Professional Portfolio

Role: Lead Designer & Systems Integrator
Timeline: 2025
Technologies: PIC18F97J94, ESP8266 (ESP-12F), MikroBUS, SHT40, UART, Wi-Fi, HTTPS, Wix Backend, Chart.js, OLED Display
Domain: Transit Communications Infrastructure / Smart Facilities

Project Overview

EnviroLink is a modular environmental monitoring and alerting system designed to improve reliability, safety, and preventive maintenance for communications and IT infrastructure spaces. The system collects real-time temperature, humidity, and motion data, displays it locally, logs it for historical analysis, and securely transmits it to a cloud dashboard with automated alerts.

The project was developed in response to recurring environmental-related failures observed in transit communication rooms (CCTV, PERS, network switches), where overheating and humidity issues often went undetected until equipment failure occurred.

System Architecture

EnviroLink uses a dual-controller architecture to separate real-time sensing from network operations:

• PIC18F97J94 (Primary Controller)

  • Interfaces with environmental sensors (SHT40)

  • Handles motion detection and relay control

  • Manages OLED user interface

  • Implements deterministic timing and local decision logic

  • Formats telemetry packets over UART

• ESP8266 (ESP-12F, Secondary Controller)

  • Runs custom Arduino firmware

  • Handles Wi-Fi connectivity and HTTPS communication

  • Sends telemetry securely to cloud backend

  • Decouples network reliability from real-time control logic

This separation ensures system stability even during network outages, a critical requirement for field-deployed infrastructure systems.

Key Features

🔹 Real-Time Environmental Monitoring

• Temperature (°C / °F)

• Relative Humidity (%)

• Motion detection with configurable hold logic

• OLED display for on-site visibility

🔹 Secure Cloud Integration

• HTTPS data ingestion endpoint

• Device-based identification and authentication

• Cloud snapshot API for live dashboard views

• Historical data API for trend analysis

🔹 Intelligent Alerting

• Severity classification (OK / WARN / ALARM)

• Contextual reason generation (e.g., Temp elevated + Motion detected)

• Rate-limited email alerts to prevent alert fatigue

• Multi-recipient notification support

🔹 Data Visualization

• Live dashboard with current status

• Historical charts (Chart.js)

• Temperature displayed in Celsius and Fahrenheit

• Clean UI optimized for non-technical stakeholders

Engineering Challenges Solved

• UART reliability between heterogeneous MCUs
  → Implemented modular ESP-UART interface with deterministic formatting.

• Network instability vs. real-time control
  → Isolated Wi-Fi logic onto ESP8266 to protect sensor timing.

• Alert fatigue risk
  → Designed cooldown-based alert state tracking using a persistent datastore.

• Scalability
  → Backend supports multiple devices, deduplication, and future expansion.

Demonstration & Impact

EnviroLink was successfully demonstrated to WMATA leadership, including a supervising manager, who expressed interest in escalating the solution for broader review.

Observed benefits:

• Earlier detection of adverse environmental conditions

• Improved situational awareness for technicians

• Reduced troubleshooting time during incidents

• Foundation for predictive maintenance initiatives

The project aligns with WMATA’s Maintenance Control Plan (MCP) and supports a shift toward data-driven infrastructure reliability.

Why This Project Matters

EnviroLink is more than a prototype — it demonstrates:

• Systems thinking across hardware, firmware, networking, and cloud

• Real-world reliability design under operational constraints

• Leadership-driven engineering focused on service outcomes

• Practical application of IT, embedded systems, and cloud integration

Future Enhancements (Post-v1 Roadmap)

• Web-based relay control (timers, scheduled on/off, blinking)

• Role-based access control

• Predictive analytics for failure trends

• Deployment across multiple facilities

• Integration with enterprise maintenance systems

Links

🔗 Portfolio: ElevateWithNobanza.com
🔗 Contact: nobanza@elevatewithnobanza.com

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