Special Circuit :: ECE 445 - Senior Design Laboratory

Special Circuit

A student whose Senior Thesis Project (ECE 499) does not involve the design and construction or testing of electronic devices or hardware is required to complete a Special Circuit Project in the ECE 445 lab during the semester they take ECE 499. In addition, students enrolled in ECE 445 who are not undertaking a hardware dominant project are required to complete the special circuit (although this is strongly discouraged and the course staff will work with your team to make sure you have enough hardware in your project to avoid having to complete the special circuit.)

The special circuit is typically posted in the middle of the semester. Once you sign up for the special circuit (see below), you will be assigned a TA, a locker, and a special circuit which generally takes about 12-15 hours to complete. When you have it designed and built, you will give a functional demonstration to your TA, who will then inform the professor who will inform undergraduate advising that your task is complete. You are NOT required to attend any of the classes, reviews, demos, or presentations associate with the ECE 445 class.

Sign up for Spring 2020 is now open

Sign up for the Special Circuit assignment on the Lab Access page. Instructions for completing the special circuit will then be provided in the near future. Please check this page for updates.

Link to all Special Circuit design problems. 

Laser Harp MIDI Controller with Musical Articulations

Yingxi Hai, Hanze Tu

Laser Harp MIDI Controller with Musical Articulations

Featured Project

Electronic music concerts usually need eye-catching visual aids to create a certain atmosphere. Laser musical instruments is a great way to do this. We have been thinking of this project for a while and it was ECE445 that made this laser harp come true. The novelty of this project is that the harp-like laser device mainly focuses on playing articulations with laser and sensors, as a true universal MIDI controller, to control timbres that are synthesized or sampled. Articulations include piano/forte, vibrato, tremolo, and portamento. With the help of Professors and TAs, we learned how to pick right the components, design PCB, soldering, and program microcontroller. Those skills are not only useful in this class but also really important to electrical engineers. Also, we learned how to use individual strengths, combined with effective teamwork, in the pursuit of meaningful goals.

Project Videos