In modern times, its really important to manage time when we go to restaurants to avoid wait time or while goint to theaters to watch a movie or a play. It may take time for us to find available seats when we travel by train. In a large organization where seats are reserved by hoteling, its extremely difficult to find an unreserved seat or to find an available Conference room. Every game fanatic may not able to buy a ticket even though seats are empty due to people who did not turned up.

Smart seats is a perfect solution for all the above mentioned scenarios. Smart Seats detect when persons sitting down or getting up from a seat updating the real time status.

Perficient Team:

1. Satyam Singh

2. James Velez

3. Srikrishna Kolusu

4. Saurabh Patil

Step 1: User Flow

Restaurant seat occupancy

Before going to a restaurant, users can see real-time restaurant seating status to ensure that they will be able to find a seat before they go.

2. Train seat status

Before boarding the train, user can see which train car will have available seats and then the user will be able to wait near a train car with available seats.

3. Office chair status in conference rooms or cubicles

Can help check whether a conference room is in use.Can help check whether a hoteling cubicle is in use on a floor or building.

4. Theatre/cinema seat occupancy

Before going to a theatre/cinema, users can see in real-time which seats are available and can figure out where they can sit.

5. Stadium seat status

Suppose a stadium seat is empty for 10-15 minutes after the game/event begins. The stadium can reserve the right to sell the unused seat and generate more revenue.

Step 2: SET UP: Gather All Components:

1) Arduino Yun (built-in Wi-Fi) – Price $6.50

2) Black case Enclosure for Arduino Yun – Price $4.99

3) Battery Holder with 5V power (with microUSB adapter) – Price $ 5.15

4) Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) – Price $10.00

5) 10k Ohm resistor – Price $ 0.20

6) Jumper Wires – Price $ 3.00

Step 3: Setting Up Arduino Yun

· Connect to the Arduino Yun by powering it up, and connecting to its Wi-Fi SSID

· Once connected, set up the WiFi configuration properties

· Download and apply the latest Arduino Yun firmware from arduino.cc

Step 4: Wiring Components

· Insert one wire into the 5V power port in the Arduino

· Insert one side of the 10k Ohm resistor into the ground and the other side into the A0 analog input port. Connect a second wire to the side of the resistor connected to the A0 input port

· With two wires now extending out of the Arduino, connect each wire to each of the prongs of the FSR

Step 5: Upload Arduino Code

Upload code that reads sensor data and sends it to Bluemix Watson IoT platform using the MQTT protocol.

Step 6: Creating the User Interface

Node-RED can be used to receive the FSR detection values and also to create a web page that will graphically show the FSR detections. It can be used to create http requests for other web pages to call, or return html directly.

To set up Node-RED:

· Go to IBM Bluemix (https://console.ng.bluemix.net/), log in, and navigate to:

o All apps -> Find your app -> Click on link (Ex: mylink.mybluemix.net/)

· Click on the "Go to your Node-RED flow editor" button to see the canvas.

· Create the Node-RED flow to read chair status from Watson IoT platform and provider the current status upon request

Step 7: Final Touches

· Put a case on the Arduino to cover the unit

· Use can use Velcro strips to attach the device to the chair

· Now, anyone someone sits on the chair, the sensor will send the data to Node-RED being hosted on IBM Bluemix

Images include Device attached to the underside of the chair and Force Sensitive Resistor Sensor extending from the device underneath the chair to be placed under a seat cushion.

Introduction: Smart Seats