Peltier Temperature Controller

Hanting Lu
Cornell University
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Objective Results
Advantage:
This project is designed and built
• The total cost is less than 100$.
for student lab in neurobiology as
a feedback controller to control
the bath temperature of the petri • The MATLAB based interface is
dish. easy to use. No training is
required before using the device.

Figure 2. Warming evokes EJPs in larvae expressing

TRPA1 in motor neurons. • The first version has finished and
ready to use. (rising time 20 s/°C,
Motivation settle time 5s)
Methods Future Improvement:
• Improve the heat distribute system
Price of Existing products on  to increase the device’s
market is expensive(>1000$)   Sensing the pertri performance.
dish’s temperature
Thermistor and giving feedback to • Embed the user interface in the
μController device to make it computer
Student lab needs the device  independent.
to conduct experiments this  Peltier 
summer   Plate
Peltier heats or cools References
the petri dish based on
1. Jimena Berni, Alistair M. Muldal, Stefan R. 
the input from
μController Pulver. (2010). "Using Neurogenetics and the 
An easy‐to‐use interface is  Power  Warmth‐Gated Ion Channel TRPA1 to Study 
the Neural Basis of Behavior in Drosophila.”
needed for the device Amplifier

2. Hidetaka Morimitsu , Seiichiro Katsura

Digital  .(2010)“A Method to Control a Peltier Device 
PID controller is Based on Heat Disturbance Observer”
To implemented in the
Analog μController, which
Background output signal to control
the temperature of the
Fruit flies can be engineered to have thermo peltier device based on
the input from
sensitive channels, which are useful for
turning off and on function in biological μController
thermistor Acknowledgements
experiments.

I would like to thank professor Bruce

Land and professor Bruce Johnson
PC for their guidance through the whole
academic year.
An user friendly
interface is provided to
Figure 1. larva observed under the dissection scope. communicate between
user and μController