Project
# | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | Bird Box Honorable Mention |
Chang-Wei Chang Megan Roller Weihang Liang |
Yangge Li | appendix1.zip appendix2.pdf appendix3.zip design_document3.pdf final_paper2.pdf other2.docx other3.pdf other1.pdf other4.pdf photo2.pdf presentation2.pdf proposal2.pdf video |
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This idea was pitched at the second lecture by Shelby Lawson. https://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/lectures/FA_2019_Lectures/Pitches/shelby_ECE_pitch.pptx # Problem Birds communicate with each other with different sounds and frequencies. Sometimes they have similar responses to different sounds. Other times, researchers can only understand what the birds hear by observing the surrounding environment. Researchers need better ways to know what can a bird actually hear and what frequencies can it distinguish. # Solution Overview Our solution for determining what the birds can hear is to create a bird box. The bird box is a container that has a speaker to play test sounds, choice buttons for birds to make choices when responding to the test sounds, camera to monitor the bird, a food reward dispenser when the bird makes the correct choice, and a light to be turned off for punishment. The box can also be controlled by an automated computer program that runs trials autonomously. The bird box can provide an ideal experiment environment for researchers to test the bird’s ability to recognize sounds. # Solution Components ## Reward and Punishment Subsystem - Food reward dispenser for giving the birds food as rewards - LED light that can be turned off for punishment ## Output Subsystem - Speaker for playing specific test sounds and frequencies ## Sensor Subsystem - Choice buttons for the birds to push to make a choice - Camera for monitoring the bird’s activity - Microphone for monitoring the bird’s activity ## Processing Subsystem - Internal microcontroller on custom PCB for detecting button pushes and controlling the food reward dispenser and light. (Atmel ATmega328) - A low power single board computer that can run programs, process camera and microphone data, and communicate with the microcontroller. (Raspberry Pi 4) - The internal microcontroller will be communicating with the single board computer through UART serial communication. It will send which button is pushed in response to the sound played. ## Power Subsystem - The system will be powered by a single 5V USB power supply. All the components will be rated at 5V. However, if the food reward dispenser is available, we will potentially use a different power supply for that. # Criterion for Success - Must have a training course to teach the bird how to participate. - The box itself must be able to withstand multiple birds without needing to replace components and must be easy to clean between subjects. - If the correct button is pressed, food should be dispensed as a reward. - If the incorrect button is pressed the light will turn off as negative feedback. |