As part of making a power grid simulator, a hardware controller is needed. This thesis specifically describes the design of such a controller. The objective is to design it in such a way that it is self-explanatory and interactive. Therefore, the following user controls and feedback are made possible. A small solar panel makes it possible to provide input for a solar generator in the simulation. A slider gives input for a wind farm in the simulation. This is visualized by adding a small physical turbine to the hardware, going faster or slower based on the input.
A small knob to go back or forward in the simulation, if pressed, pauses or resumes the time.
A RGB LED indicates the situation on the grid. Based on the loading of transmission lines, the color of the LED changes. These user-control actions and feedback from the simulation are processed on an Arduino Mega Rev3 development board. This uses an ATMega2560 microcontroller. To interact with the simulation, bidirectional serial communication is needed between the Arduino and the computer running the simulation with the Godot game engine. These components are implemented on a PCB to finalize the design.

Practicing fire scenarios in emergency response training is very hard due to various obstacles. An example is when holding a training, real fire will preferably not be used as it can become threatening. Real fire will only be used in a surrounding where safety is ensured, which is probably outdoors. An emergency responder hardly knows that it has entered an area or room with imaginary fire nor does he know the extent of the fire due to the absence of smoke. This makes it exceedingly difficult to make right decisions during the training on the spot and this might lead to failure to help employees or clients to escape the fire area or building. This project focuses on developing glasses that can darken the view of the user, when entering an area with simulated fire and smoke. In order for the emergency responder to be able to practice in the most real possible scenario. The gain of using the glasses, is that it provides a common understanding between the instructor and trainee about the smoke situation in a training exercise. This enhances the quality of training, decreasing the possibility of making an incorrect decision when a real fire breaks out. This is done by constructing a set of darkening glasses that can darken the view, on the command of an infrared beacon that mimic the source of smoke in an area.