ECE 191: Sample projects from past years
An interactive whiteboard system for use in village schools, Looma was tested for two school years in Nepal with great response. The hand-held wand, used from the front of the classroom, is tracked by an IR camera, and system software moves the cursor on the projected screen. The mouse-click button modulates the IR LED and the modulation is detected by system software as a mouse-click. Project goals include: re-chargeable battery through USB connector, battery-life enhancement, on/off indicator LED, micro-controller to regulate all functionality and timing for programmable flexibility, auto-sleep/auto-shutoff functionality, and design of a new wand packaging for manufacturing and to accommodate the new PCB, switches, and charge port.
Initial Project Description |
This device could be used by people who want to test a blood or spit sample for diseases such as flu or tuberculosis. Simple heating elements can be used to power chemical reactions that copy DNA. These reactions have names like LAMP reaction, EXPAR and Rolling Circle Amplification. This project aimed to develop a system that can heat a DNA sample and then analyze it. The main task: Design a PCB that contains a microcontroller, heater, piezoelectric pump, thermocouple or thermistor, LEDs, USB or USB, and a light detector. Heating, light, and temperature monitoring features were to be fully functional by the end of the quarter. Students were also to design a 3D printable enclosure using Solid Works.
Initial Project Description Project Presentation |
Embedded Controller for the Scripps SeapHOx |
Virtual Room: Optical Markerless Gesture Interface |
The Martz Lab at SIO develops autonomous chemical sensors for oceanographic applications. The “SeapHOx” is an integrated sensor package comprised of commercial sensors for temperature, pressure, salinity, oxygen and pH. In addition to polling the integrated sensors, the SeapHOx custom microcontroller operates an optically-isolated 24-bit A/D used to record pH, and functions as a state machine that can be polled itself when integrated into large observing systems such as ocean moorings. Project goals included adding components to the PCB layout (XBee wireless module; MSP430 for monitoring wakeup requests; Ethernet & USB options, OLED display), complete driver libraries for peripheral and external communications (SSI, RS232, USB, etc.), developping a windows-based UI for non-expert users of the SeapHOx, performing power draw tests to confirm a power budget, and carrying out test deployments in a 6000 L test tank.
Initial Project Description Project Presentation |
Vroom (Virtual Room) is a next-generation remote collaboration environment under development. Vroom connects distributed, high-resolution visualization resources for collaborative work in the sciences, engineering and the arts. The system utilizes narrow bezel display walls, directional audio and advanced interaction devices to share ultra high resolution data. The installation of Vroom in the Calit2 Theater can have approximately 100 displays, both 2D and 3D in a reconfigurable arrangement. The system has integrated HD and 4K video tele-conferencing with remote nodes, and employs spatialized and directional audio with distributed Meyer speakers along with multiple wave field synthesis speaker arrays. ECE 191 project: design and develop an optical markerless gesture interface to control the tiled display wall. Using an Asus Xtion Pro Live, manipulate large data collections of media assets with simple and intuitive hand movements.
Initial Project Description Project Presentation |