Integrating Smartphone Technology in Chemical Engineering Research, Education, and Outreach

Since smartphones are such a widely used and popular technology in modern times it makes sense to integrate a technology that is easily accessible and incredibly useful into chemical engineering research, education and outreach. Upon completion of this project two Android applications (apps) have been created. The first app has the ability to connect to an Arduino Uno with a USB connection and then can receive and plot data coming from one of the Arduino Uno's analog pins. A second Android app has been created that can scan for Bluetooth devices and then display them on the smartphone's screen. The app can then allow a user to attempt a connection to a Bluetooth device. Currently, the app has the ability to allow a user to connect to an Arduino Uno that is fitted with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. The app that can connect to an Arduino Uno via a USB connection can be used for data collection purposes in chemical engineering education, when students learn hands on how to collect and manipulate data from inexpensive sensors in a laboratory class. The app can also be used in outreach demonstrations that the chemical engineering department at the University of Utah performs to local K-12 students to get them interested in science and engineering. Both apps need future work to enable them to be used for research purposes, but the groundwork is there particularly for field applications where a user may want to collect and view data easily without a laptop with him or her.