ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section : Spring 2020 Honors Lab Section

Created by Sinclair, Finn, last modified by Wang, James on Mar 04, 2020

Welcome to the 2020 Spring semester's honors lab for ECE 110 and ECE 120!

Your group is required to create a wiki page for your project. On this page you will post your project proposal, your final report, and any relevant details pertaining to the project. Steps to create your wiki page is given below. If any problem occurs please inform one of the TA's.


Part ordering

We carry common resistors, capacitors, wires, LEDs, and ICs in stock. Ask a TA in lab to see if it's a part we can get for you immediately before placing an order.

Please check our honors inventory here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E3ULdxOyGx2UFzyshV4d2AOAMs8SsdA27A7_nU2703w/edit?usp=sharing

If we don't have it in stock, there are two part order forms that you may use. 

  1. ECE Supply Center Order form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfNsybbvThqLTLAywwp7zcDaUb0hKWTcWxSUpVvg5F1fBB5Tg/viewform
  2. Online Order form: https://forms.gle/N3ttHCgNFpPha2By7

Use the ECE Supply Center for parts available on their catalog (https://my.ece.illinois.edu/storeroom/catalog.asp). Parts ordered through this form will typically arrive much faster than online orders.

For online orders, try to stick to Digikey, Mouser, Adafruit, or Sparkfun. If order electrical components off of Amazon, make sure you can find a datasheet associated with the item, and that you are ordering from a reputable seller.


3D Printed Parts

3D Printed parts can be requested by filling out the google form (https://forms.gle/Bstm4CsW6V9ncuQy7). Parts will be printed in a timely fashion, but larger parts may take longer due to extended print times.

Request Status: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z1x_oter5O24FyyKwc-Tmi2yzeYAnkwuuXx-M_O_pGI/

You may either use pre-made designs from sites such as Thingiverse, or you can design your own parts using CAD software such as SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or Tinkercad.


Making your project page

Steps to make own project page: 

  1. Login at the top right hand corner by clicking on the blue login button.
  2. Click the blue “Create” on the top left hand corner of the orange banner.
  3. Make sure 'select space' is ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section and the page is being created under the Spring 2020 folder.
  4. Select Blank Page.
  5. Click Create.
  6. Change 'NewPage' to Project Name (titlespace)
  7. On the top of the page please list the group members' name, netID, and which course each member is enrolled in for honors (ECE110/120).


Project Proposal

Your group is required to post a project proposal as your first entry on your project page. It should be the first piece of article that people should see when they open your page.
After your group post your proposal, the honors course staff will review your project and flag your project as approved or comments on what need to be changed for the project to be approved in the comment section of your page.

Project Proposal Guideline

  1. Introduction

    1. Statement of Purpose

      Please provide a brief description of your project. List the goals and objectives of your project and explain why this project is useful for the problem your group want to solve or functions that make your project unique. 

    2. Background Research

      Please provide details on the background research your group has done for your project. Explain what drives you to work on this project and/or why this project is important. Also include discussions on any similar projects your group have looked at in coming up with your project. How is your proposed project different or similar to those your group have looked at. 

  2. Design Details

    1. Block Diagram / Flow Chart

      Provide a simple block diagram of your hardware design. A block diagram is a schematic graphic that shows the interactions between different components in a hardware or software system. If appropriate, please also include a flow chart showing the steps your design needs to go through to function. The online program draw.io is a great tool to create polished block diagrams and flow charts. Likewise Microsoft's visio is also a great program to create block diagrams and flow charts.

    2. System Overview

      Provide descriptions to your block diagram and flow chart. State the purpose of each block. 

  3. Parts

    Provide a list of parts that you may need for your project. This list may change as you work on your project. 

  4. Possible Challenges

    Please list some of the challenges that your group foresee in working on your project.

  5. References

    List all references you used in your proposal. This is important, you do not want to be blamed for plagiarism. IEEE citation format is highly recommended. You can use citethisforme.com's IEEE citation generator to painlessly generate your references in this style.


An example proposal is given on the TA Project: Asteroid Impact Prevention System page.


Final Report Guideline

Final report should be 3 to 5 pages. Large circuit schematics, long program flow charts, PCB layouts, and Arduino codes should be put in the appendix and reference within your text. Appendices will not count toward your page limits.

  1. Introduction

    1. Statement of Purpose

      Please provide a brief description of your project. List the goals and objectives of your project and explain why this project is useful for the problem your group want to solve or functions that make your project unique. Revise your statement of purpose from your proposal as necessary.

    2. Features and Benefits
      List and provide description of the features and benefits of your project. 

  2. Design

    1. System Overview

      Provide a block diagram for your overall system and a brief description of how the different blocks interact with each other. 

    2. Design Details

      For each block in your system block diagram, provide the design details. Include any relevant design considerations, block diagrams, calculations, pictures, circuit schematic, flow charts, truth tables, etc. that will aid your description.

  3. Results

    In this section provide the characterization of your sensors and actuators. Also provide the results of any test you have conducted with your system that verifies its functionality.

  4. Problems and Challenges

    Describe any major problems and challenges you have faced while working on the project.

  5. Future Plans

    Briefly comment on your future plans for the project.

  6. References

    List all references you used in your final report. IEEE citation format is highly recommended. You can use citethisforme.com's IEEE citation generator to painlessly generate your references in this style.