Project Abstract: Augmented Reality Temperature Map of My Apartment (ARTMMA)

Objective

Design and develop an augmented reality temperature map of my apartment.

Why?

I am not used to living in a place with no central AC, so when it is hot outside, my apartment gets hot inside. I want to know the coolest place in my apartment. There is a window by my desk and a window in the bedroom that are kept open to allow for air flow. The bedroom window is ground-level, always in the shade, and opens to a grassy alleyway. The desk window never gets direct sunlight and likely has better air flow because it is open to a yard.

Map of my apartment. The 3 sensor locations are marked by red stars.

What data will be collected?

Temperatures will be gathered from 3 sensors located at the desk, couch, and bedroom. There will be two conditions tested: fans/AC units ON and fans/AC units OFF.

How will the data be visualized?

The data will be visualized in an app on my phone using its camera to display the temperature as a floating number [1] in augmented reality. Also, an interpolated heatmap [2] will be overlaid on the live video feed of my apartment. The temperature of each sensor will be able to be tapped to reveal recent temperature history. Examples of both of these visualization methods are shown below using WiFi signal strength instead of temperature.

[1] WiFi signal strength shown as a floating number by Wi-Fi Solutions

[2] WiFi signal strength shown as an interpolated heat map by iBwave

Software flow

1. Each sensor -> broadcasts °F + ID (desk, couch, bedroom) via WiFi

2. Unity -> subscribes to data stream, keeps a live table of all sensors

3. AR app -> anchors a marker for each sensor’s real-world location

4. Interpolation -> estimate “heat field” in between sensors

   
   

Expected results

I expect that the bedroom will be the coolest room in the apartment despite having less air flow than the window at the desk. I predict this will remain true with and without fans/AC. The window is always in the shade.

Rough expected heat map of the apartment with the desk being the warmest spot (red) and the bedroom being the coolest (blue)

Key skills exercised

IoT	Unity	AR	UX
Networking	C#	Data Visualization	App Development

Project flow

1. Project ideation (current)

2. Purchase tools (next)

3. Download software

4. Configure & set up sensors

5. Relay sensor data via WiFi

6. Set up Unity environment to collect data

7. Data intake

8. Register sensors in AR

9. Make visuals in Unity

10. Heat-field interpolation

11. UX Polish

12. Performance & robustness test

13. Demo & conclusions

Immediate next steps

1. Compare potential modules and pick the ones best suited for the project

2. Purchase necessary modules

3. Compare potential software and pick the ones best suited for the project

4. Download necessary software

   
   
   
   

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References

1. Wifi Heat Map Image by Wi-Fi Solutions: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ua.com.wifisolutions.wifiheatmap&pli=1 

2. Wifi Heat Map Image with Interpolation by iBwave:

https://info.ibwave.com/augmented-reality/