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Lab Assignments

Lab 1 –Building a Digital Stopwatch Digital I/O

Microcontrollers are elements that fall between electronic hardware and software. They are computers in that they are programmed using algorithmic languages, but they are hardware in that they are installed by being wired into the system with all of the other electronic components. In the first project, we take our first step into the hardware domain by interfacing our first few electronic components, LCDs and keypads, and initiating interaction with our microcontroller.

Problem Assignment [HTML][PDF]

Assigned: Feb. 14^th 2002, Demo: Feb. 28^th 2002

Lab 2 – Basic Stamp II – Building a Digital Multimeter

The physical world remains fundamentally analog while the computer is primarily a digital device. Hence, conversion between analog and digital domains, appropriately termed Analog to Digital Conversion (ADC) and Digital to Analog Conversion (DAC), is essential to permit operation by computers on the physical world and this second project focuses primarily on such conversions. For example, sensors typically output an analog signal (voltage or resistance) proportional to the quantity being measured; and actuator outputs are designed to be proportional to analog control signals (voltage/current) which must be provided by the computer. (In subsequent labs we will look at the actual sensors which transduce physical quantities into electrical signals and the actuator technology which transduce the electrical signals to take actions on the physical world). To motivate and understand this process, we will be implementing the following “product” that will be of use to us in subsequent labs: A Digital Ohmmeter, Digital Voltmeter, an R-2R ladder based Digital-to-Analog Converter, and a Pulse Width Modulation based Digital-to-Analog Converter (PWMDAC).

Problem Assignment [HTML][ PDF]

Assigned: Feb. 28^th 2002, Demo: Mar. 21^st 2002

Lab 3 – Controlling a Wheeled Mobile Robot

with an Infrared Remote

In this lab, we examine the interfacing of a small semi-autonomous wheeled mobile robot to a microprocessor, focusing especially on development alternative user-interfaces and performance calibration. The BOE-Bot kit provides an expedient method for creating simple wheeled mobile robots (which will serve as our experimental testbed). Numerous alternative interfaces can be created by a combination of hardware and software mechatronic elements (such as by decoding the 38Khz modulated IR signal generated a TV remote). Hence one the emphases in this lab is to explore and gain experience with implementing alternative and unconventional user-interfaces.

Problem Assignment [HTML][PDF]

Assigned: Mar. 27^th 2002, Demo: Apr. 11^th 2002

Final Project –Distributed Sensing and Control Framework for Mobile Robots

In this final project, we wish to examine the development and implementation of a distributed sensing and control framework for a system comprised of: the mobile robot (with its onboard processor), the base station, which are coupled together by wired and wireless communication channels. Such a distribution of sensing and control offers many benefits including reducing the computation loads on individual processors and extending the capabilities of sensors/actuators but comes at the price of need for communication protocols, increased overhead of coordination and ultimately increased complexity. Thus, in this final project we wish to examine some of these issues using the relatively simple example of remote-control/operation of the mobile robot by a base station.

In keeping with the procedure discussed in class, this final project will be less structured than the previous labs. In particular, students will have enormous freedom in selection of phenomena to study, implementation mechanisms as long as they stay within the broad guidelines noted below. Groups with questions are encouraged to discuss their potential projects with Prof. Krovi at the earliest to avoid many of the pitfalls.

Project Assigned

[HTML][PDF]

Demonstration: May 2^nd 2002, Report Due: May 14^th 2002

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Submitted Lab Reports

Team	Member #1 (Name, e-mail)	PDF FORMAT	PDF FORMAT	PDF FORMAT	PDF FORMAT
A	Seung Kook Jun seungjun(at)acsu.buffalo.edu Kok-Lam Lai klai2(at)eng.buffalo.edu Bun Tong NYcMMpUnit(at)aol.com	LAB1	LAB2	LAB3	PROJECT [PRESENTATION (PPT)] [REPORT (PDF)] [TEAM A: MOVIES]
B	Chris Nowak cnowak(at)buffalo.veridian.com Rajaey Kased kased(at)acsu.buffalo.edu Chin-pei Tang chintang(at)eng.buffalo.edu	LAB1	LAB2	LAB3	PROJECT [PRESENTATION (PPT)] [REPORT (PDF)] [TEAM B: MOVIES]
C	Prasanna Parthasarathy prasanna7_2000(at)rediffmail.com Robert Stoll mitcho_chano(at)yahoo.com Dan Gott gott(at)eng.buffalo.edu	LAB1	LAB2	LAB3	PROJECT [PRESENTATION (PPT)] [REPORT (PDF)]
D	Pravin Nair pknair(at)eng.buffalo.edu Harmanjeet Shihn hshihn(at)buffalo.edu Richard Porcari rporcari(at)acsu.buffalo.edu	LAB1	LAB2	LAB3	PROJECT [PRESENTATION (PPT)] [REPORT (PDF)]
E	Leng Feng Lee llee3(at)eng.buffalo.edu Krishnakumar Ramamoorthy kr27(at)acsu.buffalo.edu Rajankumar Bhatt rmbhatt(at)eng.buffalo.edu	LAB1	LAB2	LAB3	PROJECT [PRESENTATION (PPT)] [REPORT (PDF)]

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