Mileage Recording Solution for Small Business Owner/Operators Presented By: Bergen Fletcher (CEO, HW Engineer) Ali Abdul-Hussein (COO, FW Engineer) Patrick Perrella (CFO, SW Engineer) Lena Lee (QA Director, SW Engineer)
Agenda q Company Profile q Vision q Other Existing Solutions q Our Solution q System Overview q Budget q Time Constrains q Future Work q Learning Experience
Company Profile Bergen Fletcher – CEO, Senior Hardware Engineer Ø Team/Project Management Ø Hardware Design/Development Ø Project Integration (Including SW/FW development) Ali Abdul. Hussein – COO, Firmware Design Engineer Ø Software/Firmware Management Ø Firmware Design/Development Lead Ø Flowchart Design/Development Lead
Company Profile Patrick Perrella – CFO, Software Design Engineer Ø Finance Management Ø Software Design/Development Ø Firmware Design/Development Lena Lee – Director of QA, User-Interface Design Engineer Ø Test-Plan Development Ø Graphical User Interface Design/Development
Vision Problem Ø Small business owner/operators Ø Use vehicle for business and pleasure purposes Ø Can deduct vehicle business use costs from income tax Ø Deduction based on percent business mileage to total mileage
Vision Need Ø Method of recording vehicle usage Ø Record mileage for all trips Ø Record should include (as specified by the CRA): § Trip purpose (business/pleasure) § Destination § Date
Other Existing Solutions 1. Estimation Ø Simple/cheap, but inaccurate Ø Not compliant with CRA rules § Possible consequences
Other Existing Solutions cont’d 2. Travel Log Ø Cheap & in compliance with CRA guidelines Ø Involves much more effort and more prone to error
Other Existing Solutions cont’d 3. ON Board Diagnostic (OBD) Devices Ø Automatically provides accurate data Ø Expensive, not easy to use Ø Not tailored for mileage recording Ø Compatibility issues
Our Solution Plug N’ Go: Automated Vehicle Usage Recording
Our Solution cont’d Our Solution Ø Tailored for small business users Ø Specifically designed to record vehicle usage Ø CRA guideline compliant Ø Additional features Ø Easy to use Ø Low cost Ø Highly compatible
Other Uses 1. Route comparison 2. Vacation trip tracking 3. Car usage in carpooling 4. Family car sharing 5. Company vehicle tracking
Market Analysis Ø Positive initial reaction Ø Larger companies face similar problems Ø Potential CRA certification
System Overview 1. Mileage Recorder Device (MRD) 2. User PC Software
MRD Modules Ø MRDUI: LCD, 4 push buttons Ø PC-MRD: USB Connector Ø CAR-MRD: Vehicle Cradle Device (VCD)
MRD Functionality User Trip/Gas Data Input Trip Data Gas Data User Name Car Type Data/Start Trip Type Cost ($/L) Destination Volume (L) Mileage
Software Overview Software Basic Features Ø Windows® XP and 2000 compatible Ø Standard GUI application Ø USB communication to MRD Ø Spreadsheet format
Software Overview cont’d Software Spreadsheet Functionalities Ø Separate data and gas sheets Ø Customizable: § Hide columns § Sort data Ø Save as CSV file format Ø Printable file
Software Overview cont’d Software Data Functionalities Ø Display in Metric units Ø Allow MRD configuration editing Ø Allow vehicle cost entry Ø Calculate trip type ratios Ø Calculate total mileage Ø Calculate total fuel usage
Budget Ø Cost approx. doubled due to extra prototypes Ø Extra prototypes not required Component/Equipment Cost Estimate Atmel AVR STK 500 Development Kit $100 Atmel AVR Microcontroller $10 USB Interface IC $10 Voltage Regulators $10 Discrete Logic, Opamps, Misc Discrete Components $10 Passive Components $10 Liquid Crystal Display $20 Prototyping Perforated Circuit Board, Enclosure $20 EEPROM Memory $5 Real Time Clock (RTC) $5 Other/Extra(Back-up) Components $50 Total $250
Time Constrains
Possible Future Work Ø Intellectual property protection § Apply for a Patent Ø More sophisticated market analysis Ø Business incorporation Ø CRA certification Ø Reduced hardware cost § Less costly USB interface § High volume production
Possible Future Work cont’d Improved Hardware Ø Larger, possibly graphic-based LCD Ø Improve user interface Ø Smaller, more appealing industrial design Ø User upgradeable firmware
Possible Future Work cont’d Software Improvements Ø Enhanced file saving Ø Unit conversions Ø Graphical data presentation Ø Integration with tax software Ø Multi-platform support
Learning Experience Ø Team/Project management Ø Product development process Ø Troubleshooting Ø Documentation Ø Application of engineering skills
Acknowledgements ü Dr. Andrew Rawicz , Professor of the School of Engineering Science ü Steve Whitmore, Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering Science ü Leah Honkanen, Small Business Owner/Operator, Sunshine Bay Natural Products ü Maria Bender, Canadian Revenue Agency
Thank You!
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