Office Hours Display
The goal of this project is to develop a system which can display common messages (e.g., back in 30 minutes as well as open times and/or unavailable times) on an LCD display. The display should be suitable for placing in an office door or on the wall of a cubicle. The basic version should allow the user to select from a menu of standard messages. A more advanced version would allow the programming of new messages. A very advanced version would interface with a Palm Pilot or Pocket PC to display daily schedule information comingdirectly from a Personal Information Manager (PIM).
(Contact Prof. Merat, EECS)
Low Cost Web/Ethernet Based Data Acquisition System
A need exists for a low cost data acquisition system that would have minimum of eight analog channels. The data acquisition system (DAS) would be based on a device such as the JK Microsystems FlashLite board that contains an embedded web server. Data collected by the DAS would be accessed from software such as 4D, a cross platform database program, over Ethernet. The project would primarily entail the development of the software used by the FlashLite board as well as development and testing of the requisite 4D code to access data collected by the Flashlite. This project could be applicable to other types of web enabled single board computers.
(Contact Mr. Mark Podany, mpodany@pgmdi.com)
Smart Traffic Signs
This is a continuing senior project. Previous projects have used PIC based STAMP boards and commercial wireless boards operating at 433 MHz to successfully implement a prototype system which will broadcast traffic sign information to suitable receivers in cars. Although a proof of concept has been demonstrated there remains a large amount of work to be done. Specifically, potential projects include (1) interfacing 915 MHz transmitter and receiver boards to the STAMPS, (2) developing a directional antenna for the transmitter (perhaps a Yagi or circular waveguide - search for Pringles can antennas on the Web), (3) developing a software protocol which can accommodate transmitting information corresponding to the known sign types, (4) developing an antenna suitable for implantation in a road surface which can be used to select a specific channel to receive thereby allowing cars to receive lane specific information.
(Contact Prof. Merat, EECS)
Voice amplification/clarification
The goal of this project is to assist someone who has difficulty speaking (and being understood) with a signal processor which increases the volume and clarifies their speech.
Detailed Description:
This would be a new development. There exist circuits which convert typed text into speech; however, here the input would be the actual speech of the disabled person. The initial idea would be a develop a digital signal processing system which recognizes the person's actual speech and "translate" it into clearly understood speech. You would be working with an experienced engineer from LEAP (Linking Employment, Abilities and Potential) engineer who is interested in developing this concept.
(Contact Robert Schneider, CESG, cesg@cwru.edu, Olin 101)
Wireless Networked Gun Target Actuation System
A need exists for the development of wireless networked target actuation system such as is used for shooter training and practice. The actuator would be required to rotate a target 90° from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation for a pre-programmed period of time and then return the target to its initial position. The system must also be able to sense the impact of the round and drop the target when the target is struck. The system should be able to support a minimum of 10 actuators that can be accessed from a computer (preferably a laptop) over a wireless network (preferably 802.11 compliant). The system should be able to operate over a maximum distance of 300 yards from the base station to the furthest actuator. It is envisioned that the actuators would be laid out on the shooting range at distances from 5 to 300 yards from the firing point. The software would recognize the actuators and assign each an ID that would appear on the computer display. The user would then program the actuators for the amount of exposure time and hide time for each target and the total number of target exposures. These times are typically on the order of 5 seconds. The actuators would themselves require an on-board microprocessor to control the actuation mechanism, arbitrate communications and keep track of scoring. Scoring can performed in one of two modes. Mode 1 would score solely based on the number target impacts. Mode 2 would score using a time/distance based bias method in that the maximum point score can be obtained only within the first 2 seconds of exposure and decreasing thereafter until the target drops at the end of the exposure period. In addition, the software would allow the targets to be configured such that certain targets can be assigned a higher point score, such as those at further distances. The actuators must be designed to operate from a battery, and the design should be such that it maximizes operational time between battery recharges. The actuators must able to operate for a minimum of 100 actuations over a time period of five hours.
This project would concentrate upon the development of a target impact sensing mechanism, implementation of the wireless networking, software development for both the remote actuators as well as the base station. It is anticipated that a significant portion of the project can be implemented with commercial off the shelf (COTS) components.
(Contact Mr. Mark Podany, mpodany@pgmdi.com)
Adso the Librarian
This is a project for a local start-up company. There are numerous software packages for the management of digital photos (e.g., Apple iPhoto, Adobe Photoshop Album, iView Media Pro, etc.) There is, however, currently no robust cross-platform software available for the management of scanned files and images, and other user-created/user-acquired (UCUA) documents.A functional prototype database has been developed to perform simple search routines to locate UCUA journal articles, and searches can be performed by Author, by Journal, by Year, by Keyword, etc. The user was responsible for hand-coding this bibliographic information into the database, and linking this information to the electronic file. Adobe Acrobat Forms was used to re-capture this bibliographic information, and attach it to the electronic file. This functional prototype was developed in 4D for the Apple Gx platform.
This functional prototype needs fundamental and evolutionary enhancements. The company desires the following tasks: (1) evaluation of similar/competitive products, identifying strengths and weaknesses; (2) improved search capabilities, possibly including GREP-style features; (3) data import/export capability; (4) duplicate entry management and internal data synchronization; (5) improved GUI (company will assist/develop/provide artwork to support); (6) streamlined data entry process; (7) cross-platform support (MAC/PC); (8) document preview; and (9) interface to other databases (e.g., Lexis-Nexis, SilverPlatter, etc.).
This will be a classic "real-world" design engineering project, with project management, design plan and schedule, design specifications, design activities and design reviews, design verification, design validation, and design documentation. The company seeks excellence in design and design documentation.
(Contact James J. Rogers, Coastal Consulting Group, Ltd. coastalcg@earthlink.net)