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Smart Mats

Smart Mats
Person Counting Device
Smart Mats is a technology that was created to monitor foot traffic in and out of Hackberry Labs. The mats can detect when a person is standing on them and whether the person is entering or exiting the space. Data from the mats was collected over a seven day period and compiled to allow visual depictions of lab activity. Results from this study were used to advocate for and obtain funding for additional lab assistants. Additionally, the visualizations can be used to assist stakeholders in making policy decisions such as employee hours and classroom guidelines.
This project was created in partnership between Haikal Cooper and Jessica Herring. 
Phenomenon:

Hackberry Lab is a makerspace at Berry College that is open to use for all students, faculty, and staff. Open lab hours are Monday - Friday from 6 - 11:30pm. There are about 3-4 lab assistants scheduled per night but there are often times when more lab assistants are needed and times when less lab assistants are needed based off the number of people that are in the lab. This study was designed to capture the number of people that come to Hackberry Lab throughout the day and during open lab hours to determine patterns on lab activity that can ultimately help redistribute the number of lab assistants per night and/or allow Berry to hire more lab assistants in general.
Conclusions:
What day(s) have the highest number of visits to Hackberry Lab during open lab hours?
We defined a visit to be someone entering the lab. While it does not specify unique visitors, it is useful in determining an overall estimate of how busy the lab was. Through this chart, it appears that Friday was the busiest with 174 visits. This is probably due to the fact that there was a Hackathon that night. The next busiest night is Wednesday with 139 visits, followed by Thursday with 129 visits. Alternatively, Tuesday had a much smaller number of visits totaling to 78 visits and Monday has the lowest with 60 visits.

What is the lab assistant to student ratio per hour?
Monday maintained the lowest lab assistant to student ratio. Friday averaged the highest lab assistant to student ratio. This can be attributed to the Hackathon that was held on Friday. There were only 4 lab assistants working, but there was a large increase in overall visits to the lab. However, this doesn't necessarily imply a need for more lab assistants on Fridays. Many people who contribute in the Hackathon work independently for the majority of the four hours. Additionally, there are many people who come to watch the presentations, therefore they're not interacting with the lab assistants at all.

Furthermore, we see that the lab assistant to student ratio is much greater from 8 pm -11 pm than it is from 6 pm - 7pm. If fewer lab assistants worked the first two hours, more could work the last four hours, providing a more balanced ratio.
Should there be open lab hours on the weekends?
It would not make sense to host traditional open lab hours (6pm -12 am) on Saturdays. This data shows that the max number of visits during this time period is 2. Rather though, visits seem to peek around 1 pm. If lab assistants were to work on Saturdays, it would make sense to shift open lab hours to around 11am - 5 pm with 1-2 lab assistants. However, even during this time period, the max number of visits is 10. This much lower than what is typically seen on a weeknight and initially does not make sense to have open lab hours during this time. 

Similar to Saturday, it would not make sense to host traditional open lab hours (6pm - 12am) on Sundays. Unlike Saturday, the max number of visits to the lab occurs at 8 pm. However, the maximum number of visits is also 10, meaning there is not a direct need for lab assistants. If there was an opportunity to have open lab hours, the optimal time would be from 6-10pm with 1-2 lab assistants.
How many students show up late to class?
This chart represents the number of people late to class per class period. CRT 101 had the maximum number of late people on Monday, with 7 people late. CRT 399 had the highest average number of late people, with an average of 5.5 people per day. CSC 103 had the lowest average number of late people, with an average of 2 people per day.
This chart represents the total sum of late people throughout the week. CRT 399 had the maximum number of tardies across all classes, with 11 people late across two class periods. CSC 103 had the minimum number of tardies across all classes, with 4 people late across two class periods.
How many people stayed in the lab after open lab hours each night?
This chart represents the number of people who stayed in the lab, despite open lab hours being over. Monday had the highest amount of people left over, with about 40 entries of people exiting in the lab. Monday was the day before Thanksgiving break, therefore many people stayed late trying to finish work up. Friday had the least amount of people left over, with 0 people left in the lab after hours. Friday was a Hackathon so many people left soon after presentations.
Mats:
The mats consisted of standard door mats and clear vinyl tubing. The tubing was attached to the bottom of the mats. Once a person stepped on them, the air pressure in the tube changes, signaling the air pressure sensor.
PCB:
The PCB houses an ESP32, two barometric air pressure sensors, and two status LEDs. Two PCBs were developed, one for the front door and the other for the back.
Enclosure:
This enclosure was designed in Fusion 360 and later 3D printed. It housed the PCB and worked to protect it from potential damages.
Kiosk:
A kiosk was designed in Fusion 360 and laser cut onto plywood. This was used during presentations to display the data visualizations. 
Interface of webpage
Smart Mats
Published: