Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
17 Arduino-Powered Network Flow Visualization Toolbox
 Bolin Zhang
Jiahao Fang
Yiyang Huang
Ziyuan Chen
 design_document2.pdf
design_document3.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
final_paper2.pdf
final_paper3.pdf
proposal1.pdf
proposal2.pdf
video
 Pavel Loskot
## PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Many real-world systems involve flows over networks. Our team aims to build a **modular, reconfigurable hardware emulator** to visualize network flows under capacity constraints on links. Each node can be configured to act as a sink, a source, or a "transfer station" that holds zero flux. This toolset will facilitate the understanding of flow optimization algorithms in a classroom setting.

## SOLUTION OVERVIEW

We use a scalable design where components are easily replaceable to account for network expansion. The emulator should have a central Arduino controller that talks to each node and link to display the capacities and actual flow amounts.

*Tentative: It may be desirable to have a software GUI to display the network alongside the physical model due to space (# LEDs) and protocol (# pins) constraints in each node/link.*

## SOLUTION COMPONENTS

### Subsystem 1: Physical Network Model

- We should build a fully functional physical model where pipes represent network links and the LEDs within show the maximal capacity and real-time flow of "data packets."
- Each node should be configurable as sink, source, or neither ("transfer station") with a user-friendly interface such as buttons or switches.

### Subsystem 2: Software Flow Computer

- We should build an intuitive software interface that allows the user to easily configure nodes (3 modes) and links (capacity) while controlling the LED flow display.
- We should implement a robust and *lightweight* optimization algorithm that efficiently computes network flows on an embedded Arduino board while considering all constraints (node configurations, link capacities).
- Alongside the design process, we should write comprehensive documentation detailing the manuals for software setup, operation, troubleshooting, and our development process.

## CRITERION OF SUCCESS

- The physical model should be modular, i.e., each node has a certain number of "slots" reserved for installing new links (pipes).
- The Arduino software should communicate with all nodes and pipes and update the flows in real-time in response to changes in setup. At the current stage, we aim to serve 4~6 fully connected nodes.
- The algorithm should handle (and report) edge cases such as a network with zero or multiple feasible flows.

## DISTRIBUTION OF WORK

- Ziyuan Chen (ECE) - software developer: maintain the code for flow optimization and Arduino-hardware communication protocol
- Bolin, Jiahao (EE) - hardware developer: handle the physical layout of peripherals (pipes and LEDs), design user interface
- Yiyang Huang (ME) - integration and testing specialist: design the protocol for node configuration and conduct stress tests in edge cases

Assistive Chessboard

Featured Project

Problem: It can be difficult for a new player to learn chess, especially if they have no one to play with. They would have to resort to online guides which can be distracting when playing with a real board. If they have no one to play with, they would again have to resort to online games which just don't have the same feel as real boards.

Proposal: We plan to create an assistive chess board. The board will have the following features:

-The board will be able to suggest a move by lighting up the square of the move-to space and square under the piece to move.

-The board will light up valid moves when a piece is picked up and flash the placed square if it is invalid.

-We will include a chess clock for timed play with stop buttons for players to signal the end of their turn.

-The player(s) will be able to select different standard time set-ups and preferences for the help displayed by the board.

Implementation Details: The board lights will be an RGB LED under each square of the board. Each chess piece will have a magnetic base which can be detected by a magnetic field sensor under each square. Each piece will have a different strength magnet inside it to ID which piece is what (ie. 6 different magnet sizes for the 6 different types of pieces). Black and white pieces will be distinguished by the polarity of the magnets. The strength and polarity will be read by the same magnetic field sensor under each square. The lights will have different colors for the different piece that it is representing as well as for different signals (ie. An invalid move will flash red).

The chess clock will consist of a 7-segment display in the form of (h:mm:ss) and there will be 2 stop buttons, one for each side, to signal when a player’s turn is over. A third button will be featured near the clock to act as a reset button. The combination of the two stop switches and reset button will be used to select the time mode for the clock. Each side of the board will also have a two toggle-able buttons or switches to control whether move help or suggested moves should be enabled on that side of the board. The state of the decision will be shown by a lit or unlit LED light near the relevant switch.