LeafLabs Garden

A place to share, learn, and grow...

1. 

   anotherDJ
   Member

   We had an initial idea for a project for our fourth year design project but after looking into doing it, and using Maple and all the work involved, we fear it will be too simple. (because the maple makes doing things sooo much easier... thanks guys (no sarcasm))

   Most people on the forum seem to have really cool projects going, I was just wondering if I could borrow your creative minds and ask "does anyone have any cool project that could use the maple?". Basically anything that has some HW design and SW work, and we have about 1 1/2 years to work on it while in school. So if anyone has any project that would take some time and at a reasonable difficulty level, i would love to hear about it.

   much thanks,

   Posted 5 years ago #
2. 

   leaflabsandy
   Member

   My RF controller mimic's the Apple ipod iTouch. For a better name it is a Maple x-Touch controller with QVGA touch screen with micro SD and sound, DS3231 RTC, Snap RF Engine interface, along with a future WiFly and sensor interface. This x-Touch controller receives and tranmsits security, enviromental and sensor data.

   Posted 5 years ago #
3. 

   gbulmer
   Moderator

   I'd like to get more clues of what you are looking for, so I'd like to ask some questions.

   I am British, so I am not sure what you mean when you say 4th year design project.
   Also, I think we all think our projects are cool, and can use Maple :-)

   Is the 1 1/2 years the total combined effort (i.e. 1.5 'man years' from a group of students), or is that the time over which you'll be working on it? How many hours does your school expect you to spend on it? How many folks, what sort of skill level?
   Is HW design, electronics only, or can it include mechanics, for example a robot of some form?

   Also, what sort of budget is available, $10, $100, more, less?
   What are you folks interested in? What sort of stuff might get your creative juices bubbling?

   If there is some mechanics too, the range of projects is humongous.

   Posted 5 years ago #
4. 

   anotherDJ
   Member

   I am an Electrical Engineering student at the university of waterloo, in Canada. In our final year we have to do a design project; basically make something "new". Buy new they mean innovative not ground breaking, so basically daisy chaining some existing things counts.

   Basically we have from now till March of 2012 to finish the project. The amount of work the school expects during a school term is (too much) I'd say around 60-80hrs a week. We also do not have summers, we have a 1 co-op/internship term left (im on one right now), so there will be four months with just the 40hour work week. The team consists of 4 people, 3 of us have done electronics design projects and have co-op terms working on electronic design/testing. And i'm currently doing a co-op term doing firmware design. I've also done some line following bots using an AVR before the arduino days.

   mechanical work is perfectly fine, as long as there is electronics / sw in it.

   I'd put the budget ~400 dollars

   interests: mechatronics/robotics, bio-medical applications, audio/visual, we prefer to work in electrical and mechanical hardware and embedded software level. We like for it to be useful to society and actually be something that is needed.

   not too keen on: image processing, Power systems/circuits, EM like designing antennas, designing software staks, or software radios, FPGAs (Maybe because we haven't used them much)

   so basically i was wondering if you could suggest any projects or idea's or problems we could use as a basis for our project.

   thanks

   Posted 5 years ago #
5. 

   gbulmer
   Moderator

   anotherDJ - Thank you. That's a very clear and comprehensible response.

   I think that there are a lot more things when you allow mechanics too, so that is good.

   One of my goals is to encourage and enable people, though especially teenagers, to learn about programming, electronics and mechanics. I want to help them transition from passive consumers, to active producers. I use robotics as an initial focus.

   So obvious projects are robot land vehicles, blimps, boats, submarines, 'planes, 'copters. This hexapod is slightly different from the usual vehicles because it tries to recognise faces
   iC Hexapod and hence has a somewhat more interesting behaviour than the usual robots.

   I am also interested in 'swarm' robots. Partly because of the collaboration models, and comms., and also the idea the sum of their capabilities being greater than the parts.

   Are there some local 'issues' which may get some interest from the local community? For example, are there ecology issues that sensor networks could monitor. Might it even be useful if the sensors were mobile, i.e. an autonomous plane or boat to monitor air or water quality?

   Maybe consider a novel sensor systems for less sophisticated robot builders. For example the Neato vacuum cleaners laser rangefinder.

   You are likely familiar with some of the projects to launch 'near space satellites' using Helium balloons, and retrieve the payload using GPS and tracking. An alternative is to have the balloon release some form of plane which could fly itself and the payload back to base (or a designated landing place).

   It appears that a significant cost of an amateur flight is the fuel for the 'pursuit' vehicle to retrieve payloads from the 'near space satellites'. Reducing this significantly may make near-space experiments more attractive to schools and amateurs. AFAIK, there is quite a lot of science that can still be done; more than 99% of the earths atmosphere is below you at 30Km, as you can see from these CU Spaceflight pictures especially Teddy Bears in Space.

   Something like this might have enough parts that several people can work somewhat independently.

   Just a thought.

   Posted 5 years ago #
6. 

   soundcyst
   Member

   I feel like you're coming about this in the wrong way...

   I had to do a similar sort of thing to graduate as well, but the way they structured the course was that the groups were basically contract engineering companies that professors and outside businesses could "hire" to complete a project (in 10 weeks.. hah).

   One of the luxuries that bought us, as students, was that we had project ideas presented to us, and if we decided to tackle a project, it was (for the most part) well-specified.

   It also meant that we were considering projects and goals before we were considering technologies. By starting with "I want to accommodate this behavior, or provide this service," you can choose the technology best suited to the task (and consider things like cost, availability, environmental impact, etc). By starting with "I want to do something with the [Maple/Arduino/BeagleBoard/whatever]," you're limiting the scope of what you can accomplish before you even know what you're trying to do.

   That said, figuring out what to do is tough. Talk to people in your community, or local businesses, or teachers, to see if you can get some insight for ideas.

   ~$400 isn't a lot either. Two Maples is 1/4 of your budget..

   Posted 5 years ago #
7. 

   gbulmer
   Moderator

   soundcyst - I agree with your comments, but would add that if they have to choose something that will be keep them going for 18 months, then choosing something which they are passionate about helps.

   As you say, none of this is about the technology choices. In a years time Maple will have been superseded and having it as the key motivation may be less than ideal.

   anotherDJ - Choosing something which in important to a group of other people that you want to work with, or respect, or ... can also be a good strategy. Getting feedback from real users can help a *lot*.

   Posted 5 years ago #
8. 

   anotherDJ
   Member

   gbulmer - thanks for the pointer, I'm afraid that none of us have any background with avionics/guidance that we are some what fear full of embarking on that project because pf not being able to finish it in time ( also might never make it back hear about ufo citing and be shot USAF. Swarm robotics is cool but haven't really found an area to apply to it to sort of creating a product.

   soundcyst - that sounds alot nicer, we have a few (like 3) of the company putting in requests as well but they are used up as backup plans. Yes I agree that

   we are mostly looking for problems to solve... but i haven't really gotten any problems from most people. most of the time they are looking for is just a simple computer program for there problem.

   somethings we were thinking about so you have an idea of what size kinda projects we shooting for:
   An instruments for small bands to add lighting (thats more than just blinking with the beat) to there music. this would just control w/e lights they plugged in.
   Something with biomedical sensors to help patients and researchers...(Do what... no idea yet, any ideas?)
   Interactive mannequin for high end stores...
   BottleCap/popCan recycling machine/incentive to similar to something that would fit with "the fun project by VW"

   thanks in advance for any ideas/problems/suggestions they are much appreciated

   Posted 5 years ago #
9. 

   StephenFromNYC
   Moderator

   Greetings to everyone (and to the University of Waterloo students),

   A few more ideas.

   I think it is great that you are thinking about your senior year project before the end of your third year. How can the school prevent you from working on the project during the summer? Your teammates may have plans to be in different cities during the summer, but there is email. Remember, the members of this forum are from around the world. Also, I have found that my best solutions usually result from thinking about a problem for a long time. Long hikes and bicycle rides are great for creativity.

   What do the four of you want to do after graduation? How will your senior project help you after you graduate in June 2012? I think your interest in biomedical sensors is great and might even focus your interest(s) enough to help you get job offers after graduation. Yes, EE can be "applied" (which I am sure makes your parents happy).

   I assume you are in your third year of undergraduate (post-secondary school education) and that you are looking for ideas for a "senior thesis project". To help the Europeans, this means you and your classmates are approximately 21-22 years old. How am I doing with my guesstimates?

   Can you provide a link to your class web site (or web site for your "major"), where I assume a description of your 4th year project is listed? This might answer many of my questions.

   Can you give examples of specific project titles (not general topics) from previous years? I assume there are limitations besides the $400 cost of supplies. This will help provide information about the expected sophistication required.

   What instruments (eg. oscilloscopes, etc) can you use for testing?

   What projects have you excluded as being too simple? This might help us offer suggestions because we might be able to add ideas onto "excluded" projects. A valuable lesson is to never discard lists. All ideas might help you at a later time.

   Is the 60-80 hrs a week a "per person" amount of time or the time you described for the entire group (eg 15-20 hours per person per week)? This assumes a total of 4 students.

   And lastly, are you allowed to ask for online help or should you rely on information which is already on the internet (and answers to questions which are asked by people who are connected to your group).

   User forums are a great place to get help, but most people assume the person asking the questions is willing to spend a lot of time trying to solve the problem himself or herself.

   Stephen from NYC

   Posted 5 years ago #
10. 

    anotherDJ
    Member

    StephenFromNYC - Your guesstimates are mostly accurate, when we i said we dont have summers, i meant as in we dont have time time off for summer.

    The website is http://eceprojects.uwaterloo.ca/
    http://eceprojects.uwaterloo.ca/symposium.html

    I want to working in embedded(hw&sw) robotics/medical area or in smartphones which is basically what i have been doing for the last 4 co-op terms between rim and qualcomm
    the other are into circuit level HW and SW and communication (wireless)

    the 60-80hours is about the amount of work one person has a week... i have 5 labs courses and one of them has 3 projects. so i'm not sure id im over or underestimated time i have outside of class. but I like working on projects so... i dont mind spending most of my free time working on something

    we do have access to the school labs as well as workshops and during co-op terms.. much better scopes and logic analyzers courtesy of where ever we are working :D

    asking for help specially for an idea is fine, i haven't seen anything in the docs that said no...

    the idea we went furthest with was the instruments for small bands to add lighting (thats more than just blinking with the beat) to there music. this would just control w/e lights they plugged in.

    the definition we had was " An automated light technician for bands that can control DMX and AC lighting; to Dim, chase, strobe in sync with music and have little control from the stage via 2 foot peddles." we felt that this project had too much of a focus on SW so we are trying to find a new ones.

    the other ones are idea's i've been hatching after we reconsidered and other things like biometrics in credit card security, ECG datalogger (for about a 3month time period currently no solutions for this specific case), something to alert nurses with status of oxygen, IV drip and other ICU stats wirelessly...
    just some idea's i've been milling around in my head. Anything more to make these idea's better?
    more idea's will come when we meet tonight...

    thanks alot everybody

    Posted 5 years ago #
11. 

    gbulmer
    Moderator

    anotherDJ - have you folks got contacts with local health services?

    As the average age of the population of western countries increases, the cost of care increases, we are likley to need more and more technological assistance to help the elderly to have healthy and adequately supported lives.

    In the UK, old people become ill, and sometimes die, from hyperthermia. There are several factors, but I read a while ago, one tell-tale sign is people stop moving around their home.

    It would clearly be worth talking to folks who know about this sort of thing, and treat everything I say with some scepticism, as I am not a heath professional.

    Having said that, there may be a useful project which uses, maybe burglar alarm, technology to detect if people are moving around and active. A related set of observations may be able to detect if people are visiting their kitchen or bathroom medicine cabinet to take their meds, without being as intrusive as some devices I have seen.

    Maybe extend out a bit more, and measure energy use, and correlate that with room use, or temperature rises to detect that folks are keeping warm and fed, and not just leaving the living room TV and heating on when they go to bed.

    (In truth, I think there are much better ideas out there, but talking to experts with a simple idea may spark their creative juices to give you a 'real humb dinger' of an idea.)

    Posted 5 years ago #
12. 

    anotherDJ
    Member

    sweet, thanks! didn't think of this issue this way...

    Posted 5 years ago #
13. 

    gbulmer
    Moderator

    anotherDJ - I have spent a lot of my career inventing projects and writing 'executive overviews' that are attractive; so please don't read my post as a specification, or even a good idea. It is just something I've been vaguely thinking about.

    You will need to do some real research, preferably with professionals who know about this sort of stuff.

    Posted 5 years ago #
14. 

    soundcyst
    Member

    or maybe make it into kindof a game to motivate them to get up and around the house.. leading with a carrot instead of a stick is definitely nice.

    the auto-visuals thing sounds really really cool, and i can sympathize with your aversion to too-much-software, but the truth is, software is everywhere, it's immensely cheaper to develop than hardware, and i'd wager you'll be writing some for a living when you graduate.

    also, i had a glance at your design project course layout.. if you haven't started 391 yet, you're probably getting ahead of yourself. there was a group of students who were absolutely 100% certain they were going to work together for a number of months going into our senior design class, and when we got to the first quarter and all of the projects were presented, they group split, because not everyone wanted to work on the same project.

    Posted 5 years ago #
15. 

    poslathian
    LeafLabs

    Ive been REALLY wanting to build a synthesizer table that you can drum/tap and the response is location, velocity sensitive - with high position resolution (< 1cm).

    This is harder to do that it sounds, Ive made some progress, but havnt gotten really good localization yet.

    Posted 5 years ago #

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