Introduction

Project

This project is an industry collaboration between the Fanshawe College Electrical Engineering Technology Program and Southwest London Youth Baseball (SWLYB). The project team members are Justin Vaughan, James Schmelzer, Thomas Walden and Justin Roozen. The technical advisor for the project is Louis Jraige, EIT, CET.

Purpose

This report will cover the project methodology, project management and lessons learned throughout this endeavor.

Technical Purpose and Problems

SWLYB requested a weather resistant, portable scoreboard that can display scorekeeping information (inning, score, balls, strikes, and outs) for youth baseball games. It is controlled either manually or with a wireless device. In addition, the system contains speakers with a microphone that may be used for announcements and sound effects. Finally, the enclosure provides space for advertisement at the customer’s discretion. The Scoreboard enclosure is constructed out of 14-gauge steel and painted to prevent rust. The display area is a grade-A surface made of Lexan with a decal applied (Figure 1). An Arduino UNO microcontroller controls the display either by accepting communications from a Raspberry Pi and/or from input buttons inside the control console (Figures 2 and 3). The Raspberry Pi is configured as a router, and a wireless device is connected to it to allow for wireless control. Finally, the wireless device is able to perform announcements or play sounds at the customer’s discretion.

Abstract

This report is broken up into several sections outlining the process of designing and constructing the portable scoreboard from start to finish. The sections are as follows:

· Methodology

· Project Management

· Recommendations and Lessons Learned

· Conclusion

The methodology section covers all the project phases, as well as individual contributions from all the team members. The project management section contains information about the Gantt chart, budget, EVA, and risk matrix. The recommendations and lessons learned section includes lessons learned for both the team as a whole, and individual team members, as well as recommendations for future versions. Lastly, the conclusion contains the assessment of project success, and the final status of the project.

Design and Function

The scoreboard was designed to be moved by at least two average human adults and transported within a standard motor vehicle (Figure 4). The dimensions of the final enclosure are 40.25“x 32”x 7.25” (l x w x d), excluding the handles. The final weight of the project is 118lbs. Handles are provided on the short side for ease of transport. The overall current draw of the system is 4 Amps with both USB ports charging smart phones and all LED displays on. The scoreboard can be controlled with a wireless device or using physical switches. The wireless device can be used for scorekeeping, announcements and sound effects. Manual control is provided within the control console using five switches. These switches correspond to the inning, score, balls, strikes, and outs. Additionally, two buttons are used to increase and decrease the selected variable(s). For additional details on the operation of the scoreboard, please see the operations manual.