Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
43 Boeing NFC Interdisciplinary Project Team 2
James Kim
Neil Misak
Shao-Chi Ou Yang
Kevin Bassett design_document0.document
final_paper0.pdf
presentation0.pdf
proposal0.pdf
Our interdisciplinary project sponsored by Boeing will focus on utilizing Near Field Communication technology to benefit the companyâ??s part verification process as well as inventory tasks. NFC tags can contain readable/rewriteable data; we will place these tags on any high-valued parts that are worth the effective cost of tracking. The data in these tags will contain the origin of the part, whether or not the part was tested, which specific employee verified the part, etc. These tags will be the basis for a novel system that allows for easy readability of the entire history of a given part from any NFC device (Smartphones, tablets, etc). We are going to work as two teams and we are awaiting our preliminary contact with the client for further verification of division amongst the two teams.

Our team will focus on the inventory application, while the other team will focus on the part verification application. The inventory application will attempt to allow for an easier and more intelligent assembly process. To do this, information including delivery and arrival time, origin of inventory, employees responsible for inventory, etc will be embedded in NFC chips. The technology behind these respective applications will be implemented as well as a business analysis of their financial viability. The entire project scope (as known to us at this time) is repeated below for completion.

Technical:
Develop prototype parts tracking system utilizing smart phone and NFC tag technology. Identify technical advantages and constraints that may limit or expand the use of NFC as a part marking technology. Prototype new capabilities that are enabled by the use of the smart phone, including things such as adaptive reality using the camera phone, connected communications, secure information exchange, phone processing power, and open software development kits.

Business Case Analysis:
Create current state business analysis of tracking aircraft parts via manual processes and excel spreadsheets. Create business case of utilizing standard RFID tags to track aircraft parts. Create business case analysis of tracking parts via NFC smart phone technology. Compare and contrast the various strategies relating to aircraft part tracking. Equipment costs, size, availability, ease of use, technology familiarity, user experience, labor improvements, product lifecycles, etc. will be inputs into the business case that will drive a decision for one of the methods.

Usage scenarios:

1. Part verification: use app to access additional data regarding parts for verification in process or on shop floor.
2. Inventory task resources: ensure correct parts and tools are present to complete a given task.
3. Push/pull alerts from database system regarding part notifications
4. Tag work floor features to provide dynamic source for additional information
i. couple work orders to resources
ii. automate quality inspection signoffs

The Marching Band Assistant

Wynter Chen, Alyssa Louise Licudine, Prashant Shankar

The Marching Band Assistant

Featured Project

NetID/Names

wynterc2 (Wynter Chen), alyssal3 (Alyssa Licudine), shankar7 (Prashant Shankar)

Problem

Drum majors lead and conduct marching bands. One of their main jobs is to maintain tempo for the musicians by moving their hands in specific patterns. However, many drum majors, especially high school students, need to learn how to conduct specific tempos off the top of their head and maintain a consistent tempo without assistance for performances. Even those with musical experience have difficulty knowing for certain what tempo they're conducting without a metronome.

Solution Overview

Our project consists of an arm attachment that aids drum major conducting. The attachment contains an accelerometer that helps determine the tempo in beats per minute via hand movement. A display shows the beats per minute, which allows the drum major to adjust their speed as necessary in real time. The microcontroller data is wirelessly transmitted, and a program can be downloaded that not only visualizes the data in real-time, but provides an option to save recorded data for later. There is also a convenient charging port for the device.

This project is a unique invention that aims to help marching bands. There have been previous projects and inventions that have also digitized the conducting experience, such as the Digital Conducting Baton from Spring 2015. However, these have been in the form of a baton rather than a glove, and are used to alter music files as opposed to providing feedback. Additionally, orchestra conductors use very delicate motions with a baton, while drum majors create large, sharper motions with their arms; thus, we believed that an arm attachment was better suited for marching band usage. Unlike other applications that only integrate digital instruments, this project seeks to assist live performers.

Link to RFA: https://courses.grainger.illinois.edu/ece445/pace/view-topic.asp?id=37939

Project Videos