Arduino 3D printed cervical correction alarm

　　Before I came up with this idea, I have tried many different possibilities. However, due to the lack of professional knowledge and the limitation of current equipment, those great ideas can only stay on my sketchbook, and I believe one day I will make all of them come true.

　　The reason I decided to make such a device is that I noticed more and more people have to sit in front of a computer for a long time. According to human physiology, after sedentary for more than 2 hours, their necks will suffer from pain from different angles. Furthermore, this bad habit will also increase the risk of cervical spondylosis.

　　What I’m doing is a cervical correction alarm. To make this idea come to reality, I need to first sketch to confirm its specific shape and function. As you can see from the image, there is a sensor on the top that can measure the object distance and there is a buzzer at the bottom to send an alarm. After confirmed what should it be looked like, I can design the components on my laptop. At this point, because I do not have much experience in modeling, I referenced a lot of similar off sensor design online. By observing how other people did, I am trying to make changes on top of the original design. Finally, I designed my product that is exactly what I want: the sensor is wrapped in a container, and by turning the container, the sensor can measure the distance from different directions.

　　Figure 1:Sketch

　　Figure 2:Modeling

　　The next step is to print out each component by using the 3D-printer. I spent several weeks figuring out how to use the 3-D printer. I have tried to use a 3D printer to print out some simple products but failed due to the long preparation time. During this process, I encountered a lot of troubles, including the component is very unstable on the printing table, the time of material feeding is incorrect, the efficiency of machine operation is very low, and the problem of making the printed products solidify. I spent another several weeks contacting my professor to find out the best solution and prepare needed materials at the same time. By preheating PLA material in advance, I avoided the problem of uneven discharge. By apply glue stick to the operating board, I solved the problem of material edge tapping. By modifying the load bearing of the runner, I made the raw ma-terial ring accurately feed without clamping strip. After a long wait and preparation, I finally fin-ished my first 3D printing operation in my life As a result, I printed out all of the components andcombined them successfully.

　　Figure 3:3-D printed component

　　Figure 4:Arduino chip

　　I combine the ultrasonic sensor and buzzer by using the Arduino program. First of all, the ultrasonic sensor will measure the distance from the wearer’s neck to the table. Then, I compiled an Arduino program to set up the alarm system. The principle is that the buzzer will give an automatic alarm as long as the distance is getting closer. What you need to do is put it around your neck, attach it in front of your head, or put the sensorin front of you when you are doing homework. If your head gets too close to the sensor, it will send an alarm, in this way you are able to know your neck is under the inappropriate position so that you can do some corresponding changes to make your neck feel more comfortable.

　　Figure 5: device overview

　　Figure 6: device front

　　Under this quick rhythm world, I hope my little product can help people improve their sitting posture. I clearly understand that there are still a lot of problems existed in my product. For ex-ample, the function of this product is very simple, the error checking is not that accurate,and the size of my product is not portable enough. Finally, I will continually make progress on this product. This research project makes me realize the infinite possibilities for my future major development.

　　卢茗鉴

　　年龄：17

　　年级：12年级

　　城市：北京

　　就读学校：首都师范大学附属中学（Capital Normal University High School）

　　目标专业：数学or应用数学

　　这个项目远不止是一个调查研究项目，更重要的是带给了我国外学习模式的演练。这段旅程也让我为即将到来的大学做出了准备。曾经的我是一个很爱拖延的人，这个坏习惯在整个项目的过程中让我受尽了折磨。妈妈看出来我的问题，她认真的鼓励我设立好每天的计划，并督促我每天完成应有的任务量，及时将自己的成果更新给教授并取得反馈。破天荒的，我竟然在那一周结束的前两天完成了任务并且获得到了教授的好评。我第一次感受到不被人催促，从容不迫的魅力。那一天，我告诉自己：“明天，明天，世界上从来不存在有明天这个东西，我们唯一有的就是今天。你永远不需要等待一个特定的时机去启程，现在就是最好的时间。”我很感激这段旅程，它会在我的大学生涯中一直提醒着我，认真利用好每一天就会迎来更好的明天。（作者：卢茗鉴）