Accelerometer Prototype

Project for LittleGiants

TL;DR

I developed a prototype for NoDrown, a startup aiming to prevent drowning accidents by detecting falls near water using mobile device sensors. The prototype collected accelerometer and GPS data, tested transmission delays under varying conditions, and demonstrated the concept through a show mode and data collection mode. I handled the entire project lifecycle, including design, specification, implementation, and testing. While the project’s small scale simplified collaboration challenges, it allowed me to apply and refine my technical skills in a structured and impactful way.

NoDrown is a startup that aims to prevent drowning accidents by developing an application for detecting accidental falls near bodies of water. The application uses the accelerometer and GPS sensors in a mobile device to detect a fall and sends an alert to a monitoring system. The application prompts the user to confirm their safety, and if they do not respond, the monitoring system alerts other users of the application and potentially emergency services.

NoDrown website (December 2024)

To develop this system, I was tasked with building a prototype to collect data for proof of concept, to develop the fall detection algorithm, and to showcase the idea. The prototype collected data from the phone and sent it to a backend to test delays. It was tested with varying amounts of data and different transfer protocols to see how these affected the transmission delay. This was critical, as the message needed to be sent before the phone hit the water.

Accelerometer Prototype

The prototype was intended for internal use, and the design was left to my discretion. It was meant to be minimal and functional, featuring a show mode to demonstrate how a fall would be detected and a data collection mode to gather test data at specified intervals for evaluating transmission delays in different environments.

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NoDrown Prototype Project Specification

Link

The NoDrown prototype was a great project as I had the opportunity to work on all aspects of a new project. I designed a minimal interface, wrote the specifications, implemented and tested the solution, and saw the product put to use by the client. While the small scale of the project shielded me from many complexities of collaborating on large-scale brownfield projects, it allowed me to apply and refine many of my hard skills in a highly organized manner.