STEM Applied

27/04/2025

A conversation with AI about Computability.

Home » AI and Computability AI and Computability This below is a conversation with Gemini, where we were probing the understanding of Computability, borrowing from a concept we learned back in the 80s, at the University of Padova, in the Automata and Formal Language course by Prof. Enrico Pagello.O...

05/02/2022

We use the MQ- suite of sensors for Carbon Monoxide monitoring, or Propane, or simply Air Quality, and never liked the typical breakout board they come with. So we made them to fit in a slick, small enclosure. They interface with Coso 5 for your environment monitoring, through an automotive-grade AMP-MODU pin header connector.

08/01/2022

Here's what our friends at My Property Is Fine are doing with COSO units under test:

Presentation Systemic approach January 8, 2022 With just two type of units, we are able to gather information that, otherwise, would be difficult to explain. Here’s the scenario: at one of the properties at the Hideout, we installed: 1 smart baseboard thermostat in the Living Room, by Mysa 1 stati...

04/11/2021

Coso 7-5 is ready for extensive testing! This little black box is a WiFi video streamer and a time-lapse snapshot grabber.

What it does, that many others don’t:
- the WiFi credentials can be entered any time, from your phone, at power-up;
- at that time, you can configure your own web server address where the snapshots will be sent, using our scripts to manage the galleries, and the period for your snapshots, ranging 5 minutes to ~3 hours;
- your router will assign an IP that you will use to access the streaming for your own WiFi network. You can stream and record with your own VLC client;
- simple instructions to port-forward, and access the streaming from the internet, are available;
- the module has a robust error recovery system, it always recovers to streaming or sending time-lapse photos. This took a lot of development, and is now rock-solid;
- the original firmware does not allow usage for spying purposes: when the camera streams or takes a picture, the led light will be on. No microphone included;
- We have a beta-version of a desktop app that streams 8 cameras simultaneously on the same screen.

The applications are in a wide range, but it is particularly thought for slow processes time-lapsing, or remote property monitoring, like for your vacation home or boat, or for steady time lapsing and random web streaming for your production floor or worksite.

Price, with some assembly needed, is projected to starts at $18.75, where you have to get your own ESP32 Cam module and program it, and use one of your micro USB power supplies to power it (1 A minimum).
Check stemapplied.com for more details.
Note: The picture exemplifies a module with an external antenna added for testing purposes. The ESP32 Cam module is FCC approved only for use with the internal PCB antenna. The external antenna is not approved for the US market. However, with the approved internal antenna the system works fine, just with more limited range, and is ready to be submitted for FCC approval as unintentional radiator.

29/09/2021

Coso Seven streaming device is ready! This thing is an inexpensive streaming device that will work with VLC or our own Floorvisor mosaic multi-streaming cameras app, and many more standard apps, and will stream at command but, when inactive, it will still take a still image every 15 minutes and send it to your personal space in our servers online. Reply here for more info!

27/04/2021

COSO Five is ready for extended beta testing! It is now able to be configured for WiFi credentials in full privacy for each user. We also completed the parameters settings to adjust for each installation: although generally reasonably accurate, each sensor might need a minor offset adjustment, also based on the way it is oriented on the case (it can be installed perpendicular or parallel to the front panel). There is also a compensation offset for when the relay is on or off. Typical values are around 1-2 degrees F, and 2-5% rH.
Each beta tester will receive a unique identifier so they can access their own database and have their own iPhone or Android app to monitor the logs and remotely operate the relay, through STEMApplied.com website.
The device is also compatible with Alexa, you can have up to 9 on the same network, and the Alexa Id is also configurable.

The units are not UL recognized yet, although they have been designed to be compliant, and they are FCC pre-approved based on the ESP32 module FCC certification, although additional tests are being scheduled for the unintentional radiator nature of the circuitry around the WiFi module. They are also CE compliant by design. Additional accredited lab testing will be needed to complete the certifications.

With the note that a beta-tester needs to know what they are doing, do we have any takers?

Resources to change the world through Arduino, ESP32, OLED SSD1306, and sensors like DHT22, MQ-7, MLX90614, TSOP381

18/04/2021

The time-lapse COSO 7s are keeping monitoring properties on a single battery charge, expected to last over 3 months

13/04/2021

COSO Five, the environmental monitor, has been updated to allow WiFi configuration at first start. It can now be deployed to any locations with WiFi, without knowing network name or password. Here’s how it works: at first start, or factory reset, the unit sets up a local WiFi access point, and gives instructions on the screen on the IP address to connect to. So, on any smartphone, you just need to connect to the COSO WiFi network described on the unit’s screen, and type that IP address on any browser. Once you do that , the COSO server replies with a web page that asks for your permanent WiFi credentials for your internet router. Once you enter them, the COSO is ready to go and will do its thing with environmental logging on your private portion of STEMApplied server, or your own server if you have it. The initial local connection is all between your phone and COSO, no passwords are sent anywhere and everything is kept absolutely private for your network security. Once you run this startup procedure, your credentials are saved in the unit’s flash memory and will be permanently working. If you move the COSO or change your WiFi credentials, you will just have to run the configuration procedure as described above one single time.

13/04/2021

The new COSO 7-2 time lapse logger is still going solid after about 8 weeks on a single battery recharge. These days, it starts logging around 6.50 AM and stops around 7.30 PM. We expect another month on the same charge.

02/03/2021

COSO Sevens under test
The battery powered app is working fine, we are adding the PIR wake up function with a bit of trouble - the ESP32 seems to wake up too often and drive the battery down too fast. But, in the plugged-in version this is working like a charm already. We will soon move on to the robotic car version, actually renaming it "the Rover" in celebration of Perseverance. It should end up feeling much like remotely commanding a rover and getting images from it as we reposition it. Kids will love it!

20/02/2021

COSO Seven - wireless test
We now have two battery powered cameras with the ESP32 set to go into deep sleep after sending a photo to our server (application 7-2). With a frequency of 1/10 minutes, and a 2,200 mAh battery, we should be able to reach close to 3 months of pictures logging. We will see, the system does try to reconnect to wifi if it first fails and if that happens often the power consumption is higher. 1C000001 started its journey on 2/18/2021 and so far so good. It's just sitting there in a little black box with nothing attached to it.

13/02/2021

COSO Seven first prototype is here!
We assembled the first COSO Seven prototype, and debugged the hardware. All is working fine, just some trouble with soldering the micro USB connector and the FT230 chip (an SSOP chip for the USB communication). We had some doubts on the LDO regulator which is limited at 250 mA, but it is working fine and we can power the ESP32 Cam module with just one Li-ion battery. We are still waiting for the PIR and hopefully that won’t break the ceiling. A revision of the PCB is necessary anyway, since we swapped RX and TX (ah-ehm); if needed we can get a bigger LDO – the board has room for that and a photoresistor which I think will be necessary for some applications. We will keep the microSD card operational by lowering to 1 bit communication and we will have all the I/O needed just on the ESP32 Cam module.
Here it is – don’t be judgmental with the hand soldering that was done in a rush of excitement to get his to work!