Now, Dead Batteries Can Be Detected Early via Android
STEI students continue to innovate and strive to create sophisticated equipment that is useful in everyday life. Three ITB students majoring in... Electrical Engineering successfully created a tool used to detect the condition of a car battery. The tool is called CbDiag.
The three students are Bondan Ari Rahmawan, Charlie Tahar, and M. Salman Galileo. The device was created as part of their final project and exhibited at Electrical Engineering Days 2019, an exhibition of final projects by students from the ITB Electrical Engineering Department.
The primary purpose of this device is to prevent sudden battery failures caused by drivers' lack of awareness of their car's battery condition. "This device was also created because many car drivers today can only determine their battery's condition by taking it to a repair shop," Charlie said, as reported on the official ITB website on Monday (September 9, 2019).
Without having to go to the repair shop
He added that another factor behind the creation of this tool was that currently the existing tools for checking battery condition could only monitor the voltage.
This isn't enough to test whether a car battery is still capable of starting the engine. While there are devices available that can test the battery's current capacity, they are considered dangerous.
"This device is dangerous because it draws a high current and, based on our team's experience, will damage a nearly dead battery. It's also not easy to use," he added.
Charlie explained that CbDiag's primary benefit for car drivers is that it allows drivers to check their car battery's condition without having to go to a repair shop. This way, drivers can save time and money from sudden battery failures while using their car for various purposes, such as work or long trips.
Integrasi Android
The tool used to detect the condition of a car battery is called CbDiag, the work of ITB students. (Personal document)
The tool has a number of superior features that are its main attraction, namely it can be used to diagnose car batteries, is easy to use, can provide additional information such as battery voltage and capacity, and is not damaged if installed upside down.
Other advantages include being able to store up to the last 100 results, being able to sync with an Android phone for notifications and access to diagnostic data, and being easy to maintain as it only needs to be stored in a dry place and does not require replacing the battery.
The device has three battery condition indicators: Good, Caution, and Bad. If the indicator indicates Good, the battery can be used to start the car engine for a considerable period of time.
If the "Caution" indicator is displayed, it will alert the driver to plan a battery replacement soon. Furthermore, if the battery is indicated as "bad," the user should replace it immediately, as the risk of a dead battery is very high when the "bad" indicator is displayed.
Portable and safe
To create CbDiag, Charlie and his colleagues used battery internal resistance measurement technology. The battery was modeled as a voltage source and internal resistance. This internal resistance will be measured and used as a reference for the condition of the car battery, as starting the engine draws a very high electric current from the battery.
Furthermore, the battery's charging and discharging processes can cause sulfation due to incomplete reactions. This increases the battery's resistance and reduces its current-carrying capacity.
"We considered that the device should be portable and safe for the user. Ultimately, we decided to use this method," said Charlie.
He and his two friends hope the device will be useful and beneficial to the community. They also plan to develop CbDiag to predict when a battery will fail, which will be helpful for car drivers.
This article has been published on Kompas.com with the title "ITB Student Innovation, Now Dead Batteries Can Be Detected Early via Android" https://edukasi.kompas.com/read/2019/09/10/14062111/inovasi-mahasiswa-itb-kini-aki-soak-bisa-dideteksi-dini-lewat-android?page=all.
Penulis : Erwin Hutapea
Editor : Yohanes Enggar Harususilo