Lectures :: ECE 445 - Senior Design Laboratory

Lectures

Spring 2024 Lecture Material:

 

Pre-Lecture #1:


(before the first lecture)

 

 

Brainstorming and Ideation

  • Brainstorming and Ideation slides (pptx)
  • Videos (watch before coming to class)

 

 

Lecture #1:


(January 16th)

 

 

Getting Started

  • Welcome, Course Overview, and Request for Approval (link)
  • Conflict Management Workshop (link)
  • Pitches
    • Sound Asleep (link) – Maggie Li (mtli2@illinois.edu)
    • AUVI- Continuous Fistula Monitor (link) – Richie Li (rlli4@illinois.edu)
    • Custom Cameras and Sensors for Medical Applications (link) – Professor Viktor Gruev (vgruev@illinois.edu)
    • Custom NIR and Visible Light LEDs for Surgery (link) – Professor Viktor Gruev (vgruev@illinois.edu)
    • Autonomous Underwater Drone (link) – Professor Viktor Gruev (vgruev@illinois.edu)
  • Brainstorming

 

 

Pre-Lecture #2:


(before the second lecture)

 

 

Beyond Ideation

 

 

Lecture #2:


(January 23rd)

 

 

Moving Forward

  • Introduction
  • Current Sensing for Electric Vehicles(link) Professor Olga Mironenko (olgamiro@illinois.edu)
  • Machine Shop – Gregg Bennett (gbenntt@illinois.edu)
  • Pitches
    • Autonomous Sailboat (link) – Professor Arne Fliflet (afliflet@illinois.edu)
    • The Watt Balance (link) – Daniella Pope (ddpope2@illinois.edu)
    • GPS Tags for Bat Conservation(link) – Josie Hoppenworth (jch8@illinois.edu)
    • ECEB Submetering(link) – Professor Jonathan Schuh (schuh4@illinois.edu)
  • Senior Design and Lab Safety (link) – Casey Smith (cjsmith0@illinois.edu)
  • PCB Tips (link)

 

Pre-Lecture #3:


(before the third lecture)

 

 

Design and Writing Tips

 

 

Lecture #3:

(January 30th)

 

 

Last Stop Before RFA

  • Intellectual Property – Dr. Michelle Chitambar (mchitamb@illinois.edu) (link)
  • Writing Center – Dr. Aaron Geiger (ageiger2@illinois.edu) (link)
  • Ethics (link)
  • Lionfish Trap project pitch – Katharine Klugman (klugman3@illinois.edu) (link)
  • Lab Notebook (link)
  • Modular Design (link)
  • R&V Table (link)
  • Proposal (link)
  • Design Review (link)

Spring 2023 Video Lectures:

Brainstorming

Finding a Problem (Video)
Generating Solutions (Video)
Diving Deeper (Video)
Voting (Video)
Reverse Brainstorming (Video)
Homework for Everyone (Video)

Important Information

Using the ECE 445 Website (Video)
Lab Notebook (Video , Slides)
Modular Design (Video, Slides)
Circuit Tips and Debugging (Video , Slides)
Eagle CAD Tutorial (Video)
Spring 2018 IEEE Eagle Workshop (Slides)
Spring 2018 IEEE Soldering Workshop (Slides)

Major Assignments and Milestones

Request for Approval (Video, Slides)
Project Proposal (Video, slides)
Design Document (Video, slides)
Design Review (Video, slides)
Writing Tips (Video, slides)

Propeller-less Multi-rotor

Ignacio Aguirre Panadero, Bree Peng, Leo Yamamae

Propeller-less Multi-rotor

Featured Project

Our project explored the every-expanding field of drones. We wanted to solve a problem with the dangers of plastic propellers as well as explore new method of propulsion for drones.

Our design uses a centrifugal fan design inspired by Samm Shepard's "This is NOT a Propeller" video where he created a centrifugal fan for a radio controlled plane. We were able to design a fan that has a peak output of 550g per fan that is safe when crashing and when the impeller inside damaged.

The chassis and fans are made of laser-cut polystyrene and is powered using brushless motors typically used for radio-controlled helicopters.

The drone uses an Arduino DUE with a custom shield and a PCB to control the system via Electronic Speed Controllers. The drone also has a feedback loop that will try to level the drone using a MPU6050.

We were able to prove that this method of drone propulsion is possible and is safer than using hard plastic propellers.

Project Videos