ECE 477 Digital Systems Senior Design Project Rev 8/09 s8

ECE 477 Digital Systems Senior Design Project Rev 4/11 Homework 12: Environmental Impact Lifecycle Analysis and Ethical Challenges

Team Code Name: ______Home Enhancement Suite______Group No. __10__ Team Member Completing This Homework: ______Daniel Sabo______E-mail Address of Team Member: __dsabo____ @ purdue.edu Evaluation:

SCORE DESCRIPTION Excellent – among the best papers submitted for this assignment. Very few 10 corrections needed for version submitted in Final Report. Very good – all requirements aptly met. Minor additions/corrections needed for 9 version submitted in Final Report. Good – all requirements considered and addressed. Several noteworthy 8 additions/corrections needed for version submitted in Final Report. Average – all requirements basically met, but some revisions in content should 7 be made for the version submitted in the Final Report. Marginal – all requirements met at a nominal level. Significant revisions in 6 content should be made for the version submitted in the Final Report. Below the passing threshold – major revisions required to meet report * requirements at a nominal level. Revise and resubmit. * Resubmissions are due within one week of the date of return, and will be awarded a score of “6” provided all report requirements have been met at a nominal level.

Comments: ECE 477 Digital Systems Senior Design Project Rev 8/09

1.0 Introduction

The Home Enhancement Suite is a device that is integrated into a user’s home to create a more streamlined and customized living experience. This however creates several challenging environmental and ethical concerns throughout the course of its life cycle. From the manufacturing of the printed circuit boards and integrated circuits, to the device’s daily power consumption, and eventually to the proper disposal of its many non-biodegradable parts, the Home Enhancement Suite can create a noticeable impact on the environment. Product safety and security is also extremely important, as the user trusts the device with control of both an electronic door lock as well as lighting levels, both of which can lead to devastating outcomes if handled incorrectly. All these concerns must be properly analyzed and minimized to create the efficient, secure product it is designed to be.

2.0 Environmental Impact Analysis

There are several environmental issues during the manufacturing process of the Home Enhancement Suite. Pollutants are released into both the air and the water during production. Copper is often released into wastewater, and there are many other pollutants released into the air from board preparation processes [1]. Thankfully, many manufacturers implement methods to clean the water and air from pollutants [1]. The first major step to creating a more environmentally clean product is to ensure all Home Enhancement Suite devices are produced from as clean of a production facility as possible. An efficient printed circuit board design is also extremely important, for not only will a better design improve other areas of the device, but it will require less space, creating less waste in the manufacturing process. The chassis for the current design of the device is over twice as large as is actually needed due to early calculations. In order to waste as little material as possible when manufacturing this product, a much smaller packaging can replace the current prototype, saving not only material but costs as well. The only major concern during normal usage of the device is power consumption. The two RFID readers are each powered by two AA batteries, adding up to a total of about 10W. The main device operates at a maximum of .5A at 5V, using a total of about 25W. However this is not the only major concern, as the devices that are product is interfaced with, and how

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much power they consume, is entirely dependent on the user. Creating an environment where swiping a card is easier than manually adjusting electronics can create a large amount of unnecessary power consumption. A standard TV with HDMI will use about 150W, along with another 30W for the computer and lighting [2]. To help prevent this situation, the user manual will come with a few environmentally friendly suggestions for setting values and warnings. Being an electronic device, there are several components of the Home Enhancement Suite that cannot be disposed in a regular landfill. Many parts are non-biodegradable, but can be recycled and reused. The best method to ensure proper disposal would include a program to either handle all recycling of the device, or include some compensation or deposit to provide incentive for the user to return it. This is especially important for the PCB, as not only do PCBs contain lead, but there are many metals that are quite valuable that can be recycled. Most PCBs have quantities of copper, gold, silver, iron, platinum, and aluminum, all of which have endless uses if recycled [3].

3.0 Ethical Challenges

There are two main ethical challenges the Home Enhancement Suite must address, those being security and the safety of the user. The device has access to an electronic door lock to create easy access to the user’s home, and as such must trust that gain proper access through malicious ways is impossible. And any number of hardware failures, especially with the power supply and lighting control, may cause physical harm to the user. To ensure a high level of security, the device will only accept a small number of RFID values personalized to the main device. This will make sure that even if a malicious intruder manages to access the web interface, it will not be possible to add an outside RFID number to gain access through the electronic door lock. A small warning label on each card may also be useful in reminding any user about security and how important proper usage of each card is. There will also be several levels of security added to the web interface itself to guarantee proper usage. To access the web interface itself it will include password authentication to prevent any outside users from even being admitted. To change any settings, the user will

have to swipe their RFID card or enter another personal password to prevent anyone but the intended user from manipulating settings. Proper safety is always important in regards to electronic devices, as poor usage or design can cause physical harm to its user. The two main areas of safety concern for the Home Enhancement Suite are the power supply and lighting control. A failure with the power supply may cause a small fire, especially if the device is placed near flammable objects. This obviously has serious repercussions for any homeowner, and is something that cannot be allowed to happen. Currently, the weakest link is the power supply capacitor, which has a failure rate of 1.2 per million [4]. Although seemingly very small, a single failure can cause a fire, and as such may need to be replaced to lower the failure rate even more. Other safety measures include warning labels on the inside of the packaging and near the power supply to prevent tampering. The lighting control module of the Home Enhancement Suite, while not directly dangerous, can have serious consequences if it malfunctions. Losing a light source while in the middle of a dangerous task may cause physical harm to the user, so this module must be properly designed and tested before being used. It may also be possible to add a few safety features if the module does fail, such as having the default state as on at full brightness. This may cause the light to turn on accidentally in the event of a failure, but it is a much better situation than the reverse.

4.0 Summary

This report has analyzed and discussed the environmental and ethical challenges of the Home Enhancement Suite that must be addressed to create a proper product. From the environmental perspective, the device’s lifecycle was thoroughly examined for ways to recycle and minimize waste. On the ethical side, this included protecting software information from possible malicious attacks, as well as properly designing and testing the product for any possible failures. By ensuring the Home Enhancement Suite is an environmentally friendly and safe, secure device, this product can be something its designers can be proud of.

List of References

[1] International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement. (1998, February 16). “Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing.” Internet: http://www.inece.org/mmcourse/chapt7.pdf [Accessed April 11, 2012].

[1] “Saving Electricity.” Internet: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html [Accessed April 11, 2012].

[2] “Electronic Waste.” Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_waste [Accessed April 11, 2012].

[3] A. Humphreys. (2012) Reliability and Safety Analysis [Online]. Available: http://engineering.purdue.edu/477grp10/homework/hw11_Allen.pdf