Tom Shaw
Design Engineer
I have worked for over seven years as a mechanical design engineer in the medical, consumer and robotics industries. This has given me wide-ranging experience in multiple areas of product development, such as diagnostics, infant ventilation, auto-injectors, metered dose inhalers, agritech, fast consumer goods and industrial robots. I am passionate about engineering, and take on my own technical projects outside of work, which are laid out inside my portfolio here.
Personal Portfolio
Wildlife Cameras
Project Brief:
During lockdown people have become more interested in the wildlife in their garden which is a potential opportunity in the market
Leveraging OTS low cost security system cameras & associated apps can deliver a cheap interactive products with a great user experiences compared with products on the market today.
Executive Summary:
The blink mini cameras were great for the bird feeders and camera traps due to the way the clipped the footage and made it easy to share
The TP link cameras were great for the nest boxes as they allowed for longer recordings giving a more intermit experience
Codenames Map Generator
Project Brief:
During lockdown, playing the boardgame Codenames over Zoom is logistically challenging. An automated solution is required to:
Generate a random secret map
Transmit the same map to the two spymasters in a convenient manor
Do not let any other players see the map, including the person running the app
Executive Summary:
The system functions well and meets all the requirements
The system sends the codemasters the map image via WhatsApp
The system is portable, with editable configuration files (no hard-coded phonebooks and credentials)
The tool utilises the Tkinter, pillow, imgur and twilio libraries
Brief:
Design a wet pet food dispenser to meet the commercial aims of the project.
Aims:
1.Make client brand stand out in the marketplace
2.Engage consumers who use grocery subscription services, e.g. Amazon Subscribe and Save
3.Take advantage of the dropping cost of IOT hardware to engage a new digital generation
4.Provide a turnkey dispensing solution without requiring modifications to the production process
Brief:
Building Tools for linear statistical and Monte Carlo tolerance analysis of a mechanical assembly.
Executive Summary:
Two options were developed.
Linear Statistical Analysis – (VBA)
The ‘Linear Statistical Analysis’ is fast to operate, and the outputs update in real time. It functions in versions of Excel from 2010 onwards.
Monte Carlo Simulation – (VBA / Python 3)
The ‘Monte Carlo Simulation’ is slower but suitable for non-linear functions. It requires the installation of Python 3 in addition to Excel 2010 onwards
Brief:
Create a system to remotely dispense cat treats
Executive Summary:
Control delivered by a mobile widget button, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, Mobile and Alexa return notifications
Platforms IFTTT, Adafruit and Notifyme
Brief:
Create a photobooth for a family wedding. It must be intuitive to use and require no supervision
Executive Summary:
The system was intuitive to use:
Illuminated button for activation & countdown
Preview monitor
Separate preview and capture systems for simple setup
Contactless Light
Brief:
Given that Philips Hue lights are expensive, create a colour-changing, dimming light which can be actuated without touching the unit. The unit must be able to perform as a light-based wake-up alarm clock. The unit must have local power storage to be taken around the house.
Executive Summary:
The unit can dim and brighten without touching any part of the device.
The unit has local power storage.
The unit has the potential to be an alarm clock and have colour-changing capabilities, but these are not activated in software due to time constraints.
Projector and HDMI Control
Brief:
Control the projector settings and HDMI input via an IOT device. It must:
Turn the projector on and off
Be capable of changing the onboard sound settings
Incorporate a system to switch between two HDMI sources, (the projector only has one HDMI input)
Executive Summary:
The system uses IOT to control the device.
It uses MQTT protocol to publish and subscribe data.
It uses IFTTT to bridge between MQTT and Alexa, Google Assistant and Mobile widgets.
It uses ESP8266 chip to implement MQTT actions.
It controls the projector over serial and the HDMI source using the Digital IO Channels of a modified HDMI switcher.