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What?
How?
Results : Control = door control
The objective of this project was to build a custom, full-stack DAQ system with environment sensors, a robust 3-D enclosure, Emended hardware, remote broker/server, and LabVIEW software for processing, logic, and GUI display. The experiments and design choices were done in order to ensure reliability and robustness in the Data Acquisition System
Created protective enclosing using SolidWorks
The hardware consisted of a WeMos Arduino, and a 10KOhm resistor to enable the Photocell and DHT4 temperature sensor
Designed the telemetry GUI using LabVIEW according to specifications
Built for wireless retrieval of data using broker and publisher-subscriber method
Surprisingly, door open scenario had the highest temperature for the longest time.
The two fan trials had equal or lower maximum temperatures than both of the control groups
Fan trial 2 only increased around 3 degrees while Control increased 9 degrees.
A general trend of remaining constant then a sharp increase, followed by a gradual decrease
Control 1 group, where it started at the minimum value of around32% and rose sharply to a max of 91%, which is an increase of about 185%.
This project used a sensor that measured the humidity and temperature of a room while the shower was on. Three different possibilities were tested and collected its data. The first being fan off and door closed, second fan on, and third, door open. Engineers needed to combine their skills to complete endeavour
Electrical Design
Mechanical
Software
Design 2 Final Report.pdfI was heavily involved in the development of the GUI using LabVIEW and oversaw the entire project.
Comparing temperatures and the GUI taking in values
Design 2 Final Presentaion.pptxWe were given a baseline Arduino code called DigitalSensonBaselineV4.zip which was compiled and uploaded to the WeMos microcontroller. The team was able to visualize this in Arduino by opening the serial monitor feature in Arduino through the tools bar
Publishing Data From an Internet of Things Sensor System (WeMos)
and Subscribing to that Data in LabVIEW
Wireless Sensor Networks: Multiple sensors distributed spatially or sensing data at various sampling rates (distributed temporally) AND displays, controllers, monitors, etc which are connected by a communication network
Example: Devices at home are getting connected to each other and to you quite quickly with the so-called, “Internet of Things” (IoT)
This is the general diagram of how this system works. The environment is measured using the temperature and humidity sensors, that data gets fed into the WeMos microcontroller by Arduino programming.
We used a publisher-subscriber architecture for the DAQ system. The WeMos board collected environmental data from onboard sensors and published that data wirelessly to a remote broker server. The LabVIEW application then subscribed to that server and retrieved the data as it was published. That data was used to drive real-time displays, calculate max/min/average values, and visualize environmental changes over time. I handled the LabVIEW subscriber integration and the electrical design, ensuring reliable data flow from sensor to screen
Our system was originally designed to use real-time wireless data transfer via a broker server hosted by the university. But due to the pandemic, we couldn’t access that server remotely. So we adapted the workflow: I collected sensor data locally using the WeMos board and saved it to CSV files. Then I built a LabVIEW GUI that could load and simulate those datasets for analysis — preserving all the DAQ logic and signal processing despite the remote setup
Progress Reports
Week 8 progress report
Justin Cheng, David Iofee, David Valle-Montesdeoca
Assembling circuitry for the photocell, humidity sensor , and setting up the Arduino program. The group got random temperature, light, and humidity data to test if software and circuit components were working and they did. One of the group members were figuring out how to get the appropriate LabVIEW licensing in order to continue with the programming for the sensor. Another groupmate found a google sketchup file for the design of the outer sensor. Overall, it was a productive session and the students got a lot of feedback from the professor
Week 9 Porgress Report
Justin Cheng, David Iofee, David Valle-Montesdeoca
The group set up the circuit and had the Arduino program fully working. There was some issues with it but the group found a way around it. I figured out how to get the license from LabVIEW and began researching for LabVIEW techniques to implement in the project. The mechanical device will be discussed with David Ioffee about it being a better idea designing it in Solidworks. As of now Justin began the 3 day data set in his basement. Experiments will be ran in the following week. If we are missing anything, please let up know.
Week 10 Progress Report
Justin Cheng, David Iofee, David Valle-Montesdeoca
Today as a group we got a lot of work done. We got the shape down and have the openings. We need to figure out how the two halves will be held together and then our model is wonderful.
The 3 day data set was uploaded. An idea for an experiment could be placing the senor in the bathroom to track temperature and humidity during showers. We can explore the effect of having a fan on while showering, a window or even a door open etc. These variables can affect the time it takes for the temperature and/or humidity to return to normal levels, as well as just observing the humidity and temperature values during a shower.
For the GUI, it sounded like it would be ideal to have a max T, Min T, a live T and a mode T. The live T will let us know the activity of the experiment instantly, and the mode will tell us how the experiment is behaving most of the time. I think that will be ideal to test the performance of the sensor aswell as having an accurate representation of how the experiment works. I do not know how the photocell can differentiate between ambient light and natural light, but seems obvious how it would differentiate between covered of light going through. For the mechanical design, the team is thinking about changing our design to an egg or Easter egg. AN Easter egg can serve as decoration. The team has also been thinking about performing an experiment to test the behavior of the inside and outside a refrigerator, and comparing that to an AC. Then, it would be favorable to have the mechanical design be an egg.
Week 10
Today we finished the solid works for our project. We figured out a way to close it and yet still be able to open it.
Shower experiment: Temperature, humidity and light data will be collected starting at least 10 minutes before the start of shower and 1 hour after end of shower. This will give ample time to see the changes in the bathroom data. The temperature of the water and length of shower will be kept as close to the same for all trials. Variables that will be tested are the fan, window and door being open/on when showering and its effect throughout the cooling down process. With each trial, the maximum temperature and the time it takes for the bathroom to cool down will be recorded.
GUI:
Still working on it, what I have from the gui was shown to the professor
Impact
I led the electrical design and integration of a custom data acquisition (DAQ) system using environmental sensors and a WeMos microcontroller. While baseline firmware was provided to publish sensor data wirelessly, I designed and built the sensor interface electronics and ensured seamless communication with the microcontroller. I then developed the LabVIEW software to process and visualize temperature, humidity, and light data, implementing robust logic for real-time monitoring and analysis.
Lessons learned
1. Learning on the Job
Before this project, I had never used LabVIEW and had limited experience with DAQ systems. I knew basic electronics and how to wire sensors to microcontrollers, but I had to learn fast — from signal flow to integrating software with hardware. By the end, I understood how to design and implement a full DAQ system and gained confidence in my ability to learn new technical skills under pressure.
2. Project Management & Team Leadership
This was the first time I led a team through the full design process. I assessed each team member’s strengths and weaknesses — one teammate was a mechanical engineer with strong SolidWorks skills, while I focused on electrical design, LabVIEW development, and team coordination. I also delegated testing and requirements definition to another teammate. Although the mechanical engineer wasn't the most collaborative, I gave him space to own the mechanical design and documentation. Looking back, I could’ve balanced the workload more, but I genuinely enjoyed the late nights building the system and leading the effort.
3. Leveraging Expertise and Mentorship
A major lesson was knowing when to seek help. I actively consulted our professor, a LabVIEW expert, and his insights helped me improve the system’s robustness and reliability. I also did my own research and found ways to improve our software design. That experience taught me how valuable subject matter experts can be — and that reaching out for guidance is part of good engineering.
Final takeways from results
As part of a remote design project, I led the electrical and software integration of a custom data acquisition (DAQ) system to monitor environmental changes in temperature, humidity, and light. I designed the sensor electronics, integrated them with a WeMos microcontroller, and developed a LabVIEW interface to process and visualize the data. Although the system was originally designed to wirelessly publish data to a university server, pandemic restrictions required us to adapt by saving sensor data locally to CSV files and simulating real-time analysis through LabVIEW. I implemented logic for live min/max tracking, average calculations, threshold detection, and time-stamped visualization, enabling detailed environmental analysis in an offline setup.
Our experimental results validated the robustness and reliability of the system. The DAQ captured expected trends—such as sharp humidity increases during showers and gradual temperature changes across different ventilation conditions—and responded predictably across all trials. The system was sensitive enough to detect subtle variations like heat buildup before the shower began, and it demonstrated consistent performance over multi-day and short-term testing scenarios. Overall, this project taught me how to build and adapt a full-stack DAQ system, how to design for robustness in real-world conditions, and how to lead a team through the challenges of remote hardware development.
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