CAREER EPISODE 2

A. INTRODUCTION
CE 2.1
The details mentioned below is the work performed in the project named “Earthquake Monitoring
and Warning System”. I undertook this work being a student of Bachelor in Electrical and
Electronics engineering from American international university in Bangladesh. This work was
continued from ………to ………………..
B. BACKGROUND
CE 2.2
One of the catastrophic and disastrous natural events could be considered to be the earthquake. If
we think about the warning received before the earthquake comes is hardly half a minute or a
minute which mostly depends on the residing of the epic centre. Therefore this project is mainly
focused on designing the system capable of monitoring the earthquake and generating the warning
signal for taking the necessary preventive measures. This project is aimed to save the human lives
as well as store the data used by the professionals for later use. In this project, a control system
based on LabVIEW is developed getting collaborated with the MEMS accelerometer sensor with
the microcontroller of the Arduino module within the ZigBee wireless network. And for alerting
the people, I have used the VAS capabilities which would also control the machine. This project
mainly provides the alarm as soon as the sensor detects the P-wave.
CE 2.3
In order to perform the project work within the time frame, it becomes a useful part to define the
deliverables of the overall project so that their achievement would help to achieve the overall goal.
Here, I have listed the deliverables defined for this project.
 To design the control system based on LabVIEW software using sensors and
microcontroller.
 To design the alerting feature using the VAS capability.
 To develop code for CSV files creation for the safety of the data of the professionals.
CE 2.4
This project work was the group work performed between five people. I was there working for the
development of the system capable of monitoring and alerting about the earthquake. There, I was
involved in selecting the components for the system design and connecting them properly in the
LabVIEW. Also, I was involved in getting the data and analyzing the working of the developed
system properly.
CE 2.5
In order to perform the project work properly, it becomes important to follow the rules of the
organization where the project execution takes place. I followed the below-given hierarchy during
the project work.

Fig: Organizational Chart

CE 2.6
In order to get the system capable of providing precise details regarding the earthquake occurrence,
I performed the following tasks accurately.
 To develop the flow chart of the overall project employing the transmitting and the
receiving end.
 To connect the sensors to the microcontroller of the Arduino board.
 To connect the LCD module in the circuit for displaying different messages regarding the
magnitude of the earthquake level.
 To use the RGB led for different color display.
 To select the data from the serial read buffer.
C. PERSONAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITY
CE 2.7
I went through the detailed research upon the earthquake and the waves produced from it by
collecting the articles and research papers published on the internet. More, I studied the
characteristics of the P-wave generated during the earthquake. In addition to that, I researched the
XBee radios and the GSM modem working as well as their features as required for the project.
Additionally, I gathered information regarding the piezoelectric and accelerometer sensor that
would provide the data for sensing the earthquake occurring signals. And along with all these, I
studied in detail about the Arduino and LabVIEW software for wireless connectivity and the
controlling actions.
CE 2.8
While working for the project, I employed the knowledge of electronics components for the proper
selection of the components for the system design. More, I used my skills regarding the application
software to save the data when the earthquake warning is received. Also, I used the ideas regarding
the wireless connectivity to start the wireless communication between the transmitting and the
receiving end. More, I properly carried out the circuit connection work of the overall circuit
components. Additionally, I followed the standard like ISO 900:2015 for the use of the XBEE
model in the design. And also, I followed the code of conduct of the college during the project
tenure.
CE 2.9
 I developed the flow chart of the entire work where the overall work was divided into two
parts i.e. transmitting end and the receiving end. In the receiving end, I placed the different
sensors node where there was an XBEE router, Arduino UNO. ADXL 345 (Digital
Accelerometer), battery and the piezoelectric sensors, and the XBee coordinator section
that consists of laptop having LabVIEW software, GSM modem, Arduino mega 2560 and
12V DC adapter. Then, in the receiving end, I used the Arduino board, GSM modem, push
button, LCD, servo motor, RGB LED, battery and adapter. I have shown the developed
flow chart below in the given figure.
 Fig: Flow Chart of the Project
 Thereafter, I headed toward the circuit connection using all the components. There in the
transmitting end, I used the two sensors i.e. piezoelectric sensor and digital accelerometer
sensor. I connected the piezoelectric sensor for triggering the node for transmission of data
at the time of the earthquake. I connected the sensors to the microcontroller of the Arduino
board for the data handling. And then, I connected the Arduino to the XBee series-2 radio
for the transmission of the data to the coordinator.
 There, I set up the packet to send the node name and the data of the sensor. Then, I
connected the Arduino to the laptop using the RS232 for providing the serial
communication for the storage of the data received from the sensor in the laptop. And also,
I connected the GSM modem to the XBee module for the purpose of proving the warning
through the SMS alert after the analysis performed by the LabVIEW software.
 Thereafter in the receiving end, I connected the servo motor i.e. toll control to the Arduino
board so that the switch off would be performed as soon as the warning SMS is received.
 I proposed to install it at the toll of the bridge. Thereafter, I connected the 16*2 LCD
modules to the XBee module in order to display the different messages based on the
different Richter magnitude scale.
 There, I used the RGB LED to display different colors for different magnitudes connected
to the Arduino along with the buzzer for providing the alert the people from crossing the
bridge. Next, I connected the sonar sensor for determining any obstacle under the toll with
the help of the measurement of the distance which when gets decreased would stop the toll
from taking the input from the user and would get halted. And for the controlling of the
toll, I used the push button connected there with the XBee module which would stop the
toll from processing.
 In the LabVIEW software, I created the four tabs i.e. tab for digital accelerometer, for the
piezoelectric sensor, for resultant accelerometer, and for the GSM SMS mode. There, I
generated the graph selecting the data from the serial read buffer. I have plotted the graph
for the situation when the ground shakes and both the router sends the data.

Fig: Digital Accelerometer Tab

 Then, in the resultant acceleration tab, I collected the data from the read buffer for X and
Y as the P-wave would be detected on the XY plane. Then, I fed the data to the equation
M=(x2+y2)(1/2) which was used to plot the graph as below where the matching of the data
reading glowed the matching LED on as shown below.
 Fig: Resultant Acceleration Tab
 Similarly, I selected the data for the piezoelectric sensor and analyzed the graph and also
viewed the SMS tab working which was to handle the SMS sending. Thereafter, I pressed
the run button in the LabVIEW project and found that the CSV (comma-separated file) file
was created at the specified laptop’s location. Also, I collaborated the LabVIEW software
with Microsoft Excel in order to save the data without consuming more time. Here, I have
attached the results received for the different magnitude of the earthquake along with the
glowing of the LED bulb.

Fig: Results Received

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
CE 2.10
 Initially, I used three different LEDs for the indication of different magnitudes level of the
earthquake but their use made the connection of the circuit more complex, and more
voltage level was required. To eliminate the issue and make the circuit connection simpler,
 I used an RGB LED along with three different resistors of 470 ohms that provided the red
color, green and blue color through single led for different magnitudes.
 After the connection of the GSM module to the Arduino board, I got the GSM module was
not working. While checking for the issue, I got the GSM module was not working for 5
V supply provided by the Arduino. To resolve the issue, I connected the 12V DC adaptor
to get the power supply for the proper working of the GSM module.
CREATIVE WORK
CE 2.11
I used the potentiometer between the microcontroller and the LCD display rather than going for
the direct connection. I connected it in order to adjust the contrast of the LCD display as per the
requirement that would provide the saving of energy in the circuit.
CE 2.12
To accomplish the project work more effectively and within the time frame, I made sure there
would become no communication issue between the teammates as well as with the project head.
More, I coordinated with the project head organizing several meetings with them regarding the
progress of the project and the issues encountered during the work. Moreover, I recorded the daily
work performed at the lab which later helped in preparing the overall report. Along with that, I
presented the project work in front of the superiors making a presentation.
D. SUMMARY
CE 2.13
All in all, in this project the system was developed successfully capable of monitoring the
earthquake and providing the alert signal for the safety of the human as well as data in case of
administrative work. Also in the near future, it could be enhanced to upload the data in the cloud
in just a few seconds.
I properly worked to develop the control system based on the LabVIEW. More, I was capable to
achieve the creation of the CSV file for the safety of the data.
During this project, I got more knowledge regarding the signal generated and their inspection
during the occurrence of an earthquake. More, I enhanced my software skills as well as my
knowledge regarding the use of the electronic components for the design of the embedded system.
Along with all these, I got to learn how to implement the theoretical understanding into performing
the practical work.