Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
25 Semantic Communications for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
 Chang Su
Chenhao Li
Tianze Du
YU Liu
 Xiaoyue Li design_document2.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
final_paper2.pdf
proposal2.pdf
 Meng Zhang
#TEAM MEMBERS:
1. Yu LIU (yul9),
2. Chenhao LI (cl89),
3. Chang SU (changsu4),
4. Tianze DU (tianzed2)

#TITLE OF THE PROJECT:

Semantic Communications for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

#Problem & Motivation:

Most existing techniques in semantic communications heavily rely on the direct transmission of each entire image between transmitters and receivers, whose performance is bottlenecked by the transmission procedure rather than the algorithms of semantic understanding. Therefore, we aim to develop a technique for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which can understand image samples, extract specific semantics, and communicate its symbolic representations to a target receiver (e.g., another UAV or smart device). We anticipate that this technique can be much speedier than the direct transmission of each entire image.

#Solution Overview:

Our design at a high level:
Extract the semantic features of images taken by the camera on UAV, and encode these features into bits for transmission. Bits are transmitted through physical channel. The receivers’decoders understand and infer the messages.

#Solution Components:
- Subsystem 1: Mutual Communication System (MCS) between UAVs and smart devices. The UAV needs to transmit semantic information to receivers. It needs Channel Encoder, Physical Channel and Channel Decoder.
- Subsystem 2: Lighting Semantic Extraction Systems (LSES) for semantic information extraction on UAV. The system needs to understand images information, for example number of people and their locations on images, or other extract useful information.
- Subsystem 3: UAV mechanical, balance and dynamic System (UAVS). We need to modify a “stupid” UAV and make it successfully carry a camera and a microcomputer (e.g.,smartphone), moved around, and take image samples.

#Criterion for success
- Basic Requirements
1. Develop a UAV drone able to carry a camera and a microcomputer (e.g.,smartphone), moved around, and take image samples.
2. The UAV understands its images, especially number of people and their locations on images.
3. The UAV transmits semantic information to receivers.
- Additional Features
1. Successful performance improvements in terms of transmission speed and other important metrics.
2. The UAV may understand other extract useful information (semantics) and their relative locations.

#Distribution of Work
1. Yu Liu: In charge of the whole project. Assist with Lighting Semantic Extraction Systems (LSES) and Mutual Communication System (MCS).
2. Chang Su: In charge of Lighting Semantic Extraction Systems (LSES). Assist with UAV mechanical, balance and dynamic System (UAVS).
3. Chenhao Li: In charge of Mutual Communication System (MCS), Assist with Lighting Semantic Extraction Systems (LSES).
4. Tianze Du: In charge of UAV mechanical, balance and dynamic System (UAVS). Assist with Mutual Communication System (MCS).

Low Cost Distributed Battery Management System

Featured Project

Web Board Link: https://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/pace/view-topic.asp?id=27207

Block Diagram: https://imgur.com/GIzjG8R

Members: Logan Rosenmayer (Rosenma2), Anthony Chemaly(chemaly2)

The goal of this project is to design a low cost BMS (Battery Management System) system that is flexible and modular. The BMS must ensure safe operation of lithium ion batteries by protecting the batteries from: Over temperature, overcharge, overdischarge, and overcurrent all at the cell level. Additionally, the should provide cell balancing to maintain overall pack capacity. Last a BMS should be track SOC(state of charge) and SOH (state of health) of the overall pack.

To meet these goals, we plan to integrate a MCU into each module that will handle measurements and report to the module below it. This allows for reconfiguration of battery’s, module replacements. Currently major companies that offer stackable BMSs don’t offer single cell modularity, require software adjustments and require sense wires to be ran back to the centralized IC. Our proposed solution will be able to remain in the same price range as other centralized solutions by utilizing mass produced general purpose microcontrollers and opto-isolators. This project carries a mix of hardware and software challenges. The software side will consist of communication protocol design, interrupt/sleep cycles, and power management. Hardware will consist of communication level shifting, MCU selection, battery voltage and current monitoring circuits, DC/DC converter all with low power draws and cost. (uAs and ~$2.50 without mounting)