Air purifier software - Aspirion

3in1 is a guaranteed effect – not a promise

pre-filter

charcoal filter

photocatalytic filter

Optimization and enhancement
of Aspirion device software

Aspirion is an innovative air purifier that removes organic pollutants, inorganic pollutants and pathogenic microorganisms with 99.98% efficiency.

It uses advanced photocatalytic technology, UVA filtration, and draws fresh air from outside, ensuring a constant supply of clean air to the room.

The device is ideal for facilities such as schools, kindergartens and hospitals, where health and comfort are a priority.

With intelligent air quality sensors and a filtration system, Aspirion provides a safe and healthy environment.

What was the cooperation like?

Our work with the client began with an analysis of the existing state of the software and the Aspirion device itself.
Based on the results, we created a plan to develop the software, focusing on improving and stabilizing it.
We carried out the work, including testing, for five months, regularly adjusting the solutions to meet the client’s needs.
During the course of the project, we expanded our cooperation to include website development, SEO positioning and device care.
The initial challenges of lack of documentation were overcome thanks to the flexibility of the team.
The client evaluated our cooperation positively, appreciating the professionalism and efficiency in solving problems, which ended with full satisfaction with the results of the project.

What do
our customers think of us?

The Unique Devs team showed great commitment and helped us develop the software for our device along with the project website. We could count on complete professionalism and full support at every stage of the activities.

Karolina Wójcik

Aspirion Sp. z o.o.

Project Context

The project we handled over a period of 5 months concerned an innovative Aspirion device, which initially did not meet both the expectations and standards required for this type of device and the expectations of the developer himself.

The software and hardware required a thorough analysis and numerous corrections so that the device could operate in accordance with all the assumptions.

In order to successfully complete the tasks set before us, the Unique Devs team took on the challenges of debugging, cleaning up the code and implementing new functionality.

Technologies used in the project

C++

PlatformIO

Arduino

Challenges

Prior to the corrective action, the Aspirion device had several serious technical problems:

Lack of project documentation

The project did not include full documentation, which made the work of improving and developing it more difficult, and the analysis of individual elements required additional effort.

Errors in the algorithm

The algorithm responsible for the device’s operation was based on the outside temperature, which did not quite match the actual air quality requirements. As a result, the device did not respond appropriately to changes in pollution.

Hardware problems

The code included references to microcontrollers that were not actually used in the device, which introduced some complications. In addition, the fan sometimes turned off on its own, leading to the device overheating

User interface bugs

The Nextion display required numerous improvements, as some of the views did not work as expected by users, and there were unused variables that overloaded the system.

Suboptimal programming practices

There were fragments in the device’s code that were not being used, as well as some code repetition and a lack of a clear modular structure, which made further development difficult.

Scope of activities

Code work:

Clean up the code of unused and commented-out fragments.
Performing analysis and reorganizing variable and function names to better reflect their purpose.
Removing unnecessary libraries and microcontrollers that were not part of the actual device.
Improving and optimizing the device’s operating algorithm, which was redesigned. As a result, the algorithm correctly responds to changes in air pollution detected by the sensor, and the device adapts its operation to the air quality in automatic, manual, supply and quiet modes.

User interface (display) improvements:

Rebuilding the sensor view and operation, including improving erroneous readings and units.
Fixing problems with WiFi network management, including rewriting the function for searching, connecting and disconnecting from the network.
Removal of date and time setting views that caused synchronization errors with the display.
Removing unused variables and timers in the display software, which improved the smoothness of the device.

New functionalities:

Implementation of OTA (Over The Air update) functionality, allowing remote updating of both the device software and the Nextion display.
Creation of mode scheduling functionality, allowing the device to automatically adjust its operation according to programmed hours.
Implementation of a filter management system, including filter status monitoring, filter replacement and cleaning reminders.
Implementation of an automatic WiFi connection mechanism, which checks every specified time whether the device is connected to the network, and if there is no connection, tries to reconnect every appropriate interval of minutes.

Hardware troubleshooting:

Fixing problems with the fan, which was shutting down spontaneously, leading to overheating of the device.
Improving the functionality of the servo and fan handling so that the unit responds appropriately to changes in settings in specific modes.

Mobile app improvements:

Improved the performance of the mobile application, which previously communicated with the device indirectly through the Internet system, which caused delays in the device’s responses.
A change in the model of the application’s communication with the device was implemented, enabling faster and more stable interaction.

Design changes

During the implementation of the project, there were also changes in assumptions that required additional activities:

Removal of the photocatalysis cleaning process, which was originally planned, but from the progress of the work the investor postponed the activities to a later period.
Adjustment of the device efficiency calculations, which initially included only the G4 filter, and eventually in the process of calculating the device efficiency, we also adopted the photocatalytic filter.
Changing the air quality measurement methodology, which was initially based on the classification of air quality based on temperature, and in practice, after testing was optimized for real pollution measurements.

Result

As a result of the activities carried out, the Aspirion device has been thoroughly revised and upgraded. Many software elements were rewritten, and the code was cleaned of unnecessary fragments. The addition of key features, such as OTA and schedules, made the device ready for commercialization. The repair and implementation work took several months, and the end result is a stable and functional device that meets the requirements of the developer and users.

The work on the project was complex and time-consuming, and each stage required close team cooperation and adaptation of the solution to changing assumptions and requirements. Despite numerous difficulties related to errors in the initial software, it was possible to create a solution that meets all the objectives.