Notable dates



• • First class: Friday, August 26.
• • Thanksgiving break: Saturday, November 19 - Sunday, November 27.
• • "Nearly final" project reports due: Friday, October 28.
• • Election Day: Tuesday, November 8.
• • Nearly-final drafts of project report due: Friday, November 11.
• • Rewritten final project reports and PowerPoint presentations due: Friday, December 2.
• • Last class meeting: Friday, December 2.
• • End of semester conferences: Monday - Wednesday, December 5 - 7.

Calendar

Milestones

• •  1a. Modify the Arduino’s blink program so that it blinks the initials (of your English/American name) in Morse code. (Week 1, by end of Friday class)
• •  1b. Install and test a BME680. (Week 1, by end of Friday class)
• •  1c. On your breadboard, install the following devices (in addition to the BME680 and Arduino): LCD (including 10kΩ trimpot), keypad, and microSD breakout. (Week 2, by beginning of Friday class)
• •  1d. Formulate a project plan and division of project responsibilities. (Week 2, by midweek group conference with course staff)
• •  2a. Install, set, and read back a DS3231 real time clock. (Week 2, by end of Friday class)
• •  2b. Install and read back a GPS module. Use it to set the DS3231 real time clock. (Week 2, by end of Friday class)
• •  2c. Write a short text file to your SD card. Copy the file to your laptop, then write a short Python program to read it and display its contents. (Week 2, by end of Friday class)
• •  2d. Finish installing all the parts on your breadboard required for your project’s data logger. (Week 3, by beginning of Friday class)
• •  2e. Register an Autodesk user account, then visit the TinkerCad website. (Week 3, by beginning of Friday class)
• •  3a. Write a single bare-bones program that read all your project circuit’s sensors and writes data to a microSD file. (Week 3, by end of Friday class)
• •  3b. Write a single bare-bones Python data analysis program that generates histograms and plots of environmental data read by your BME680. Calculate means and RMS widths for these quantities. (Week 3, by end of Friday class)
• •  3c. Log in to Autodesk and download EAGLE. (Week 4, by midweek group conference with course staff)
• •  4a. Finish writing a reasonably sophisticated DAQ and use it for a quick field test of your devices. (Week 4, by end of Friday class)
• •  4b. Analyze your field test data, generating the plots and calculations that you expect to appear in your ultimate report. (Week 4, by end of Friday class)
• •  4c. Install breakout boards on your PCB and test it. (Week 5, by midweek group conference with course staff)
• •  5a. Perform a longer set of field tests and run them through your analysis. (Week 5, by beginning of Friday class)
• •  5b. In consultation with course staff, refine your offline analysis. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
• •  5c. Finish PCB and transition to using it for more field test data; verify that PCBs function as expected. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
• •  5d. Use TinkerCad to design personalized covers for your PCB cases. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
• •  5d. Use TinkerCad to design personalized covers for your PCB cases. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
• •  6a. Take all the data that you think you’ll need for your project. (Week 6, by end of Friday class)
• •  6b. Verify that your data are valid: analyze them. (Week 6, by end of Friday class)
• •  7a. Analyze production data and discuss your conclusions with course staff. (Week 7, by end of Friday class)
• •  7b. Draft a modified run plan if appropriate, take more production data. (Week 8, by midweek group conference with course staff)
• •  8a. Develop a detailed data analysis including cross calibration techniques, and run all your data through it. (Week 8, by end of Friday class)
• •  8b. Write brief outline of a possible project report, discuss with course staff. (Week 8, by end of Friday class)
• •  9-10. Write and submit “nearly final” draft of project report. (Week 10, by start of Friday class)
• •  11-12. Rewrite and submit “final” project report. (Week 12, by start of Friday class)
• •  13-14a. Prepare PowerPoint project presentation. (Week 14, by start of Friday class)
• •  13-14b. Prepare and submit final project report. (Week 14, by start of Friday class)