Spring 2005 Projects

The last half of Microcontroller Systems Lab, five weeks, is devoted to an individual project of the student's choosing and design. The only requirements are that it be stand-alone (code in EEPROM), have both an input and output device, and involve hardware beyond that which is on the DRAGON12 board used in the class.

Other year's projects for Winter 2014 are here, Winter 2013 are here, Winter 2012 are here, Winter 2011 are here, Winter 2010 are here, Spring 2009 are here, Spring 2008 are here, Spring 2007 are here, Spring 2006 are here, and those for Spring 2004 are here.

Here are the projects in the (arbitrary) order they were presented. Click on the images for an enlarged view. I apologize that the displays aren't possible to read.

	Temperature Sensor and Controller by Megan Meagher. The intent of this project is to keep a pump house from freezing. Temperature is set via the keypad and is displayed on the LED display. If the temperature of the thermometer IC drops below the set temperature the light goes on (to heat the pump house). If the temperature drops further then an audible alarm goes off. The LCD display shows the current temperature.
	Electronic Keyboard by Walter Barrer. The (toy) keyboard is mounted on a row of microswitches connected to parallel ports of the microcontroller. Firmware in the microcontroller generates a polyphonic sine waveform based on the switches depressed, thus the design is capable of playing cords as well as melody. The DAC on the DRAGON12 outputs the waveform to an external amplifier and speakers.
	Sonar Distance Sensing on a Servoing Platform using a 68HCS12 Microcontroller by Kevin J. Rock A pair of distance sensing sonar units, designed for use in cameras, are mounted on a servo motor. The servo motor rotates the units in five degree steps, measuring the distances (in oposite directions) of nearby objects. Operation of the device is controlled by push buttons, and the measured distances are displayed on the LCD display.
	A Microcontroller Implementation of a Small-Scale Burglar Alarm by Daniel Austin. A reflective object sensor detects the presence of nearby objects (or burglars). When one is detected, a siren alarm is generated through an external speaker.
	Infrared Remote Control Receiver by Robert Miller The infrared detector on the Dragon12 is used to detect the infrared light transmissions from a remote control. The light pulses, an asynchronous serial pulse train, are synchronized and decoded by the microcontroller and displayed on the LCD.
	George's MIDI Music Making Machine by George Krahn. A MIDI interface (on the breadboard) is used to connect a MIDI controller keyboard to the microcontroller's serial interface. The microcontroller recognizes active sensing signals (which produces a pattern on the LED display), NOTEON messages, and PITCH WHEEL messages. The microcontroller plays one note at a time through the small speaker on the DRAGON12 board.
	Self Directed Robot by Kevin Brown. This robot uses infrared object detectors on the front and controls the motors in both forward and reverse direction. The microcontroller also controls the steering. There is motor controller circuit on the DRAGON12 breadboard.

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Last modified April 2014