1. Lisgar Weather Station ● Welcome ● Background ● Description ● Student Work ● Summary

2. Engineering ● Application of scientific and mathematical principles ● Identify an engineer – B.A.Sc. e.g. www.eng.uwaterloo.ca – Registered www.peo.ca – Iron Ring www.ironring.ca

3. Engineer In Residence ● PEO outreach program ● Match engineers with schools www.eir.ca ● Bridge the gap that can exist between the real world and classroom theory ● Teacher & EIR are volunteers

4. Background ● Derrick Oswald DerrickOswald@rogers.com ● Engineer 25 years ● Develop software for Autodesk www.autodesk.com ● Daughters in Grade 11 at Lisgar and Grade 6 at Knoxdale PS ● Active on School Council for 8 years

5. The Weather Station Project ● Solar powered sensor unit with radio link to a laptop based data collecting station in the classroom ● Summative project for Weather strand of Grade 10 science ● Budget < $1000

6. Power ● Retail solar panel ● Short winter days are a challenge (1 Watt req.) ● Surplus lead-acid batteries ● Canadian Tire www.canadiantire.ca 5 Watts @ 12 Volts #11-1881-0$69.99

7. Microcontroller ● BasicX-24 www.basicx.com ● 16 digital 8 analog I/O ● Serial communication ● 32K EEPROM ● RobotShop www.robotshop.ca development system RB-Net-04 $143.99

8. Telemetry ● Low power FM modules ● Concrete floors & metal roofs are a challenge ● Abacom www.abacom-tech.com RTF3 & RRF1 $54.50

9. Instruments ● Anemometer ● Barometer ● Thermometer ● Precipitation Gauge ● Hygrometer ● Photometer

10. Design ● 4 or 5 groups ● 3 or 4 instruments ea. = 2 groups/instrument ● Generate valid alternative designs ● Goal – understanding scientific principals ● Design competition?

11. Evaluate ● Compare designs pair wise against a set of criteria ● Quantify “quality” ● Choose “best” design for each instrument ● Examine hybrid designs (best of both) ● Robustness is the key

12. Construct ● Order parts ● Construct components ● Assemble instrument ● Test ● Iterate design ● Integrate with microcontroller

13. Calibrate ● Experimental design ● Setup ● Measurement ● Error analysis ● Iterate design ● Report ● Aging (burn in)

14. Install ● Mechanical fitting ● Electrical fitting ● Integration with other components ● Mount on roof ● Acceptance test

15. Monitor ● Data collection ● Analysis ● Comparison with published meteorological data ● Web interface? ● Electronic bulletin board interface?

16. Summary ● Lisgar Weather Station project http://lisgar.net/weatherstation ● Sponsored by PEO Engineer in Residence ● Comprising six student built instruments ● Grade 10 science summative ● One to two year lifespan ● ~$1000 ● Asking for permission and matching funds