First Advisor

Dr. Kevin Pyatt

Thesis Committee Member(s)

Dr. Kim Hosler, Dr. Mohamed Lofty

College

College of Computer and Information Sciences

Degree Name

MS Software Engineering and Database Technologies

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

72 pages

Abstract

The emissions inspection procedure has been largely stagnate for the last 20 years. Vehicle owners in the United States spend approximately 1.7 billion dollars annually for a technician to perform the simple task of plugging an emissions inspection computer into their car’s computer. Smart Emissions was developed as an Android application to provide a new procedure for emissions inspection utilizing consumer-accessible mobile devices and an ELM327 Bluetooth adapter. With Smart Emissions, vehicle owners utilize the Android devices they already own to connect to a Bluetooth adapter inserted into the diagnostic link connector port of their vehicle. The adapter communicates with the onboard diagnostic computer to gather the status of the vehicle’s emission compliance componentry. The data is collected and correlated according to industry standards and EPA rule EPA420-R-01-015. Results of the study showed that an Android device was capable of collecting emissions data with the same accuracy as existing OBD compliant methods. This study also examined the perception of study participants towards current emissions procedures and the proposed method of emissions collection via consumer accessible mobile devices. Of 115 survey respondents, 90% are in favor of a solution they can use from home in lieu of taking their vehicle to an inspection station. Inversely, 46% of survey respondents found it reassuring to have a certified technician conduct the inspection. Further research is needed to understand why having a technician perform the inspection is reassuring. Additionally changing emissions procedures to use to consumer accessible hardware presents new challenges in vetting the accuracy of the equipment used for the emissions inspection, and requires further research.

Date of Award

Winter 2017

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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