The UCF Stormwater Lab located on campus has geared its research towards protecting the state's valuable natural resources. They have housed projects such as the green roof, pervious pavements research, and the notorious rain simulator. This lab features the largest rainfall simulator in North America and second largest in the world next to Japan's large-scale rain simulator. The Stormwater Lab has been in operation for 3 years now and they are responsible for testing and evaluating the level of run-off chemicals coming from many different materials. As Chad Binette, from the UCF news team reported, "The rain simulator allows researchers to study how water falls on different surfaces, how it runs off and how it dislodges particles that can become sediment and clog up drains."

Testing chemical run-off from soil

The UCF Stormwater Academy Research Lab recruited our group to assist them with their ongoing issues with their Rain Simulator. The research lab is responsible for testing many different materials for both internal research purposes as well as external contracted purposes. They have performed substantial work for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) among other customers. Their primary work is to simulate the short intense rainfalls predominant in Florida and to simulate their effects on many different materials. Included in these materials are concrete used to build Florida highways, asphalt used to pave the streets, as well as soil which is frequently enriched with different chemicals and additives. In the case of the concrete and asphalt, it is the aging process of the substance that is being put to the test whereas with the soil, it is the chemical run-off that is being measured. The entire rain simulation system was designed and created by an external company and cost upwards of $100,000 to complete. Throughout the past year, researchers at the lab have noticed that the simulator has been producing an inaccurate rainfall output. And, the system has been having communication problems from its user interface to the motor driving circuitry. The user interface is implemented on an old laptop, which delivers the test parameters to the drivers via a dilapidated RJ-11 cable. Also, one of the systems power supplies intermittently fails. The research lab recruited our group to redesign this control system into a leaner, more reliable system that would correctly drive their designated rainfall rates during simulations.

Wireless Rain Gauge Walk-Through



User Interface- Inside View



Rain Sensor - Outside View




Rain Sensor Electonics - Inside View




MCU & Motor Drivers Main PCB - Inside View

Software Block Diagram


Rain Sensor Block Diagram




Control System Block Diagram

These are the costs the team incurred in the development of the prototype during Senior Design I


Revision 1 of Senior Design I Prototype




Revision 2 of Senior Design I Prototype




These are the costs the team incurred for the final system deliverable during the building phase in Senior Design II. This includes the development costs from Senior Design I