CS 150, Spring 1998
Group Projects


Randomized Automatic Teller Machine Keypad

Saurabh Sharma 
Hoa Tram 
Sneha Veeragoudar 

Project TA: Chris Eng

Abstract 
Our dedicated team has undertaken the task of making the world a safer place for all to live. We have built a randomized ATM keypad which will deter thieves from attacking innocent people at the ATM and stealing their wallets. Currently, ATMs have numbers permanently set in the following format: 
           1  2  3
           4  5  6
           7  8  9
              0
Our new and improved ATM keypad will randomly remap the buttons every time a new user uses the ATM. This way, even if someone behind the user sees the buttons pressed they still will not know what the user's PIN code is. 

Electronic Wallet

Dennis Lin 
Kelvin Lwin 
Jacob Chang 
Tony Huang 

Project TA: Chris Eng

Abstract 
This wallet will sort and maintain an inventory of your change in any denomination of your choice (changeable using currency card). Upon request, it will give you the optimal amount of change instantly. The greedy algorithm is used to implement the dispensing logic. If the change amount is not possible, it will give you a notice and dispense the next amount up. It will warn you when you are running low on money so that you can refill at your next bank trip. It also warns you when your wallet is getting too heavy because of all the coins. 

PC Lightgun

Daniel Koo 
Glen Tseng 
Binh Nguyen 

Project TA: Chris Eng

Abstract 
Using a light gun manufactured for SEGA Masters System, we connect the light gun's pinouts onto our Xilinx board. When trigger is pulled while the gun is pointing at the screen, we calculate the coordinate of the target using the PC screen refresh rate, and output the coordinates to the PC using serial port connection. 

Audio Filtering

Adebaby Bekele 
Umer Khan 
Gilbert Wong 

Project TA: Chris Eng

Abstract 
Digital communication is becoming more prevalent in industry today. Digital signal processing done by software is relatively slow. To meet the needs of high speed data filtering, we proposed to do high performance digital filtering in hardware. In our project we will filter audio signals through a low pass filter. Hardware we are using includes 8-bit 8-tap filter, A/D converter, D/A converter, SRAM, speaker, microphone and Xilinx (XC4010XL). 

Automated Parking Space

An-Hoe Shih 
Geoffrey Perez 
Yuan Kui Shen 
Hubert Huang 

Project TA: Chris Eng

Abstract 
Tired of lugging loose change around every time you want to park? Hassled by the constant stress of worrying whether the parking meter has expired? Then we have the solution for you, AMPS, the parking system of the 21st century. AMPS makes obsolete that arcane mechanical way of parking fee collection. As you drive your car to a curb along side an AMPS unit, a device on your car will automatically send a stream of you vehicle identification number (VIN) to the AMPS unit. This will tell the AMPS who you are. While you go on to do your business, the AMPS unit will accurately keep track of your parking fee to the exact second. When you leave, AMPS sends the parking meter fee you accumulated and your identifying information to a centralized processing system, where the parking charges are correctly tabulated and accounted. Every month, a bill containing your parking bill will arrive in the mail. 

WWTag

Joshua Dobies 
Jonas Edgeworth 
Mark Kamal 
Carolyn Peer 

Project TA: Chris Eng

Abstract 
WWTag is a game of tag that spans the globe. Players carry a small (pensize) game piece that acts as the tagger and target. When a tag hits its target, it is remembered within the device. Later, players can upload the stored tag information to a global web site that keeps a tally of the world-wide score. Infrared signals are used as the tagging mechanism. These signals also serially encode information about the tag. Information is stored within SRAM chips. We download information to a computer via an RS232 port. 

Intelligent House Heater

Aleksey Potashnik 
Roman Brouk 
Maksim Oykher 
Yuri Yuryev 

Project TA: Chris Eng

Abstract 
The objective of this project is to create a digital heater that would only heat those rooms in the house where someone is present. The system allows the user to set the desired temperature from 17 degrees C to 32 degrees C (63 to 90 degrees F). This temperature will be maintained in all of the rooms where there is a person. The other feature of this system is that it has a "look ahead" logic. Motion detectors are installed in all of the rooms and passages that connect them. As soon as a person enters or leaves the room, or reaches the detector in the passage, the look ahead logic analyzes the type of change that has occurred. Based on this change, the logic predicts where the person is going, and in all the room that could be the possible destination, the heat is turned on (if the natural room temperature is less than the value set by the user.) As the person progress towards the room he/she is going to, there are less and less possible destinations, so the heat is gradually turned off in all the rooms that are no longer a likely destination. Eventually, when the user reaches the desired room, this room is the only one that's being heated. In all the other room, the heat has been turned off at this point. The intelligent house heater allows for power saving since the only rooms that are heated are the ones that need to be heated. As soon as the user enters the house and sets the desired temperature, he/she can forget about it - the intelligent house heater is going to do the rest. 

Speak-Aid

Tyler Bryant 
Eunice Chang 
Simar Maangat 
Ryan Schmidt 

Project TA: Andrew Sun

Abstract 
The problem we are solving is the recording and playing of voice messages for the handicapped. A disabled person, who cannot communicate verbally, can use this device to 'talk' to other people. Many of these people may also lack fine motor control, which is why our device has very few buttons that are used to select a message. Currently these people can communicate by pointing to a word or phrase on a card. The card contains a list of verbs, subjects, adjective, questions, and common phrases. The problem with this card system is that people who have a hard time controlling their physical movements cannot easily point to something small on a page. This method also assumes that the person with whom the disabled person is communicating can read. Additionally, the person must be looking over the shoulder of the disabled person when the word is pointed out. The card system cannot be used to communicate with a child, a blind person, or someone who is illiterate. Other means of communication usually involve expensive electronics and software. 

Smart Wipers

A. Duane Pinkerton III 
Jennifer Sorem 

Project TA: Andrew Sun

Abstract 
Keeping one's windshield clear is just another thing to worry about when driving. It can be difficult to find a perfect match for the amount of rain on your windshield when you only have 4 (or so) manual settings. If it's not the right match you get the irksome stutter of wiper blades across the windscreen or visibility can be compromised in a deluge. Adjusting to sporadic changes in weather when you're trying to drink your latte and change lanes is a pain...wouldn't it be cool to just flip your wipers to "auto" mode and let them figure it out? We decided to build the controller for such a wiper system for our CS 150 project. 
The idea is to have an ultrasonic buzzer on the outside of the car emitting a signal received by a transducer inside the car. When in auto mode, the controller detects the presence (and amount) of water on the windshield by measuring the velocity change of the ultrasonic pulse. The controller then decides if, when, and how often to wipe. Some people like letting a lot of rain accumulate before wiping and others need to wipe at every drop, so we have provided 8 sensitivity settings to adjust the wipers' default behavior. High, low, and "mist" wiper speeds are also available for conventional operation of the windshield wipers. 

Touch-Tone Phone Controlled VCR Control Unit

Bsa Chung 
Lily Tam 
Michael Tse 

Project TA: Andrew Sun

Abstract 
In this day and age, television plays a major role in everyone's life. Everyone has his own favorite TV shows that he never misses. But what if one is out of town or in some foreign country that does not receive US broadcast channels? And also one forgot to program his VCR to record his favorite shows when he left for a trip. This happens to all people and makes people frustrated. Would it be nice if we can program our VCR remotely to record our favorite shows when we are in some other country as far away as Japan or China?
We propose a device that is able to receive commands from a touch-tone phone and program a VCR to record TV show according to the user's inputs via the touch-tone pad. The use of telephone as an intermediate input device is ideal since telephone is pervasive is today's households; it is the ideal "remote control" device available for our problem. The device is interactive. It operates by accepting commands from a touch tone phone. The user can enter inputs by pressing the appropriate numbers on the keypad and the device will respond by programming the VCR to record under the user's inputs: year, month, day, time-on, time-off, and channel. 

Sound Activated Device Locator

Donny Chan 
Jennifer E. Chen 
Bertilla Miao 

Project TA: Andrew Sun

Abstract 
Our project, the Sound Activated Device Locator, centers around solving the simple problem of locating small everyday objects which we tend to lose. Items included in this list would be keys, remote controls, wallets, glasses, etc. These items when misplaced are difficult to find due to their lack of size. Much time is wasted searching underneath books, papers, cushions, chairs, etc. when one of these objects are lost. This usually leads to a great deal of frustration and anger. By building a device that will help people locate these items when misplaced, we intend to make everyday life easier. All people would have to do is clap their hands in a specific manner and the locator will start to beep. If the beeping is not loud enough, give another clap sequence and the locator will beep with a greater volume. Once the item is found a button can be pressed to turn off the beeping. 

Morse Code Translator

Larry Wellbrock 
Jerry Yee 

Project TA: Andrew Sun

Abstract 
Ship captains and pilots are required to be familiar with Morse code in case of emergencies. If their radios malfunction, they need to use Morse code to signal for help. Previously they needed to either lookup Morse code in a book or memorize Morse code in order to translate their messages. This was a tedious and time consuming procedure. Our project will allow the user to input text messages with a keypad and send them into the MCT. The message will be output in Morse code to a speaker and LED. The MCT can also decode Morse code sent from another source. The user will input Morse code using a button to create dots and dashes. The MCT will output the translated message to an LCD screen. 

Keyless Entry System

Nick Sanders 
Ming Dat Tam 
Loren Will 

Project TA: Andrew Sun

Abstract 
The conventional lock and key combination requires that a person physically insert the key into the lock in order to lock or unlock a door. There are several problems with this implementation. First, if a person loses his/her key the lock must be replaced or the individual risks someone finding the key and using it to get into your car or home. Secondly, since lock and key combinations are unique a person must carry several keys for each lock installed in the house. Lastly, this implementation requires that a person's hand is freely available to physically insert the key into the lock to lock or unlock a door. This becomes a problem when neither hand is available (e.g. carrying groceries). 
The Keyless Entry System takes a different approach that solves many of these problems. It consists of two main parts: 1) the actual locking mechanism designed for home and car doors containing an IR receiver and 2) a remote controlled device (watch) used to unlock the lock. The lock's bolt is controlled electronically. The watch will use "line-of-sight" IR to communicate with the lock. The lock is mounted in the wall with an interior and exterior side (the bolt will enter the door to lock it). Each lock is assigned a unique identification number stored in a ROM to prevent unauthorized entry. On the interior side a keypad is used to put the lock into "super-user" mode. This is done by entering the hex representation of the lock ID into the keypad. In "super-user" mode the individual can change settings such as adding lock IDs and their corresponding password into the watch's table or updating/deleting existing entries. A series of transactions between watch and lock must take place (i.e. lock ID and password lookup and identification) before confirmation is acknowledged and the lock position changed. Since a watch can store information on several locks, only one watch is needed to open all desired locks. If a watch is lost the locks do not need to be replaced--simply replace the password for the locks by generating new ones and update this information on your watch/watches. 

Pattern Recognition Lock

Michael Lin 
Ellen Wang 
Helen Ye 

Project TA: Andrew Sun

Abstract 
We are exploring alternatives to designing an electronic lock device other than the very common and conventional ways such as using key pads, magnetic strips, bar codes, and card keys. What we came up with is a device that captures and processes images, and decides whether to open the lock or to signal an error. Our original (cool!) idea was to implement a "Fingerprint Lock", which would scan a person's fingerprint, and then decide whether the person is authorized. Although that sounds more like wishful-thinking now, we were actually very excited about creating such a device for this class. However, due to the complicated nature of the fingerprint-recognition algorithm and the limiting time factor of only one semester, we were forced to reduce our project to our current "pattern-recognition lock". (After all, if we were able to implement, from scratch, a fingerprint-recognition device in a semester, we wouldn't still be in school!) 

Intelligent Answering Machine

Kai-Fan Lee 
Yuan Tan 
Yen-Chung Chen 
Hin-Fai Ricky Chan 

Project TA: Tina

Abstract 
The performance of an answering machine is normally evaluated by the effectiveness of its basic function: recording and playing back the incoming phone messages. From an oversimplified technical perspective, any machine that reliably answers phone messages is a good answering machine. This kind of evaluation, however, overlooks some subtle aspects. Users could expect his or her personal answering machine do something more than just naively recording all incoming messages and plays them back whenever, whoever presses a button. Users may want the answering machine to be able to recognize the important messages and give them special treatments, and give unimportant messages a routine treatment. To have those features, the extra work needed is just giving the machine more information about the phone calls. With the Bellcore Calling Number Delivery (CND) service, these works can be done. The intelligent answering machine project integrates this CND technology into a customized logic design, and gives personal answering machine a new meaning and a sense of intelligence. 

Mailbox with Security Code

Thanh Dang 
Kinh Dang 
Tram Vo 
MaiKhanh Le 

Project TA: Tina

Abstract 
Every year, thousands of student nation wide cluster into the small town of Berkeley to find a place to live while going to school here. It's very normal to find a group of two or three students sharing one small apartment and other neccesities. And most of the time privacy is a hot issuse to discuss among these students. Speaking of privacy, my roomates and I find that it's very disturbing when one's messages on our answering machine are accidentally heard by others . Recently we came up with an idea of building an answering machine with security code. That is the user has to enter a secret code in order to read the messages left on the answering machine. That way, privacy for each member will be preserved. 
As mentioned above, a security mail box with secret access code will be used to solve the problem. Besides the basic features that an aswering should have, i.e the caller leave message on the answering machine and the number of messages is displayed to the owner to notice him/her that s/he has messages, our answering machine only give access to the one who know the access code. 
After a message is left on a mail box, the total of new messages is displayed on an seven-segment display. Then, the user will have to enter a secret code to access his/her mail box. Once she/he has already accessed the mail box, he or she can play his/her messages. Everytime a new message is played the total number of unplayed messages will be reduced by one. 

HOMEVoice: A Personal Voice Mail System

Michael Luu 
Hsi-Yuan (David) Teng 
Mindy Chen 
Greg Bateman 

Project TA: Tina

Abstract 
Problem Description 
When trying to reach a person using a telephone, if the targeted person is not in, many times, a game of "answering-machine tag" ensues. The targeted person hears a message on his answering machine, so he returns the call. But if the original caller is not in, then another round of "answer-machine tag" must occur. This unpleasant game is a time-wasting necessity of today's busy person. If there were only a way to instantly reach the targeted person, wherever he may be, then hours of time could be saved. 

Proposed solution 
Our solution to this disagreeable game of "answering-machine tag" is to create a box that will automatically reach the targeted person via the standard paging network. This box would simulate some of the most useful features of a third party voice-mail system, but would be located in-line between the person's answering machine and the wall telephone jack. The primary function of the device is to route the caller's telephone number to the targeted person's pager. We propose the following method of doing so: When a person calls in and reaches the answering machine, he will hear a message prompting him to either leave a voice message or enter his telephone number. For example, he would wait until the answering machine beep to leave his voice message, or he could press the star key plus his phone number on a standard telephone keypad. The box would accordingly either inactivate itself, allowing a message to pass through to the answering machine, or it would activate, recording whatever number was entered after the star(*). After the caller hangs up, the box would then dial out to the preset pager number, wait a few seconds, then output the recorded number. The targeted person would thus receive the message in a matter of seconds. After this happens, the box will hang up the phone, then reset itself, waiting for the next phone call. We feel that with today's widespread use of pagers, this will be an inexpensive, indispensable product for anyone to be available anywhere, whether at home, in the office, or out on the road. 


CallSense

Megan Lin 
Eemei Tang 
Geoffrey Soh 
Gregory Chew 

Project TA: Tina

Abstract 
Many an Internet surfer has found himself in the following dilemma with regard to Call Waiting -- either disable Call Waiting during those large downloads, and thus risk missing a possibly important telephone call, or leave Call Waiting on, and waste many hours of download time because your best friend called to tell you the Drakh are attacking after you've downloaded 98% of Netscape 4.01. Of course, newer modems no longer get cut off by the Call Waiting beep, in which case you'd be missing calls anyway. In any case, the outcome is not too satisfactory. 
CallSense is a device that is geared towards solving this problem. Using a fairly new extension of CID (Caller Identification), called CIDCW (Caller Identification on Call Waiting), our device simply sits between your modem and the telephone outlet. At any other time, CallSense simply does nothing, and your modem connection carries on as normal. But when a second call comes in while you are online, our device will detect the incoming call and alert you of its presence. In addition, if you also subscribe to Caller-ID, CallSense will receive and decode the incoming Caller-ID message, and store the incoming number, caller's name, time, and date in an SRAM, and display it on an LCD. 

The Better Telephone Project

Chin Vang 
John Alioto 
Ralph Peng 

Project TA: Tina

Abstract 
The Better Telephone Project allows disabling of calls from people to whom you do not wish to speak, or by whom you do not wish to be disturbed. This product can be used to avoid calls from tele-markets, wrong numbers, or simply when you want to get a good night's sleep. 
The Better Telephone allows the ringer to be disabled unless the call is from someone whose number is part of the programmable database. If the caller's number is not contained in the database, the person can leave a message on the answering machine as usual. Since the ringer is disabled, however, the phone does not ring and the owner is not disturbed. The benefit of this product over other CallerID products is that people do not need to run to the phone to read the incoming phone number every time the phone rings. This means no more wrong numbers at 8 a.m. in the morning. In fact, theoretically, if the database was programmed completely, whenever the phone rings, you know that it is someone you want to talk to! 
With this project we intend to provide a product is both useful and incorporates digital design concepts. The basic functionality of the project is as follows: A person can enter phone numbers into database positions 0, 1, and 2. When a call comes in, the CallerID phone number is compared against the list of important phone numbers contained in the database. If the number is found, the ringer is enable for one ring, and a green light is turned on to indicate that there is an important call incoming. The person can then chose to answer the call or simply ignore it. 

Padded Room

Helen Friedland 
Josh Vermette 

Project TA: Tina

Abstract 
The smartroom keeps track of the state of a room according to who is currently in the room. This can be used for anything from a secure room, to preferences about what state the room should be in when a specific user enters, to restricting the use of certain things to certain people. A child, for instance, could be disallowed access to the stove. A user could specify that they want the lights and radio on when they enter. Undesirables could be refused entry. The room keeps track of who has requested what, and modifies the roomstate as people enter and leave. The room state is first come, first serve, so that a conflicting preference is not set until the person who has it set has left. 

Smart Door

Huy Nguyen 
Vinh Quang Dang 
Giac Vu 
Trong Hieu Huynh 

Project TA: Tina

Abstract 
Visiting someone or delivering something to a house or an office when the owner not at home can waste your time. Imagine that you work for UPS and deliver a valuable items but the owners are not home all the time? How could you guarantee that a note posted on the door may not easily fell off! 
Coming back over and over again is inefficient way. Although you can get back home and make a phone call to leave a message for the owners, but what happened if you don't have their phone numbers? Luckily, our SMART DOOR design is comming in the rescue. SMART DOOR will notify you if owner is not home, let you record your phone number and let the owner known his visitors' phone numbers to call back. 

TIM

(Television Information Manager) 

Jeffrey Shneidman 
David Vierzba 

Project TA: Derek Young

Abstract 

        A major problem exists with television cooking shows. While sometimes quite entertaining, the hosts of these TV shows usually give recipes at a speed too fast to write down while still allowing the viewer to maintain any sense of "enjoyment" of the show.  Short of recording the program and then playing it back to gather all pertinent recipe information (with a finger on the pause or rewind key), there is no easy method for gathering recipe data. 
        Our project solves this problem by encoding a textual representation of the recipe into a data stream in part of the visible region of the television signal. Our signal decoder uses a specialized piece of hardware consisting of a Xilinx 4005E, an Optrex LCD display, a 8192 byte SRAM, an Elantec 4583C Sync Separator, a few tact switches, and an analog capture circuit connected to an incoming television signal. As the cooking show is displayed on the television, it is simultaneously routed to our hardware device. Our hardware device then decodes the data stream and stores the recipe data in memory and then displays it on the LCD screen. The user can then finish watching the television program and review the recipe at his leisure. 
 


The Perfect Parker

"The Only Way to Parallel Park" 
 
Kuan Kou 
Patrick Louie 

Project TA: Derek Young

Abstract 

Parallel parking is a hard task, which requires natural skill and much practice.  Even with years of practice, many still finds that parallel parking is difficult especially compounded with other factors such as traffic and parking a different vehicle. 

With these problems in mind we intend to create a parking solution.  The Perfect Parker will be able to park in a parking space if there is  enough room to park.  All the user has to do is pull up to the car  beside the car in front of the empty parking space and press a button  and the Perfect Parker will do the rest. 


Spy Camera

Sissie Hsiao 
Danny Ho 
Mickey Ryder 
Edward Liu 

Project TA: Derek Young

Abstract 

The underlying idea of our project was to take a portable camera chip  and send its signal, via infrared, to a receiver, which would then take that signal and display it on a monitor.  Since the IR transmitter is fairly slow compared to the maximum operating speeds of the camera and monitor, we will isolate the portions of the camera signal that contain actual image data. An SRAM will store the image data, and when a full 200x200 frame (40,000 bits) has been captured, the data is sent to an IR transmitter (which will export a sequence of "prologue bits" to inform the reciever that it is about to receive new information).  The IR receiver, upon receiving the "prologue bits" will begin writing the information it receives to its own SRAM.  When all 40,000 bits have been received, the SRAM will then send the information to the monitor, adding the vertical syncs and horizontal syncs that was removed by the transmission SRAM. 


Music Ball 

Devin Jones 
Vincent Jorgensen 
Celia La 

Project TA: Derek Young

Abstract 

Our problem is not necessarily a problem. Rather, it is a toy for some and music for others. It is a simple to use musical instrument. It lacks the complexity of a piano, or trombone, or a violin, and requires simple wrist movements to operate. The ability to create and recreate music has always been the exclusive domain of competent musicians. While what we propose cannot produce talent, it does put music into the everyday capacity of the average person. 

Why not build a musical instrument and toy that can be played by anyone, regardless of their particular inclinations or handicaps. Anyone can roll a ball, so let us put the interface in the ball. Then let the user roll the ball between their hands, or along the floor, and hear something for their efforts. For those that simply use this as a toy, it will entertain and amuse. For those musically inclined, roll the ball along one axis, and then another, and see what combination of notes are produced. With a little practice, music is coming out of the ball. The beautiful part is, no user will ever have to read a sheet of music or learn any musical theory in order to roll a ball. The limit of its usage and entertainment its value is purely determined by the ambition and curiosity of the user.


Talking Refigerator Magnets

Joshua Coates 
Ben Coates 

Project TA: Derek Young

Abstract 

Since the advent of modern refrigeration technology in the 1950's  consumer demand for devices that leverage the metallic surface of  the refrigerator has been largely satisfied with static magnetic  devices.  Talking Refrigerator Magnets are a technology that will  revolutionize how we think about refrigerator surfaces in our homes. 

Static refrigerator magnets are merely holding devices, fastened  to cute designs or ceramic pieces to add to the dicor of the  kitchen. Other types of magnets represent colorful alphanumeric  teaching devices for our children.  More recently the idea of  labeling magnets with words, and creating complex sentences and  works of poetry has been realized in a wildly popular product.  Talking Refrigerator Magnets takes the next logical step by  maintaining the novelty and educational value of previous mechanism,  and adding digitized speech technology. Children now hear the words  they spell and poems now recite themselves with Talking Refrigerator  Magnets. 

The device consists of many individual pieces that are "words"  and one main piece which does the talking.  The main piece sends  out a request for word identification and as it receives them,  it references them in a voice chip memory and plays the word.  The prototype is implemented in three Xilinx boards, one main  and two words.  The words will also be implemented using  a ROM and a shift register mounted on a small piece of foam  core with magnets on the back, of course.   


Assertive Alarm Clock

Dickson Cho 
Robert Lam 
Po-Ying Liu 
Gautam Venkatesh 

Project TA: Derek Young

Abstract 

        An ordinary alarm clock is not effective.  Most people fool themselves into thinking that they have more time to sleep by hitting the SNOOZE button when the alarm goes off.  This defeats the purpose of an alarm clock, because people will not wake up when alerted to do so.  Ironically the SNOOZE button promotes laziness, not punctuality. 
        Our key to attempt solving this problem is to annoy the sleeper until he is willing to get up and "exercise" his brain.  Only when he can omplete a game similar to Simon will the alarm be stopped.  Hopefully at that time, the sleeper is fully awake and ready to engage the rest of his daily challenges. 
 


CPU

Jimmy Agustin 
Ben Byon 
Lawrence Chin 

Project TA: Derek Young

Abstract 

Using concepts and tools from cs150, we are developing a handheld microprocessor that will be able to execute basic programs which use our specialized instruction set. The architecture is similar to the MIPS/RISC architecture. 
 


AIR SKETCHER

HELEN ZHANG 
ANSJORY, CHI IONG 
LIU, TONG 
CHAN, JACKSON 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

The purpose of our project is to sketch any three-dimensional object with a magic pen. Then, the outline of the object would show up on the CGA screen in two dimensions, and the third dimension would be implied by the a range of various colors on the two dimensional outline in order to represent the various depth of the object. The magic pen is built up by three accelerometers, which measure the accelerations in three dimensions. Then, apply the rule of calculus: Distance is the integration of velocity over time and velocity is the integration of acceleration over time. The distance data in digital form can be processed by the logic we designed, and can be mapped on the CGA monitor as we want. Therefore, any object in three dimensions can be seen on the CGA monitor after we sketched it.  
 


TRACKER

Yevgeny Berdichevsky 
GEORGE HONG 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

Our device allows us to track a person's movement in a two-coordinate space with dimensions of up to 30x30 meters. The person's position is displayed on an EGA monitor as a cursor, and the person's movements translate directly to movement of the cursor. Also, as the cursor moves, it leaves a trace of its path. Possible applications for this device: 1) tracking a person or object's movement; 2) mapping; 3) navigating, provided a map. Our device consists of 2 accelerometers (ADXL05JH), for the two axes, whose output is sampled by an 8-bit A/D converter (HI1175JCP). Using the technique of double integration, acceleration is translated into displacement, and then displayed on the CRT.  
 


P.I.E


Jeff Cheng 
Tim Wang 
Dave Wang 
Meng Li 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

We seek through this project to build a handheld device capable of certain functionalities found in present day handheld devices, such as the Palm-Pilot and the Sharp SE-500, but also with the added functionality of information exchange between two similar devices. More specifically, our project constitutes the building of a device that can 1) recognize handwriting on the touch-screen LCD, 2) store and sort contact names and their corresponding information, 3) edit the stored information and display on the LCD, and 4) exchange information between two similar devices using a cable. Additional functionality may be built in to make the device capable of transferring information using infra-red or radio waves, At the completion of the project, we will demonstrate our device using a touch-screen LCD, Xilinx board with 4010XL chip, a RAM, and perhaps a ROM. All the functionality described above should be demonstrated in a satisfactory manner.  
 


Digital Bike

David Blackman 
Joel McCall 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

Problem

Explaining and demonstrating the physics of riding a bike is difficult, even more difficult to teach to a toddler. For the toddler, learning by trial and error through natural consequences of not balancing is painful and scary. The learning experience nat urally is frustrating and discouraging for both teacher and toddler.

Our Basic Solution

Create a bike to simulate the riding experience that would pedal, lean , turn and brake just like a regular bike, but be stationery. Also unlike a bike, it would give accurate balancing feedback consistently and calmly. Since the bike and the coach are st ationary and environmental safety distractions are eliminated along with this electronic feedback, all attention would be concentrated on the toddler learning to ride a bike. The focused attention would provide very efficient, effective, safe, and pleasan t and successful learning experiences. This bike will even provide balancing feedback and will fall over if not balanced correctly.  
 


Transvirtual Auto Pong

Paul Wagner 
david c. yang 
 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

The proposed project "transvirtual auto pong" will be an attempt to implement a mechanical, electronically controlled game board where a "robot" paddle battles a human opponent. A 0.5" stainless steel ball will be used on the playing field and the object of the game will be for each paddle to deter the ball from passing into its respective "goal" (i.e. a hole in one end of the game board that extends the width of the board. The computer-controlled paddle will be endowed with the intelligence necessary to deflect the ball and prevent a goal, but will not be designed to actively try and score on the other paddle. Math equations, implemented through gate logic, will be used by the robot paddle to determine ball location & velocity, as well as to extrapolate the balls trajectory in order to pin-point an impact point. These equations will rely on the successive triggering of resin-embedded dual-wire detectors perpendicularly oriented throughout the board.  
 


Magic Wand

Chad Jamart 
John Bowling 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

Billboards and posters are everywhere you look. On your way to work or school you may encounter tens to hundreds of them. Many small companies use billboards as an advertisement medium by using them to display a simple message about their services. Unfortunately, large corporations can afford costly, elaborate, and artistic billboards, which tend to catch the eye of the average person passing by and cause the smaller, plain billboards to be ignored. Thus, small companies are wasting their precious advertising budget. It would be nice if there was an inexpensive manner which companies could use to display simple messages and still have it catch the attention of the average person. The wand waver, using its digital technology, would be able to accomplish this very goal. The wand waver is a design project that tests this very idea. The wand waver we will be designing is a handheld row of lights (LED's) that when waved back and forth at any frequency displays a pre-programmed, 4 letter message by alternating the sequence that its LED's turn on and off. Our device will use an accelerometer to find the acceleration, velocity, and position of the wand to make the frequency that the LED's light a function of these parameters. This will add considerable complexity to our project, but will give the wand additional capabilities, such as allowing the user to wave the wand at a wide range of frequencies and still see the message, something that would not be possible without the accelerometer. Making our output a function of position will also enable us to print the message out backwards when the user is moving from right to left, thus giving the illusion that the word is being continuously displayed.  
 


Transvirtual Auto Pong

Paul Wagner 
david c. yang 
 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

The proposed project "transvirtual auto pong" will be an attempt to implement a mechanical, electronically controlled game board where a "robot" paddle battles a human opponent. A 0.5" stainless steel ball will be used on the playing field and the object of the game will be for each paddle to deter the ball from passing into its respective "goal" (i.e. a hole in one end of the game board that extends the width of the board. The computer-controlled paddle will be endowed with the intelligence necessary to deflect the ball and prevent a goal, but will not be designed to actively try and score on the other paddle. Math equations, implemented through gate logic, will be used by the robot paddle to determine ball location & velocity, as well as to extrapolate the balls trajectory in order to pin-point an impact point. These equations will rely on the successive triggering of resin-embedded dual-wire detectors perpendicularly oriented throughout the board.  
 


THE TRIPPER

Kaolin Fire Stockinger 
Ethan W. Shvartzman 

Project TA: Ed Chan

Abstract 

With this project, we wanted to implement a portable sound-modified "eye-candy" machine. A pleasing and enveloping sinusoid-based pattern circulates on the screen of a color LCD, its tempo changing based on the sound input of a microphone, making the reality of the screen blend with your surroundings as you stare into it, mesmerized.  
 


The Grocery Shopper's Friend

Quoc Bao Raphael Tran 
Zuoding Wang 

Project TA: Martin Flom Milman

Abstract 

The Grocery Shopper's Friend (GSF) is a device that helps you with your grocery shopping. The GSF works in the following way: when you decide to put a grocery item into your basket, you use the GSF to scan in the Universal Product Code (UPC) of the item you wish to purchase. The GSF will then keep a running cash total of all the items you have scanned thus far into your basket. If you should decide to return an item, the GSF has allows you to re-scan the item, and then subtract it's price from the total thus far. Implementation of the prototype GSF requires three parts: the Xilinx prototyping FPGA; a laser wand scanner with keyboard interface; and a LCD panel. The GSF is structured as a multi-layered synchronous FSM. Math is done entirely in 2's complement. Output of the price via the LCD requires a 16-bit binary conversion to a 20-bit BCD 5 digit number. The laser wand scanner has a keyboard interface; signals are sent as scan codes from the standardized AT keyboard specification.


HangMan

Xin Liu 
Thach Nguyen 

Project TA: Martin Flom Milman

Abstract 

In this project, we shall build an electronic version of the game Hangman. The game proceeds as follows. First a word (maximum 6 letters long) is entered to be guessed. The player then guesses the letters of the word. If the guessed letter (hereafter, just letter) is correct, the letter is displayed at the correct position(s). If the letter is incorrect, an integer digit is displayed informing the player how many more incorrect guesses she is allowed. The player has a maximum of six allowed misses. If the player wins, we'll output a win signal. If she loses, we'll output a signal lose. The player wins if she can guess the all the letters of the word correctly within the six allowed misses. Otherwise, she loses.  



BOTender: The Automated Bartender

Sara Rahimian 
Shant Tchakerian 
Lance Leong 
Jotaro Aoi 

Project TA: Martin Flom Milman

Abstract 

In crowded bars, service time and quality are creating a bottleneck in profitability. Patrons and bartenders are experiencing the frustration of slow service due to the amount of time a bartender must spend to prepare each drink. Patrons are also not guaranteed correctly made drinks. Furthermore, bar owners are experiencing a maximum revenue from drink sales, which are limited by the efficiency of the bartender. Our solution to the bottleneck in drink service is the BOTender--an automated bartender, which pours drinks quickly, consistently, and efficiently. The BOTender is a coca-cola-machine like product that can pour any beverage it is programmed to dispense. The machine connects to pumps, which pour a given drink. For example, the BOTender can be connected to bottles of vodka and orange juice, and a bartender can program a Screw Driver (vodka and orange juice) to a recipe button. Once a Screw Driver is programmed to a recipe, a bartender can serve a order for a Screw Driver by placing a cup under the dispenser and pressing the pour button. Each ingredient of the recipe is dispensed simultaneously from different pumps. Therefore, the BOTender dispenses a perfect Screw Driver as quickly as possible every time.  


SMaRT

Chris Harrelson 
Bernard Lin 
Michael Magpayo 
Raymond Wang 

Project TA: Martin Flom Milman

Abstract 

Brief Summary of Problem We're Trying to Solve

When learning, practicing, and performing pieces of music, an instrument player often needs to use paper sheet music.It is annoying to have to turn each individual page of sheet music, especially when an important or complex sequence of notes leads into the next page. This predicament often involves planning ahead of time and memorizing the transitional phrase between the adjacent pages, adding to the already burdersome task of learning a new piece.Our invention, SMaRT (Scrolling Musical Reader Technology), will hopefully solve the problem of having to turn sheet music.  

SmartFone

Ankur Varma 
Karen Wu 
Xiaozhou Robin Zhang 

Project TA: Martin Flom Milman

Abstract 

SmartFone is an electronic telephone book that stores people's nickname, full name, and telephone number.

It can store up to 256 entries. Users can add, delete, or search for an entry. Once it is powered up, a welcome screen is displayed asking the user to either enter a nickname or to scroll through the entire phone book. Currently, the scrolling is to be implemented. After the user enters a nickname, SmartFone automatically checks whether there have been an entry in the memory that contains the same nickname. If one entry is found, it will be display and SmartFone then prompts the user to either edit or delete the entry or go back to the main menu (welcome page). If no such entry is found, the user is asked to either add a new entry indexed by the nickname or go back to the main menu.

SmartFone has four main components: a keypad for input, a controller FSM that resides in the xilinx board, a SRAM for memory storage, and a LCD display. The keypad consists of 40 keys, including 10 numerals, 26 alphabets, and 4 control keys. The four control keys are F1, F2, Cancel, and Tab. SmartFone use the Reset button and Spare button (enter key) as additional control keys. A SRAM of 8KB is used to store phonebook entries. A 40x4 LCD with internal HD44780 controller is used for graphical user interface.  



Shopper's Companion

Chan, Sut-Hong 
Cheang, Fok-Kuong 
Kok, Tun-I 

Project TA: Jon Aytac

Abstract 
Project Abstract: Doing grocery can be pain. Imagine that you have just finished paying at the cashier and are on your way out carrying a lot of stuff. Suddenly, you realize that you have forgotten to buy one last thing. A worse scenario would be that you realize that you have forgotten something after going back home. You will then have to drive all the way back. This is really frustrating. Although you may have written up a shopping list on strips of paper,but then very often you will forget to bring it along or have lost it somewhere because it looks so unimportant to you. This problem can be solved with the help of Shoppers' Companion which is going to help you remember the stuff that you need to buy. Next time when you go shopping, you just bring it along you will not run into the problem of not buying everything you need.  

Smart Microphone

Ordonez, Carlo 
Shen, Weihua 
Tung, Berkat S. 

Project TA: Jon Aytac

Abstract 
Project Abstract: The Smart Microphone is a microphone capable of amplifying far-away sounds and is designed to point at a subject (e.g. a lecturer or professor) as he walks about the stage of an auditorium. This microphone solves the lecturer's problem of having to carry some type of microphone (wired to the stage, or wireless, but with some transmitter attached to his belt) as he lectures to a large audience. The Smart Microphone is comprised of three main parts: 2 sonar range finders, a controller used to calculate a pivot angle based on the subject^Rs change in location, and the stepper motor that will turn the microphone to the desired angle. As the subject moves across the stage, first the range finders measure his location relative to center, then the main controller converts this location to a change in microphone angle, and finally the stepper pivots the microphone towards the subject's new location. The objective of this project is to demonstrate this following action, and it is assumed that the microphone will work as long as it is pointing within 15 degrees of the subject.

Tele-Universal Controller

Carey Kwan 
Jimmy Jiang 
Michael Yu 

Project TA: Paul

Abstract 
Have you ever left home in a hurry and then remembered tntroller will include a functionality to check on the status of devices connected to it to see if they are on or off at the present time. For example, our problem was not remembering if we had left maybe the heater or stove on in our haste to leave the house. In this case, all we would need to do is call home and through the Tele-Universal Controller, check to see if anything that shouldn't have been left on has been left on. This will provide us with the sense of security that we all need when we are away from the home. Now that we are able to find out the status of all the devices connected to our Tele-Universal Controller, what if it tells us that something has been left on that we left on by accident, then what can we do about it? Should we have to go home immediately as to have it turned off? The answer is NO, because the Tele-Universal Controller would allow us to turn things off through commands that we would be able to enter through the phone! This option would enable the owner of the home much needed convenience when they are away from the house. The Tele-Universal Controller would also allow the owner to be able to turn on things in the house ahead of time before he/she returns to the house. This would be a luxury that most homeowners would like to have. For example, let's say that our house is located in a very cold place. On our way home, we de4cide to turn on the heater 10 minutes ahead of time so when we get home, the house will be fully heated and we would not need to be freezing when we get home. The Tele-Universal Controller will let us do this and this will make life so much the more convenient and enjoyable!  

Alternative Control Audio System

Wung Yin Fong 
Charles Zhu 
Fung Lai 
Jun Lu 

Project TA: Paul

Abstract 
The invention of remote control has made lives of TV viewers and music lovers and many others much easier. People no longer have to get up from their comfortable seats and walk over to the TV or a CD player just to adjust the volume or change the channel; they can do that from several feet away with a remote control. But problems related to this traditional remote control soon surfaced. Many users tend to misplace their precious remote some where, so when they want to use it in the future, they would usually spend minutes just to locate the control. Also the buttons on the remote control would be damaged due to extended usage. To solve these problems, we came up with the idea of a hand-motion remote control. Four sensors are placed across from where the user sits. The user blocks certain sensors in certain sequences to issue commands like play, volume up, volume down, etc.  

Rows

Morris Lee 
Victor Chen 
Peter Young 
Ron Shacham 

Project TA: Paul

Abstract 
Project Abstract Current video arcade games fail to offer simple yet challenging entertainment. They are also overly complex and require unnatural, convoluted keystroke combinations to perform simple moves. In addition, these games rely too heavily on bloated graphics and sound effects to drive their appeal. Rows is a solution to today's overdone arcade offerings. It is similar to the popular puzzle game Columns. But, instead of columns of falling gems, Rows uses rows of gems. It is a straightforward yet addicting puzzle game.  

The Clocker

Alice Zheng 
Emil Moshkovich 

Project TA: Paul

Abstract 
Cameras are traditionally manually controlled. It focuses on one point in space unless somebody turns it. Often times, however, this is neither useful nor convenient. For example, suppose the security services is trying to protect a building; in order to cover a fairly small region, either many cameras are installed, or human supervision is constantly needed, or both. Since emergencies happen rather infrequently, most of the time, the guards and the videotapes are wasted. We have built an intelligent, motion-tracking camera that decides its own movements based on events in its environment. The camera, mounted on top of a servo system, will continuously pan its surroundings. When it decides that there is motion in its field of view, it would move so that the moving object is kept at its center of frame.  




Chris Eng, cje@cory.eecs