Help: Solution for Detecting the No of persons sitting on a seat

This sounds like an EE senior design project to me, am I correct?

Edit: Maybe too advanced for a senior design, so a Master's Thesis?

Iam a Masters Student though.. but its not for thesis just a project that i have to get done..

Good guess Michael.

I wonder if you pass for getting the answer right.

mark

Its not about Passing its about getting things done>>

In this case, we should approach it differently. Tell us some ideas you've had about detecting the extra persons, and we'll make recommendations on how you could proceed with them.

Okay that is clearer.

I can remember as a kid being the sixth person an a motorcycle - we weren't all on the seat though.

For you application, it will be difficult to definitively determine numbers using seat sensors because of the variability in body sizes and positions.

You may be able to detect the number of people by the loading sequence - discrete steps in additional weight.

Another method would be to have the system "learn" the weight of the normal driver, so the problem of whether additional weight is one or more people is reduced by eliminating one big variable.

Another possibility is to detect when the second set of foot pegs receives a load - this indicates a second person has boarded - any additional steps in weight are either the driver sitting down or an extra passenger. This can be discriminated by which end of the seat gets loaded.

I think it can be done with a weight sensor. Start with stationary weight without people and check if it gets heavier in steps (like minimum 10 kilo). I think 1 person will be added at a time. Should look like this:

Start with 250 kilo, add 50 kilo (1 person), add 30 kilo (2 persons) etc.

There should be some form of timeout to calculate the results. You could draw a graph to see this working.

This can be done with an inductive sensor (http://www.ti.com/tool/ldc1000evm).

Michael Wylie wrote:

 

In this case, we should approach it differently. Tell us some ideas you've had about detecting the extra persons, and we'll make recommendations on how you could proceed with them.

I agree; we shouldn't make his homework. There are some nice technologies available that could be useful, but Eeshan, please tell us first how far you've come / what ideas you came up with by yourself.

Start with 250 kilo, add 50 kilo (1 person), add 30 kilo (2 persons) etc.

You haven't been to the Pacific Islands.

I agree; we shouldn't make his homework.

Strangely we seem to attract these queries ...

Mark

250 is the initial weight of motor cycle as example.  You can start with 0.