Automation Technology in our Everyday life

 The modern era is completely dependent on works. Because of our hectic working schedules, it is often difficult for us to conduct our daily activities by ourselves. We are often tired or don’t get enough time to do our pending works. And due to increased labor costs, it is not always possible to avail labor facilities to carry out these tasks. This is where automation comes in. Automation is the use of machines and information systems that reduces human intervention in different processes. This process is capable of accomplishing a particular task requiring less or no human interaction at all. The main target of using automation is to increase productivity. As it is operated by machines such as IoT devices, it basically acts as a replacement for manual work. So, the work is carried out with maximum efficiency and minimum amount of errors. There are numerous applications of automation in our everyday life. Let's take a look at how we can apply an IoT device ARDUINO in case of automation at these applications. Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. It is a micro-controller board that usually comprises 20 I/O pins and a Flash Program Memory of 32k depending on the model. It is a hardware prototyping platform that makes it easy to set up an electronics-based project in a short time. First comes the Arduino Keypad Door Lock system. We can use the Arduino Uno/Pro/Mini with AtMega 328p Microcontroller. In this case, we can use a servo motor and keypad for Arduino. So by applying this procedure, one person has to enter a pin number in order to lock or unlock a door. It will ensure protection against theft or loss of important accessories and assets. Home automation has been trending in recent years. And there are valid reasons for that. Daily tasks would be much easier if we can control it only with simple voice commands. This has been made possible because of home automation. All our home appliances such as LED lights, fans, security cameras, music players, thermostats, televisions can be controlled with the help of voice command. This makes the appliances much more accessible and manageable. As a result, it also maximized home security. In most cases, we can use an Arduino board along with a voice recognition tool and Bluetooth module. So, this can be created using an Arduino Uno and can be operated using a smartphone. Everything is controlled through a common network and all the appliances can be easily managed from one place by means of voice command.

 Thus home management becomes much improved and made more efficient. In the cities of Bangladesh, a huge amount of time is wasted due to traffic jams. And at the same time, the traffic polices are struggling to control the traffic. To alleviate these issues, we can design a traffic light count management system using Arduino. Through this project, we can determine how often the color of the traffic signal will change. This concept can be used to develop a multi-junction traffic light system. A Commute Indicator can be built which will monitor traffic and time distance between the destinations using Google API Integration. The Indication will be done on Sparkfun Neo pixel LEDs. We can keep this device anywhere as it has built-in Wifi and also easy to charge. It will indicate the traffic condition of the road. In Bangladesh, the parking issue is a major concern especially in megacities like Dhaka where the number of vehicles is constantly increasing at a large scale. As a result, a severe scarcity of parking space takes place. Safety and security has become a major concern and needs to be solved as soon as possible. This problem can be minimized with the help of PIR motion sensor that is made using an Arduino UNO. This sensor is designed so that it can detect a car approaching the gate of parking space and provides parking space depending on whether parking slots are available. At least two of these sensors will be required, one is to be placed at the entrance point and another one at the exit so that the count of vehicles remains accurate. The count is incremented every time a vehicle Tenters and decremented as soon as one exits. This type of smart parking lot doesn’t need manual monitoring and is in fact more efficient compared to monitoring done manually. We are all aware of the COVID-19 situation. But in this critical situation we have to go to works. In order to protect our health, we must wear masks and use sanitizers. Automation using Arduino may make this process a little easier. We can build a COVID travel pack that contains some tools that we will need while raveling outside in this time such as gripper, sanitizer, and mask chamber- in one packing. We will use Arduino MKR1010 as the main micro-controller that will provide Wi-Fi connection to the mobile phone and Firebase. For dispense sanitizer, we need a stepper motor and drivers and some tactile switches for some controlling mechanism. By using an app we can check the remaining percentage of the sanitizer for hand and the mask chamber.  Good quality water is required for daily usage. But a lot of times water becomes unsuitable for usage due to excess amount of TDS dissolved into it. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids. It gives us the number of solids dissolved in a certain amount of water, in ppm (parts per million). The suitable TDS of drinking water, according to WHO (World Health Organization) if the TDS of water is below 300, it is suitable for usage. But sometimes, the TDS increases to above 1000 and usage of this water results in damage of crops along with the death of aquatic creatures. This type of problem can be avoided by measuring the TDS of water. TDS meters made using Arduino firsts calculates the resistance of the water from which resistivity is obtained. Then the conductivity is calculated from which the TDS level is found. Automation has changed our way of living. It has made our lives easier starting from reducing costs to making our houses and workplaces more comfortable to be in. We have already seen so many applications of automation using the Arduino interface. As Arduino is a hardware prototyping platform, it can be implemented in different fields. But, as Bangladesh is not that advanced in automation, Arduino can be used for research purposes to find out which fields would be suitable for automation implementation and thus can be implemented for the development of our country.