Specifications

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7.5 Display Testing
Testing the display will have to be done towards the end of the project. To test the time
until empty we will hook it up directly to the battery and see if we add a light bulb of a
known usage. For example a 60 W light bulb, we will use this to see if it is calculating
power consumption correctly. It is important that the display shows that the system is
using 60 watts of power. Then we will use that to calculate a time until empty and see if
our predicted time matches our actual time. We will do this over and over and tweak the
system such that we get the most accurate value possible. Then we will use 2 light
bulbs and see if it is using 120 watts and so on until we get to a point that anything we
do to the system is easily predicted. We will then test to see if we are charging the
battery if the light will go on that means the system is storing energy. This will simulate
the power coming into the system and show that power is being saved in the system.
We will also need to test the buttons to see if they scroll through the different items we
will be incorporating in the menu.
Most of the testing for the display will be done in software before it is even implemented
into the system. Once all the bugs are worked out in software we will then put it into a
working system where we have tested the parts that we will be using to send messages
to the display. These messages will tell the user the fault codes associated with the
system as well as information that pertains to the system. By using a multimeter we will
measure the voltage in the battery and compare it to what is displayed on the screen.
The temperature sensor that we are using will be built into the MSP430, which has been
tested by Texas Instruments and will not require extensive testing. We will also have to
simulate failures, which must set off the codes that tell the user if something is wrong
with the system.
8 Administrative Details
8.1 Milestones
The general schedule is to complete all research and design during the Fall 2011
semester of Senior Design 1 and to complete all assembly and testing during the Spring
2012 semester of Senior Design 2. We decided to break the process into 4 major steps:
Research, Design, Assembly, and Testing. Within each of these steps, the process was
further divided into 10 sub-steps. To see the detailed breakdown of the tentative
deadlines for the different major components that are included in the system, see the
figure below.