My group is having trouble thinking of an idea to design and implement.
Here are the requirements
Design Project Specifications
Work on the design project is to be completed in teams of four students. The design project
topic is flexible, and each group is encouraged to pick a product that uses the strengths and
interest areas of their group members. The design must have the following components:
• Microcontroller:To help make the project tractable, recommended microcontroller choices
include Freescale, PIC, and Atmel variants. Development tools are readily available in lab to
support these devices. Further, the devices themselves are relatively low cost and readily
available. Optionally, auxiliary processing can be accomplished using a “motherboard”.
Examples of these directly supported are Intel Atomand ARM-based platforms.
• Interface to Something:Your embedded system must interface to some other device or
devices. It could be a computer, or it could be some embedded device such as a Palm Pilot,
telephone line, TV, etc. Some interface standards that could be used are: serial to a
computer, parallel to a computer, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Firewire, Ethernet, Infrared
(IR), Radio Frequency (RF), etc. This requirement has a large amount of freedom. To help
with some of the more complex interfaces such as Ethernet, USB, or Firewire there are
dedicated chips which encapsulate the lowest layersof the interface. This makes using these
interfaces easier to handle but not necessarily trivial. Be sure to investigate the interface(s)
you wish to utilize and make a reasonable choice. (NOTE: Interfaces involving A.C. line
current require special permission – see the instructor for details.)
• Custom printed circuit board:Through the process of the design, each group willbe
required to draw a detailed schematic. From the schematic, a two-layer printed circuit board
will be created. Board etching will be processed by the ECE Department (the first one is
“free”, but any subsequent iterations are the team’s responsibility). The team is then
responsible for populating the board (solder the parts on the board), and for completing the
final stages of debugging and testing on their custom board.
• Be of personal interest to at least two team members:It is very difficult to devote the
time and energy required to successfully complete a major design project in which you
and/or your team members have no personal interest.There are lots of possibilities, ranging
from toys and games to “useful and socially redeeming” household items, like audio signal
processors and security systems.
• Be tractable:You should have a “basic idea” of how to implement your project, and the
relative hardware/software complexity involved. For example, you should not design an
“internet appliance” if you have no idea how TCP/IPworks. Also, plan to use parts that are
reasonably priced, have reasonable footprints, and are readily available. Be cognizant of the
prototyping limitations associated with surface mount components.
• Be neatly packaged:The finished project should be packaged in a reasonably neat, physical
sound, environmentally safe fashion. Complete specification and CAD layout of the
packaging represents one of the project design components.
• Not involve a significant amount of “physical” construction:The primary objective of the
project is to learn more about digital systemdesign, not mechanical engineering! Therefore,
Our first idea was to make a wifi (voip) portable "phone" but they shot that down because of cellphones. The second idea is to make a electronic monoply game board that connects to android devices so you can see your properties and money. They haven't shot that one down yet but they didn't seem to care for it. So anyone have an idea what to do?
Here are the requirements
Design Project Specifications
Work on the design project is to be completed in teams of four students. The design project
topic is flexible, and each group is encouraged to pick a product that uses the strengths and
interest areas of their group members. The design must have the following components:
• Microcontroller:To help make the project tractable, recommended microcontroller choices
include Freescale, PIC, and Atmel variants. Development tools are readily available in lab to
support these devices. Further, the devices themselves are relatively low cost and readily
available. Optionally, auxiliary processing can be accomplished using a “motherboard”.
Examples of these directly supported are Intel Atomand ARM-based platforms.
• Interface to Something:Your embedded system must interface to some other device or
devices. It could be a computer, or it could be some embedded device such as a Palm Pilot,
telephone line, TV, etc. Some interface standards that could be used are: serial to a
computer, parallel to a computer, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Firewire, Ethernet, Infrared
(IR), Radio Frequency (RF), etc. This requirement has a large amount of freedom. To help
with some of the more complex interfaces such as Ethernet, USB, or Firewire there are
dedicated chips which encapsulate the lowest layersof the interface. This makes using these
interfaces easier to handle but not necessarily trivial. Be sure to investigate the interface(s)
you wish to utilize and make a reasonable choice. (NOTE: Interfaces involving A.C. line
current require special permission – see the instructor for details.)
• Custom printed circuit board:Through the process of the design, each group willbe
required to draw a detailed schematic. From the schematic, a two-layer printed circuit board
will be created. Board etching will be processed by the ECE Department (the first one is
“free”, but any subsequent iterations are the team’s responsibility). The team is then
responsible for populating the board (solder the parts on the board), and for completing the
final stages of debugging and testing on their custom board.
• Be of personal interest to at least two team members:It is very difficult to devote the
time and energy required to successfully complete a major design project in which you
and/or your team members have no personal interest.There are lots of possibilities, ranging
from toys and games to “useful and socially redeeming” household items, like audio signal
processors and security systems.
• Be tractable:You should have a “basic idea” of how to implement your project, and the
relative hardware/software complexity involved. For example, you should not design an
“internet appliance” if you have no idea how TCP/IPworks. Also, plan to use parts that are
reasonably priced, have reasonable footprints, and are readily available. Be cognizant of the
prototyping limitations associated with surface mount components.
• Be neatly packaged:The finished project should be packaged in a reasonably neat, physical
sound, environmentally safe fashion. Complete specification and CAD layout of the
packaging represents one of the project design components.
• Not involve a significant amount of “physical” construction:The primary objective of the
project is to learn more about digital systemdesign, not mechanical engineering! Therefore,
Our first idea was to make a wifi (voip) portable "phone" but they shot that down because of cellphones. The second idea is to make a electronic monoply game board that connects to android devices so you can see your properties and money. They haven't shot that one down yet but they didn't seem to care for it. So anyone have an idea what to do?
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