MilliMeter

Introduction

The goal of this product is to build a smart electric meter that is below $30. The main objective of the project is to develop a wireless energy meter. The Arduino takes the reading from current and voltage sensors, calculates units, and displays the reading on the LCD. The reading is stored in built-in EEPROM so that it continues the calculating reading during power failure. The reading of the energy meter is also sent to the cell phone of the user by a message through a GSM modem. With GPRS, I can send the readings to a web platform. I developed this project in due time as a participant in the Lagossmartmeter, Nigeria hackathon 2020.

Parts and Assembly

Here is a list of everything I bought

• LCD
• TSOP1738
• Arduino Mega
• SD-CARD reader
• Relay
• Battery
• GSM/ GPRS module

Important Concepts

• I2C↗, SPI↗, UART↗: These are embedded systems protocol that guides the transformation of data between one embedded device and the other or an MCU.
• GPRS↗

Challenges

Since it was a group project, I had a tough time in managing my teammates and ensuring proper project workflow. However, with tools like Trello, I was able to manage my team and ease the workflow process.

Next Steps

The challenge went great, but our team did not make it to the finals. Hence, I am not taking on the project any further.