors the condition of the brake and gives an audio-visual indication. When the brake is applied, the green LED blinks and the piezo buzzer beeps for around one second if the brake system is intact. If the brake fails, the red LED glows and the buzzer stop beeping. The circuit will work only in vehicles with negative grounding. It also gives an indication of brake switch failure. In hydraulic brake systems of vehicles, a brake switch is mounted on the brake cylinder to operate the rear brake lamps. The brake switch is fluid- operated and doesnt function if the fluid pressure drops due to leakage. The fluid leakage cannot be detected easily unless there is a severe pressure drop in the brake pedal. This circuit senses the chance of a brake failure by monitoring the brake switch and re- minds you of the condition of the brake every time the brake is applied. The circuit uses an op-amp IC CA3140 (IC2) as voltage comparator and timer NE555 (IC3) in monostable configuration for alarm. Voltage comparator IC2 senses the voltage level across the brake switch. Its non-inverting input (pin 3) gets half the supply voltage through potential divider resistors R3 and R4 of 10 kiloohms each. The inverting input (pin 2) of IC2 is connected to the brake switch through diode D1,

SEPTEMBER 2013

IC 7812 (IC1) and resistor R2. It receives a higher voltage when the brake is applied. Normally, when the brake is not applied, the output of IC2 remains high and the red LED (LED1) glows. The output of IC2 is fed to trigger pin 2 of the monostable through coupling capacitor C2. Resistor R1 is used for the input stability of IC2. IC1 and C1 provide a ripple-free regulated supply to the inverting input of IC2. IC3 is wired as a monostable to give pulse output of one second. Timing elements R7 and C4 make the out- put high for one second to activate the buzzer and LED2. Usually, the trigger pin of IC3 is high due to R6 and the buzzer and LED2 remain off. When the brake pedal is pressed, pin

2 of IC2 gets a higher voltage from the brake switch and its output goes low to switch off the red LED. The low output of IC2 gives a short negative pulse to the monostable through C2 to trigger it. This activates the buzzer and LED2 to indicate that the brake system is working. When there is pressure drop in the brake system due to leakage, LED1 remains on and the buzzer does not sound when the brake is applied. The circuit can be assembled on any general-purpose PCB or perforated board. Connect point A to that terminal of the brake switch which goes to the brake lamps. The circuit can be powered from the vehicles

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battery. The circuit requires well-regulated power supply to avoid unwanted triggering while the battery is charging from the dynamo. IC4, C6 and C7 pro- vide regulated 12V to the circuit. The power supply should be taken from the ignition switch and the circuit ground should be clamped to the vehicles body. A bicolour LED can be used in place of LED1 and LED2 if desired. Burglar Alarm The circuit illustrated here is used as a Burglar alarm. LDR is kept at such a place that when thief enters our house then a shadow will fall on the LDR. A small beam of light source is also needed to supply continuous signal to LDR. For best Light source we can use Laser diode which will work for few kms.For home use of Infra-Red LEDs will be good and will be tricky to thief and works with same efficiency at night. LDR = Light Dependent Resistance LED = Light Emitting Diode IC = Integrated Circuit

The source of light and LDR is so adjusted with a reflector that light will

This circuit uses a popular timer IC which is 555. IC 555 is connected as comparator with pin 6 connected with positive supply. The output goes high-1 when the trigger pin-2 is at lower than 1/3 level of the supply voltage. Conversely the output goes low-0 when it is above 1/3. So small change in voltage of pin-2 is enough to change the output state of pin-3 from 1 to 0 and 0 to 1. The output has only two states high and low and cannot remain in any intermediate stage. It is powered by 9V battery for portable use. The circuit is economic in power consumption. Pin 4, 6& 8 is connected to the positive supply and pin-1 is grounded. To detect the present robber we have used LDR and a source of light. LDR is a special type of resistance whose value depends on the brightness of the light which is falling on it. It has a resistance of about 1 mega ohms when in total darkness, but a resistance of only about 25 k ohms when brightly illuminated. It responds to a large part of the light spectrum.

directly fall on the LDR but when robber enters inside then it will block the beam of light and LDR will be under darkness. We have made a potential divider circuit with LDR and 100 K variable resistance connected in series. Voltage is directly proportional to conductance so we will get more voltage by this divider when LDR is getting light and low voltage in darkness. Sensitiveness can be adjusted by variable resistance. Divided voltage is given to pin-2 of 555. As soon as LDR gets dark the voltage of the pin-2 drops by 1/3 of the supply voltage and pin-3 gets high and Buzzer Beeps. For Demo we have used simple LED for LED1 may be Red or White Colour Components:1) 9V battery with snap 2) LDR 3) Variable resistance 100K 4) Resistance 470 5) LED 6) IC 555 7) Switch

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GADGETS

Dell Inspiron M101z

The Dell Inspiron M101z is a 11-inch budget ultraportable laptop which offers better performance than a notebook and lighter than a mainstream laptop. Specifications: Screen 11.6 glossy LED ,1366x768 res. CPU AMD Athlon II Neo K325 1.3GHz processor RAM 4GB DDR3 HDD 320GB 7200rpm Graphics Integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 USB Ports 3 DVD Writer No Gigabit Ethernet No Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n HDMI/eSATA/FireWire Yes/no/no Multicard reader Yes Express card slot No Weight 1.56Kg OS 64-bit Windows 7 home basic

Full performance: World bench 6 Photoshop(sec) Office 2003(sec) WM encoder (sec) Multitasking (sec) 3d mark 06 PC mark 05 Cinebench PC mark vantage Battery life HD playback 62 911 474 425 576 1293 2816 2689 125 good

SCIENTISTS
ALESSANDRO VOLTA (17451827) Alessandro Volta was born in Como, Italy in 1745. In 1774, he was appointed as professor of physics at the Royal School in Como. While at the Royal School, Alessandro Volta designed
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his first invention the electrophorus in 1774, a device that produced static electricity. For years at Como, he studied and experimented with atmospheric electricity by igniting static sparks. In 1779, Alessandro Volta was appointed professor of physics at the University of Pavia and it was while there that he invented his most famous invention, the voltaic pile. In 1800, Alessandro Volta of Italy built the voltaic pile and discovered the first practical method of generating electricity. Count Volta also made discoveries in electrostatics, meteorology and pneumatics. His most famous invention, however, is the first battery.Constructed of alternating discs of zinc and copper, with pieces of cardboard soaked in brine between the metals, the voltaic pile produced electrical current. The metallic conducting arc was used to carry the electricity over a greater distance. Alessandro Volta's voltaic pile was the first battery that produced a reliable, steady current of electricity.

part of the Harvard-MIT Logic group in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Over the course of her graduate programme she taught about 700 undergraduates, and was twice recognized by the University for Excellence in teaching. She covered a range of subjects in the undergraduate Math curriculum and for several semesters ran lab sessions for school teachers-in-training. Maya Saran now lives in Gurgaon with her family and offers workshops for all ages in which participants can experience real mathematics in an atmosphere of play.

RECENT INVENTIONS Autonomous car

An autonomous car, also known as a driverless car, self-driving car or robot car, is an autonomous vehicle capable of fulfilling the human transportation capabilities of a traditional car. As an autonomous vehicle, it is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input. Robotic cars exist mainly as prototypes and demonstration systems, but are likely to become more widespread in the near future. Autonomous vehicles sense their surroundings with such techniques as radar, lidar, GPS, and computer vision. Advanced control systems interpret sensory information to identify appropriate navigation paths, as well as obstacles and relevant signage. Some autonomous vehicles update their maps based on sensory input, allowing the vehicles to keep track of their position even when conditions change or when they enter uncharted environments. How do autonomous cars work? So far, we have already achieved some autonomy and the following are already being used in our cars. The systems that were already in use: Cruise Control: One of the first technologies towards the autonomous direction was the cruise control. As we all know, cruise control systems work in order to keep a car in constant
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GUEST LECTURERS

Maya Saran -Maya Saran earned her PhD in Mathematics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, after first studying in Delhi at St Stephen's College. Her chosen specialty was Mathematical Logic and while earning her degree she spent several years as

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speed, without the driver having to apply gas. Anti-Lock Brakes: Basically this is a system that automatically prevents the locking of brakes, when the driver applies the brakes in full. The system performs a better job than the driver as far as pumping the brakes in order to prevent the car to spin and fall out of control. The systems that are just starting to be used now or in the near future: Stability and Traction Control: These are the systems that use different sensors in order to determine when a car might skid or roll over and work in order to prevent it, and is much more complicated in comparison to the first two we mentioned above. The car's direction, speed, the contact pressure between the road and the wheels are constantly monitored and when it is determined that the car is going out of control, the system will take over and apply brakes or adjust the pressure on each wheel, which is almost always better and more optimized than a human driver might be able to do. The system uses digital encoders similar to the ones used in anti lock braking systems, in order to precisely measure wheel rotation. Pre-Accident Systems: These are the systems that sense an imminent crash and prepare the car just before it, in order to save lives and reduce injuries. The system prepares airbags, reduces engine power and tightens the seat belts, in a very short time, even before the driver has the time to apply the brakes in full. Traffic Jam Assist: Another step to full autonomy is the traffic jam assist systems, which relieves drivers from the tiring work of stop and go traffic. Improved Cruise Control: In addition to the regular cruise control, using radar sensor placed in front of the car, the system can sense the car in front and will adjust the speed accordingly, in order to maintain a safe distance between two cars. Self Parking Systems: One system that is just being introduced on some luxury models is the self parking ability. Of course the car needs to be brought near the parking spot first by the driver and be told where the system is expected to park - but it is still a definite forward step in our journey towards full autonomous cars.

EVENTS:
SAK ROBOTICS (TWO DAY WORKSHOP) To acquaint the students with basic robotics and enable them to build a basic line follower robot using 8051 micro controller. The workshop is conducted by CEO of SAK ROBOTICS Sakya Singha Mahapatra and his team. 101 students participated in this workshop. This workshop is conducted on 12th and 13th of August 2013

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TECHNICAL QUIZ
The 1st CYGNUS event of this year "TECHNICAL QUIZ" for the III years is successfully completed. The Quiz was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, a screening test (written test) has been conducted for which 39 teams have participated (78 students) out of which 10 teams were qualified to the next stage of the quiz It had 3 rounds and with a tough battle between the young minds, at the end of the final round the winners and runners were declared. Winners and the runners will be awarded with a cash prize and a merit certificate. The top 10 teams will be awarded with a participation certificate. This event is conducted on 2nd August 2013 NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 78 students WINNERS: WINNERS: Ch. Rajesh & B.Shiva Sai (ECE-C) RUNNERS : Abinay & Aravind (ECE-C) , K.Mallikarjun & sai saketh (ECE-C), V.Sravan & R.Kiran (ECEA)

TECHNICAL JAM To unable the students to overcome the stage fear and to express about a topic and to speak spontaneously for about a minute. Technical topics were given to the participants and they are allowed to speak on that topic for a minute. This event is conducted on 28th August 2013 NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 32 students participated WINNERS: WINNERS : Siddharth RUNNERS : JaiSree,shravan

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