Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
25 EarlyBird Alarm Clock
 Sasin Gudipati
Shouri Addepally
Siddharth Sharma
 Stasiu Chyczewski design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
other1.pdf
**Problem**

When I need to wake up early, I usually set an alarm. The problem is that oftentimes I just hit the snooze button and fall back asleep.

**Solution Overview**

We will address the problem by creating an alarm clock that runs around your room blaring an alarm. When the user catches the clock, they need to solve a math equation in order to turn off the alarm.

**Solution Components**

1. **The Alarm Clock**

The alarm clock will display the current time on a hex display. It will allow the user to change the current time and set an alarm using push buttons. A microcontroller will keep the time using a watch crystal, and display the current time on a hex display. At the specified alarm time, the clock will produce a loud noise through a speaker.

2. **The car**

The alarm clock will be mounted on top of a car. When the alarm is ringing, the car will start navigating around the room with obstacle detection. The car will be a 4-wheel drive, with a servo behind each wheel. The front of the car will have an ultrasonic sensor mounted on a servo. The servo will periodically scan the 180 degrees at the front of the car, looking for obstacles. Based on the ultrasonic sensor, the microcontroller will map a path for the car.

3. **The math equation**

When the user catches the car, they need to solve a math equation in order to turn the alarm off. The microcontroller will randomly pick a single digit number and a double digit number, and compute their product. The user needs to enter the correct the product using push buttons, and then the alarm will be deactivated. The operands as well as the user’s input will be displayed on hex displays.

**Criterion for Success**

To measure our success, we’re basing it on these requirements:

**Clock Capabilities: +2**

The clock unit needs to display the correct time, allow the user to set the time and alarms, and produce a loud sound at the specified alarm time.

**Autonomous Movement: +3**

This part involves the car having the capability to detect it’s path and determine if an object is in the way or not. It should also be able to avoid certain zones (such as under the bed, or in a trash bag).
**Math Equation: +3**

A random double digit multiplicand and random single digit multiplier are displayed on the HEX display. The user can input 3 digit numbers on the hex display. The microcontroller correctly computes the product, and compares the user input to the computed product. If they match, turn off the alarm clock, else, generate a new equation and keep the alarm on.

**Documentation & Paper Work: +2**

Not only is the hardware component a part of our laboratory, we think that setting good discipline with documentation is integral to the success of our senior design project.

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

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