Timmy The Timer

By

Ryan Jimerson, Jaime Petersen and Justin Sanchez

C++
Spring 2026
Timer
Power Management

This was a portable timer our group designed that counts down while it is detecting some nearby object. The front panel houses the on/off switch for the system as well as two buttons, a backlit LCD display, and a speaker. The lid has a small cutout for a VL53L0X ranging sensor to sense nearby objects, and there is a micro-USB port on the back of the timer to recharge the battery. In an effort to make our timer portable, we chose to power the system from a lithium ion battery with a MCP73871T to protect the battery and optimize charging, and a TPS61090 boost converter to power components like the microcontroller that operate on 5V. The user is able to adjust the timer length and screen brightness from the front buttons, and when the time runs out an alarm will sound. The power was the largest issue our group faced since none of us had implemented anything similar, and this also makes it our biggest accomplishment.

3 Lifts 

Artifacts

Name Description
System Documentation This system documentation comprises our system overview of specifications, properties, challenges we faced, block design artifacts, design choices, and links to individual blocks we all worked on.   Download
Top Level Architecture This diagram shows the top-level architecture of our custom detection timer system. It displays our key components connected together, such as the microcontroller, sensors, display, alarm speaker, and power supply, interacting with each other.   Download
3D Enclosure CAD Design Our 3D Enclosure was built from the ground up to accommodate all of our components, specifically including our LCD Display, speaker, buttons, switch, ranging sensor, and charging port.   Link
PCB These are the Gerber files for our PCB. The board was designed to serve as a hub for the microcontroller that every other component could be easily connected to.   Download
Code - GitHub Repo GitHub Repository for the code used to program the ESP32 using Arduino IDE. The code programs the distance sensor, the speaker, the timer logic, the button logic, and the display.   Link
Project Summary This document provides a timeline for progress and explains the design process from start to finish.   Download
Project Summary Video This video provides a brief overview of all of the block components and provides small commentary on specific block design choices and specifications.   Link
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