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Alex Strandberg

Software Engineer at Meta

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Maker Projects

Created Raspberry Pi and Arduino projects, including a Home Automation System and a Piggy Bank.

Internet of Pi Home Automation System - Alex Strandberg

  • A video showing my Raspberry Pi-powered home automation system that uses a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino Mega, along with other components to control appliances in a room from an iOS app and act as an alarm clock.
  • Four PowerSwitch Tails turn appliances in a room on or off.
  • The signals to control the PowerSwitch Tails are sent over 3.5mm audio cables.
  • The appliances are turned on or off manually or based on a schedule or external sensors.
  • For example, when the room is too warm, a fan can be configured to turn on.
  • When a person enters the room, a light can be configured to turn on.
  • The RGB LED Matrix shuts off when the room is dark.
  • A reed switch and foot switch notify when a door is opened and when a person leaves the room, respectively.
  • A Pimoroni Display-O-Tron HAT connected to the Raspberry Pi allows the user to manually control appliances and interact with the system.
  • The system acts as an alarm clock by playing music at a scheduled time to wake up the user.
  • The code and documentation for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Internet-of-Pi-Home-Automation-System

Electronics Power Management System - Alex Strandberg

  • Components: Raspberry Pi, a 12V 5A Power Supply, a 4-Channel Relay Board, a PowerSwitch Tail, and an MCP23017 I2C Port Expander
  • Controls up to 4 12V DC appliances such as network switches and USB hubs with a web interface and physical buttons.
  • The Raspberry Pi is powered by a separate 5V power supply.
  • A web server with MySQL and PHP runs on the Raspberry Pi. The I2C Port Expander handles button inputs, LED outputs, and relay states.
  • The 4 Channel Relay Board closes or opens the circuit for each appliance to turn the appliance on or off.
  • The PowerSwitch Tail turns the 12V power supply for the appliances on or off. It is also controlled by a hardware button and the web interface.
  • By either pressing a physical button or a button on the web interface, appliances can be turned on or off.
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Electronics-Power-Management-System

Arduino Alarm Clock - Alex Strandberg

  • An alarm clock made using an Arduino Mega, a 7-segment and a 14-segment LED Matrix, a Chronodot Real Time Clock, a VS1053 MP3 Player Breakout,
  • a MCP9808 Temperature Sensor, Adafruit's EZ-Link Bluetooth Module, and USB-powered speakers.
  • It displays and says the current time, temperature, and date and plays an MP3 file from an SD Card when an alarm goes off.
  • The Alarm Clock's settings can be changed using a Java program that communicates with the Arduino via Bluetooth.
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Arduino-Alarm-Clock

Raspberry Pi Piggy Bank with Coin Sorter - Alex Strandberg

  • A piggy bank and coin sorter made using a Raspberry Pi, an Arduino, Lego Mindstorms NXT, a coin acceptor, Adafruit's LCD Plate, and a fingerprint sensor.
  • It counts, sorts, and stores coins.
  • The Arduino is connected to the Raspberry Pi via a USB hub; it communicates with the fingerprint sensor and detects what kind of coin is inserted.
  • A Python script outputs information to the LCD display and stores data in a text file.
  • This project was featured in the January 2016 edition of The MagPi, the official magazine of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. (Page 74)
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Raspberry-Pi-Piggy-Bank-with-Coin-Sorter

Raspberry Pi Security System - Alex Strandberg

  • A security system made by using a Raspberry Pi, an Arduino, a Pi Camera, a reed switch, an RFID reader, and a servo.
  • It monitors my room and records video if an intruder is detected.
  • The Arduino is connected to the Raspberry Pi via a USB hub; it sends a serial message when the door is opened while the system is activated.
  • A PHP webpage displays the latest video taken when an intruder has been detected.
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Raspberry-Pi-Security-System

Raspberry Pi Printer of Knowledge - Alex Strandberg

  • A Raspberry Pi controls a thermal printer to output information from the Internet, Sudoku puzzles, and the Linux "fortune" program.
  • The Raspberry Pi can be powered by a rechargeable battery pack. It is connected to the Internet using a Wi-Fi dongle. There are 6 LEDs and buttons.
  • The printer can print the weather, word of the day, Bible verse of the day, and Today in History from the Internet.
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Raspberry-Pi-Printer-of-Knowledge

Arduino Wireless Temperature Data Logger - Alex Strandberg

  • A data logger that logs the temperature wirelessly using an Arduino Uno and an Arduino Mega.
  • It can display the temperature and log to a microSD card or to the computer.
  • A thermistor is used to determine the temperature and can be connected to either the transmitter or the receiver.
  • There is a pair of RF Link Transmitters and Receivers, which can communicate at a distance of up to 500ft (in certain conditions).
  • When logging to the microSD card, it creates a .CSV file that can be used to generate a graph of the change in temperature over a period of time.
  • When logging to the computer, a Python code runs in the background, communicating with a local web server with a MySQL database.
  • I then can view the temperature from anywhere on my local network.
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Arduino-Wireless-Temperature-Data-Logger

Arduino RGB LED Chaser - Alex Strandberg

  • A RGB LED chaser I built using an Arduino Uno.
  • There are ten multicolored lights that turn on and off with five different effects.
  • Pressing a button changes the effect.
  • A potentiometer can be adjusted to change the speed of the LEDs.
  • Four shift registers control the LEDs.
  • A Schmitt trigger regulates the button's input to the Arduino.
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Arduino-RGB-LED-Chaser

Arduino Safe - Alex Strandberg

  • A safe I built using an Arduino Uno and an Arduino Mega.
  • When the correct password is entered on the keypad outside the safe, the servo motor inside moves and the safe is unlocked.
  • A RF transmitter and a RF receiver are used to communicate between the two Arduinos.
  • The entered password is sent over RF.
  • An RGB LED is on the outside of the safe to indicate the status.
  • Each time the safe is locked or unlocked, or when a password is changed or entered incorrectly, it is logged on a microSD card in a microSD breakout board connected to the Arduino Mega.
  • Every time the safe is turned on, the current date and time is sent over serial to the Arduino in order for the datalogging to work.
  • The code and other resources for this project are available at: https://github.com/alexstrandberg/Arduino-Safe

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