In
this section you will look at different situations where an electronic
control system could be used to monitor and care for something or
someone. Please complete the activities further down the page.
|

|

|
Example 1
Automatic
desktop
cooling fan
Benefits
grown ups (and younger people) by keeping them cool and therefore more comfortable when working.
|
Example 2
Soil dryness
indicator
Benefits plants and flowers
that could die if left
in soil that was too dry.
|
Activities
1, To help you choose a useful control
project to design and make, copy and paste the items from the left
hand side of the table below into a Word document.
Category
|
Control System Aims
|
People
|
Keep
them comfortable
|
Toddlers
or young children
|
Assist
with their special needs
|
Teenagers
|
Keep
healthy
|
Grown-ups
|
Keep
them operating or working
|
Things
|
Prevent
damage/spoiling
|
Products
that are moved about
|
Prevent
losing/misplacing
|
Products
that remain fixed
|
Avoid
accidents
|
Environment
|
Make
tasks easier
|
Man
made world - urban/towns
|
Keep/make
them safer
|
Natural
world rural/countryside
|
Keep
them cleaner
|
Plant
life
|
Keep
in the correct conditions
|
Resources
|
Keep
fed and/or watered
|
Pollution
|
Assist
with their learning
|
Animals
|
To
develop a skill
|
Birds
|
Record
an event
|
Wildlife
|
Saving
energy
|
Pets
|
Protect
them
|
Protected
species
|
Entertain
them
|
2, Next to each of the items
you have copied, pick statements from the column on the right that suggest
how a control system could help them - You should try to add some of your
own too.
Example:
Category
People:- Grown-ups
Control
System Aims:-
Keep them comfortable, assist those with special needs, keep healthy,
avoid accidents, make tasks easier, protect, entertain, inform, assist
learning/ developing a skill.
3, For the two control systems
shown in examples 1 and 2 above, write down:-
a, Who/what would gain from using
them.
b.
Why these control systems would be useful
c, Where and when they might be useful.
Choosing
your own Project to Design
4, Now think up three
different control systems of your own. They should be useful and
appeal to other people. (To help you do this, use the table above
and your answers to questions 1 and 2).
For each of these:-
|
|
a, Say who/what would gain from
using them.
b, Explain why, where and
when they would be used.
-Words
that may help you do this-
Off/On/Up/Down/In/Out/Bright/Dim/Visible/
Dry/Wet/Moving/Still/Illuminated/Hot/Warm/Cool/
Informed/Turning/Quiet/Noisy/Hidden/Clean/Wiped/
Open/Closed/Noticed/Warned/Accessible/Available/
Rigid/Locked/Touched/Unlocked/Sliding/Indicate/
Amused/Happy/Found
|