Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
64 Autonomous Tiny Robots
 Timothy Claussen
 Luke Wendt design_document0.pdf
proposal0.pdf
Autonomous tiny robots
Our project is based on our previously rejected project, Swarm UI. I can understand the concerns regarding our project and I think this is because I didn’t explain in details. I think that our project is totally doable and it worth a second chance. The main function of the robots is for display and computer interaction. We can attach LEDs to make the display more appealing.

Robot structure:
The robot will be very small and in a circular shape. We expect it to be 3 cm wide and 3cm high. A Lithium polymer battery will power each robot. The overall enclosure of the robot will be 3D printed. Touch sensors are used for collision detection. To communicate with the computer, we will use a NRF24L01 chip. In addition to that, we also need photodiode for light tracking.

Tracking:
The tracking system will be projector based. The pattern will be projected onto a flat surface. The robot will independently decode its position inside the projected area.

Software:
Feedbacks from robots are input for our application layer software. The desired position of the robot will be updated as we receive more input. We expect the whole algorithm as a state machine diagram.



Tutorial for remote control using NRF24L01:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Wireless-Remote-Using-24-Ghz-NRF24L01-Simple-Tutor/

Master Bus Processor

Clay Kaiser, Philip Macias, Richard Mannion

Master Bus Processor

Featured Project

General Description

We will design a Master Bus Processor (MBP) for music production in home studios. The MBP will use a hybrid analog/digital approach to provide both the desirable non-linearities of analog processing and the flexibility of digital control. Our design will be less costly than other audio bus processors so that it is more accessible to our target market of home studio owners. The MBP will be unique in its low cost as well as in its incorporation of a digital hardware control system. This allows for more flexibility and more intuitive controls when compared to other products on the market.

Design Proposal

Our design would contain a core functionality with scalability in added functionality. It would be designed to fit in a 2U rack mount enclosure with distinct boards for digital and analog circuits to allow for easier unit testings and account for digital/analog interference.

The audio processing signal chain would be composed of analog processing 'blocks’--like steps in the signal chain.

The basic analog blocks we would integrate are:

Compressor/limiter modes

EQ with shelf/bell modes

Saturation with symmetrical/asymmetrical modes

Each block’s multiple modes would be controlled by a digital circuit to allow for intuitive mode selection.

The digital circuit will be responsible for:

Mode selection

Analog block sequence

DSP feedback and monitoring of each analog block (REACH GOAL)

The digital circuit will entail a series of buttons to allow the user to easily select which analog block to control and another button to allow the user to scroll between different modes and presets. Another button will allow the user to control sequence of the analog blocks. An LCD display will be used to give the user feedback of the current state of the system when scrolling and selecting particular modes.

Reach Goals

added DSP functionality such as monitoring of the analog functions

Replace Arduino boards for DSP with custom digital control boards using ATmega328 microcontrollers (same as arduino board)

Rack mounted enclosure/marketable design

System Verification

We will qualify the success of the project by how closely its processing performance matches the design intent. Since audio 'quality’ can be highly subjective, we will rely on objective metrics such as Gain Reduction (GR [dB]), Total Harmonic Distortion (THD [%]), and Noise [V] to qualify the analog processing blocks. The digital controls will be qualified by their ability to actuate the correct analog blocks consistently without causing disruptions to the signal chain or interference. Additionally, the hardware user interface will be qualified by ease of use and intuitiveness.

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