Solar Powered, Multi-seated, Internetted Computer System Final Report December 3rd, 2008
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Executive SummaryWith the increasing proliferation of affordable, reliable personal computers into the marketplace, there is a great demand to develop affordable personal computers for remote and underdeveloped areas. Before deploying a computer system into such harsh conditions several obstacles must be overcome, including source of electricity, telecommunications, and the savannah climate. The Lenovo Corporation has tasked this team to develop a solar-powered computer workstation that can accommodate up to eight users. The solution must be robust enough to withstand the harsh environment with as little technical maintenance as possible, yet still be affordable for rural schools. A bank of solar panels charges a small battery bank using a commercially available charge controller. A custom engineered battery management system monitors voltages and currents from the solar panels and the battery to calculate system data. The system also monitors case temperatures to insure everything is operating within a safe range. Should the battery become discharged or temperatures rise above the safe limits the system will automatically shut itself down. All power data is logged to the computer and stored for system optimization. A small LCD panel displays pertinent system information A single computer can connect up to 8 monitors, keyboards and mice. Each terminal allows independent simultaneous logons. The operating system is Linux based and uses only free and open source software (hereinafter referred to as FOSS). Since this project has three vastly different, but equally important main tasks that needed to be researched, tested, and built this report is split into three main sections. First is solar power system design, second is power management, and third is Multi seat hardware and software. Each section will address the research, design issues, testing, and conclusions that were found. The last section will deal with system integration and project findings and conclusions. Since we did not deal with the telecommunications issues these will not be addressed in this report. Acknowledgement
We would like to thank our sponsor, Lenovo, for their help in making this project a success. We also would like to thank our team members in the Telecommunications department as well as the faculty and students working with us at the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Also we would like to thank LEM and Man vs. Machine for their donations and samples. Their engineers and salespeople were very helpful in guiding us in the right direction. This project would not have been possible without the help of our facilitator Dr. Jian Ren. Also we would like to thank Dr. Goodman for helping keep us on track and helping us plan our deployment of this project in Tanzania. 
Figure 1 - Power system block diagram. Directory: classes -> ece480 -> capstone classes -> Unit 1: Exploration and Colonization classes -> Ap united States History Course Description classes -> Industrial Revolution classes -> 1–xx. The Redevelopment of a Warm Core Structure in Erin: a case of Inland Tropical Storm Formation classes -> Unit 7 Notes Organizer: C. Increasing Influences and Challenges); D. Challenges at Home & Abroad The United States in a Changing World (wwi) classes -> Unit 1: Colonial America (Twelve Days) Standard 1-2 Unit 2: Revolution (Ten Days) classes -> Review of Chapters 1-3, 8, and the appendix classes -> Seasonal Influences upon and Long-Term Trends in the Length of the Atlantic Hurricane Season capstone -> Configuring a Computer and Android Device for Android Development and Hardware Testing capstone -> Sponsor: Texas Instruments Ram Sathappan Download 4.42 Mb. Share with your friends:
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