Senior design projects inevitably require focussed research
on a specific topic. Here is a list of some topics that have been researched by teams in the past:
Low-cost distance sensors
Reconfigurable computing platforms
Handwriting recognition in the context of PDAs or tablet devices
Continuous speech recognition in constrained environment (e.g. finding airline arrivals and departures)
GPS devices that can be embedded in applications
Video cams to provide vision capability to autonomous robots
Low-cost robotics
Small sensor devices, such as motes that can form ad-hoc sensor networks
standard wireless networks: 801.11x and Blue Tooth
On-board diagnostic (OBD) standard interface for automobiles
RFID
Clearly, the list is limited only by the imagination of the
teams to come up with a project topic. This assignment is intended to
give you practice in carrying out the necessary research on a topic of your choice.
You may choose your topic from the above list, refine
or elaborate it to suit your taste, or choose some thing entirely
different. In the last case, be sure to get the topic approved by me
before you work on it. Your research work should include the following
A literature search to identify articles describing
the principles of operation of the main device or technology
associated with your topic. Choose from among these an article
that, in your judgment, is best in terms of its accessibilty and
technical content and summarize it in a 100-word abstract in your own words. Find
another article in an archivaljournal (examples include transactions or journals published by professional societies like IEEE and ACM) that may not be easy to read
but appears to you to be the best source, judged from its citations. Justify your choice and
reproduce the title and abstract of the article as an appendix to your report.
Research the state-of-the-art (latest research) for your chosen topic.
Search for currently available device(s) and their specs. Then
identify at least two reputable vendors for the devices, along with
their prices.
Summarize the results of your research in about two single-spaced
pages, including figures and references but not appendices. In the
introduction include general background information about your
topic and your reasons for choosing it. In writing your report follow the best practices you
have learned in previous courses for technical writing. The class web
page under the heading, "Useful Info" has several links that may be helpful to you..
Submit your report via handin by midnight Monday, September 10, 2007.