Hi there. I'm an undergrad (in computer science and engineering) about to go to final year. In our final year, we're required to do an year-long project. I was hoping if anyone could suggest me a REALLY GOOD project in embedded systems. Though I do not have any hands-on experience in such programming, I would definitely work for it.
Look at Circuit Cellar Magazine.
They have some great projects.
I would suggest purchasing a new micro development board (like Phillips new Arm 7's) and interface the development board with a PC using the serial port. You could make a GUI with Visual Basic that would run on the PC.
This would be a pure embedded / PC side software project. If you want to do more hardware, design your own development board. (Designing your own board may be a bit much for a school project though, consider the work load from your other classes)
Eric
*Not* another MP3 player.
I'll tell you what I'd build if I had time, an adaptive lawn sprinkler controller with integrated moisture sensors and a light spectroscopy sensor. It would adjust the water application times based on temp, moisture and lawn color and would tell me when to apply fertilizer. An http-based server showing temperature, water volume applied, moisture and color would be a nice add-on.
If you'd like to do it, I can scrape together some free/cheap hardware for you.
If your interested in embedded systems, try getting your hands on a Xilinix development board like the XUP2 or the ML310; the vertex 2/4 on these boards are pretty powerful (w/ embedded PowerPC processors). The boards are pretty nice because they have DDR slots along w/ ethernet, audio, video support.
Project ideas: ray tracing, hardware compression, etc. (Implementing the acutual mpeg encoding/decoding in hardware is not trivial btw).
-Haider
If your interested in embedded systems, try getting your hands on a Xilinix development board like the XUP2 or the ML310; the vertex 2/4 on these boards are pretty powerful (w/ embedded PowerPC processors). The boards are pretty nice because they have DDR slots along w/ ethernet, audio, video support.
Project ideas: ray tracing, hardware compression, etc. (Implementing the acutual mpeg encoding/decoding in hardware is not trivial btw).
-Haider
How about a prosthetic leg micro ? Informs the wearer about balance, too much left-right pressure,front back pressure AND too much heat! the latter is for when you're kneeling, welder and don't notice the sparks have caught that pant leg on fire. I've seen the latter happen to my friend.....
the unit is truly challenging as you need 4 or more waterproof pressure sensors, heat/fire detector, battery peration,buzzer/speaker with different tones for alarms.....
and it is 'embedded'...so to speak !
Jay
Hey guys Thanks a million for the replys But I'm really a novice here - haven't got a clue actually how to get started... Could anyone give me a good link or suggest some good book to kickstart the project and know about embedded systems??
Your department will have an archive of past student projects, a look at these will give you a good impression of what sort of size your project needs to be, and what sort of software/hardware balance you need to have. Chances are that the high-graded projects will not have masses of hardware or software, but they will be more "finished" than the huge projects.
It will not be vital to have the hardware in the early stages, as most of the software development can be done under a purely PC environment with any input/output being simulated or done via the parallel port.
Mike
Hi, This is one of my favorite sites to get ideas for new projects:
I always thought a good little project would be to send an accelerometer through different mail services to see how your package was being treated. Here is how I would design it:
A PICF676 connected to two ADXL321, a NX25P16, a MAX232 and a switch (Energizer L91s and linear reg). The two accelerometers are to cover all three axis. The PIC reads the three axis of the ADXL321s at a rate of lets say 100Hz. Take the maximum value during a one second period and store it as a single byte in the SPIFLASH (NX25P16). This will give you data every second for a period of about two weeks with a .07 g's resolution. When the PIC senses the closure of the switch the data is read from the flash and dumped across RS232 to a PC, where you can plot and analyze the data.
I would build a couple or so, so you could get a few tests running in parallel. I bet the data would be quite interesting.
Thomas Magma
Cute. This might violate hazardous materials shipping regulations-- IIRC, batteries have to be insulated so no current can flow, and even then there are other issues. Ran into this with some quantity shipments by airfreight, but I believe it applies to mail as well. We ended up have to get chemistry reports on the (insulated in plastic dry cell) batteries and so on.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
The transportation specification for the Energizer L91 states "Meets requirements of 49CFR 173.185(b) and IATA special provisions A45." Don't know what the hell that means....but I think they have internal fuses that prevent them from exploding. Electronic devices are shipped all the time that are running.
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Even better, I think that is a cheap enough device to be valuable as a tracking mechanism with shipments. If received damaged the dump, together with the transportation history, should be enough to closely establish the point and time of damage, and thus the flaws origin.
-- "If you want to post a followup via groups.google.com, don't use the broken "Reply" link at the bottom of the article. Click on "show options" at the top of the article, then click on the "Reply" at the bottom of the article headers." - Keith Thompson
Special Provision A123 which states: "An electrical battery or battery powered device having the potential of dangerous evolutions of heat that is not prepared so as to prevent a short-circuit (e.g. in the case of batteries, by the effective insulation of exposed terminals; or in the case of equipment, by disconnection of the battery and protection of exposed terminal) is forbidden from transportation."
Obviously there is a risk in general in transporting equipment that stores enough energy to start a fire. A faulty design of the
*circuitry* could conceivably take down an airliner.Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
For commercial use, I would throw in a MAX6607 temperature sensor . Record temperature as a byte every minute or two. If someone could convince me there is a market for such a device, I would donate my hardware and software skills. Other words...do all the fun stuff and collect a royalty stream in the end.
We ship battery-in products all the time. Some of the batteries are "DO NOT PUT THESE IN COMMERCIAL PLANES!" Lithium cells, and we haven't run into any hassles or issues with anyone. They've also got transmitters in them which gets the FAA and FCC interested in the shipments. The issue might be with shipping packages of batteries, not finished products. I'm not certain since I don't work in shipping.
As for the school project, I'd suggest doing something that is easy and looks impressive. I did mine using LEGO Mindstorms, and I closed up the custom sensors in LEGO. One of the judges thought that we didn't do anything for the whole term since he couldn't see wires and didn't understand how freaking long the code took. (We built a robot based on the Melexis competition.)
So, make it look good but d> Cute. This might violate hazardous materials shipping regulations--
It's both.
Maybe no one has checked carefully and/or declared the items that may be of importance. Maybe your shippers don't have hazmat training. There's a part of the contract, for example, with couriers etc. where the shipper certifies that the shipment contains nothing prohibited under the regulations.
The product had better be engineered to be compliant with regulations, so it can be shipped every time on time, wot?
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
There must be some exception. Otherwise, how could all those PCs be shipped? Every one of them has a battery to backup the clock. A big chunk of Dallas Semi line (Maxim, now?) contains batteries and operating circuitry: iButton, clock calendar modules, etc. None of these items can be shipped by air?
Bob
I don't really expect the bulk of PC mainboards to be transported by air. Or if so, they might not have the battery installed yet.
Those are special, because their power source is not exported to the outside. I.e. sort of someone banging on the thing with a hammer, the juice can't escape.
-- Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker@physik.rwth-aachen.de) Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.
Unless memory fails me catastrophically, market for such a device not only exists --- it's already been addressed by others. ISTR such "tracking letters" are routinely mailed around by the internal controlling department of every self-respecting postal office out there.
-- Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker@physik.rwth-aachen.de) Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.
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