QUENTIN PIERCE
Senior Hardware Design Engineer
Automating Engineering, Beer, and Gaming.		 qtpierce@gmail.com
LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/quentin-t-pierce
Resume:  http://www.smegabyte.dyndns.org/resume/
I enjoy making beer.  But it is labor intensive and prone to error.  I wanted automation to take over the following tasks:
  • Stirring
  • Timing
  • Sampling Temperature
  • Recipe Step Announcements
  • CSV Writing

If automation could perform those tasks, then I would be freed up to do other things while it made beer.  I would then have minimal interaction with the mechanics of the process.

The Beer Machine uses an Arduino microprocessor to control solid-state-relays and read temperature sensors.  
The solid-state-relays drive electric burners, a drill motor, and a water sprinkler valve.
The Arduino is controlled by software running on my computer.  I wrote the software as a GUI, so the system is point-and-click simple.

 The result is:  I can truly multitask while hobbying.
  • At the time I started this automation, I was learning SW engineering at work and also reinforcing it at home.  This project drove my faster learning of programming.
  • Automation gave me repeatability in my recipes.  Once I had repeatability, I could start solving 2nd order problems with my home brewing process.  
  • I needed to create a blackbox emulator so I could develop the UI when I was traveling.  I'd never blackboxed anything that complex before; it was an excellent learning opportunity.
  • Heating to a target temperature without overshooting required that I develop a feedback algorithm that used prediction.
  • Controlling it all meant I had to learn Perl's GUI library on Windows and serial port communication.



Here is a photo of the beer machine:    A photo of my beer machine.






What is the coolest thing about the Beer Machine?
It's versatility.		 Does home automation work?
Yes, nicely.
Since I finished the prototype, I have:
  • Used the original design to pickle vegetables.
  • Modified the original SW to support pressure canning through human intervention on the PWM.
  • Modified the original SW to support automated pressure canning, but this is not finished yet.
  • Copied and Pasted HW to build an automated meat smoker.

 Friends rave about the brisket and then ask me if I spent all night tending a fire.  No, I don't.  The process is:
  • Give Costco money for beef.
  • Roll it in paprika.
  • Roll it in garlic.
  • Tell the computer to smoke it for 20 hours at 200F and text message me when it is done.




Here is a photo of the insides of my automated meat smoker:

A photo of my meat smoker.
My Simple IoT Device.

I enjoy using simple devices to solve automation problems.  To that end, I created a simple relay box that was driven by an Intel Galileo and a wifi router.  I could use that device to demonstrate IoT principles to my coworkers.

my simple IOT device

My Simple Server IoT device is:
  1. Intel Galileo running a web server and issuing GPIO toggles to relays.
  2. A simple webserver running on the Galileo that has links for turning the different GPIO pins on and off.
  3. A solid state relay box containing 3 relays that were controlled by Galileo GPIO pins.
  4. An outlet strip I hacked open and rewired to provide 4 individual outlets.
  5. A wifi router connected to the Intel Galileo so that everyone in the room could simultaneously access the webpage.

This project taught me the basics of an IoT device.  I'd use this same device and some Powerpoint slides to teach others the same basics.  People were excited about the computer controlled Christmas lights because they wanted the same for their house.
My Tanning Bed.
Once I figured out web server based control of solid-state-relays, I started trying to find other projects that needed simple On/Off control.

I always wanted a tanning bed, so I bought a used tanning bed and put an Intel Edison and solid-state-relays on top of it.

My tanning bed.


I wanted simple controls that were accessible from anywhere.  So I wrote a node js webserver that asks simple on/off questions and issues GPIO control signals in response.  I can turn the tanning bed on from any computer or phone in the world.  And if my room mate knew how to VPN into my house network, he could too.  This demonstrates that I have democratized the tanning bed in my house.

web server image


I also use the tanning bed as an example of fun things a simple IoT relay device can do.