Infrared Object Tracking Device

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Submitted by sshan2 on Tue, 10/03/2017 - 18:57

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EECS 159A - Senior Design

Assignment 1 - Team Formation

 

 

  • Team composition

Name:  Linh Do

      • Major: Electrical Engineering, specialty in Digital Signal Processing

      • Skills and experience: Programming, Arduino, basic lab equipment operation.

      • What technical aspects this person would like to contribute to a project: Programming, working with embedded devices such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi

      • Indicate expected roles on the team: (team captain? hardware? software? network? administrator):  Software

 

Name: Menwa Keshishi

      • Major: Electrical Engineering, specializing in Digital Signal Processing

      • Skills and experience: Programming in C, C++, MATLAB, Soldering, Oscilloscope, Complex Breadboard Wiring

      • What technical aspects this person would like to contribute to a project: Creating the physical layout/hardware of the device.

      • Indicate expected roles on the team: (team captain? hardware? software? network? administrator): Hardware & Software

 

Name: Stephen Han

      • Major: Electrical Engineering, specializing in I.C. Design

      • Skills and experience: Basic programming skills in various languages, proficient with lab instruments, Arduino and various shields, Circuit wiring, Mechanical Engineering(industry), 3D printing.

      • What technical aspects this person would like to contribute to a project: The Mechanical aspects and functionality of our design

      • Indicate expected roles on the team: I am expected to be able to contribute in some way to every part of this project

 

    • Team information

      • strengths of this team (i.e., how would you convince a mentor to take your team?)

The strengths of this team are that we are hardworking, motivated, intelligent, not afraid to ask for advice/help, and we work well together as a team. We also have different strengths which will help us create a more well rounded and dynamic final product.

 

  • (6 points) Mentor

    • the name of the mentor and major: Ian Harris

    • Explain how you found this mentor and why you chose him or her.  What made you think this mentor is a good match?  In what ways do you expect this mentor to be helpful?

We chose Professor Harris to be our mentor because our members have previously worked with him in research projects. Professor Harris is very knowledgeable, helpful, and fun to work with. He is also very organized in approaching problems and systematically finds solutions.

    • List the other faculty you have talked to but why they didn’t work out. Did they turn you down or did you turn them down, and why? Explain how you approached them (in person, by email, by phone, what dates, etc.), and comment on how hard (or how aggressive) you tried contacting them, what worked and what didn't work.

Only Professor Harris was approached for this senior project.

 

  • (6 points) Project idea

    • What is the project idea? You might not have all the details all worked out yet, but try your best to give the most plausible description of the project you'll end up doing.

The camera swivel concept addresses an ongoing need in the market of smartphone photography and home-movies: As more consumers use smartphones for video, there is a growing need for automation. With this in mind, we imagine a beacon/sensor-based system which works in conjunction with a servo motor for automated movie-shooting.

Users would be able to position their smartphones on the swivel mount and then attach sensors to either moving or stationary subject(s). The swivel would then operate in either of two modes:    1) sweep between two given beacons at a timed interval;  2) follow either beacon for a prescribed period of time. Therefore, the camera would capture the subjects without a human photographer.
 

    • How did this idea come up?  Defined by students? faculty? design contest? other sources?

The idea was created by the students in this team and later refined and guided by the aid of Professor Harris.

    • Why do you think this is a good project idea?  Has anyone else done something like it?  If so, what do you plan to do differently and better

Our team decided on this project because of two reasons. The first being that we have personally experienced having to video record a relative’s celebration using a smartphone/video recording device. This task removes the cameraman from enjoying the actual celebration and becomes more of a job. This experience takes away from being with family/friends. Our project intention is to remove the cameraman and have the recording process be automated, thus allowing everyone to enjoy the celebration.

    • Comment on whether your team has the sufficient expertise and what skills you will need to acquire to do the project.  Who will work on which aspects?  Is there any skill not covered by the team?  What do you plan to do?

Our team consists of bright well rounded individuals who have expertise in programming, wiring, and collaborating with colleagues. Linh will lead the charge in programming while Menwa will also contribute to programming and hardware and finally Stephen will aid in the mechanical aspects of our design. The only skill that will be learned is programming and working with Raspberry Pi. This skill should not be too difficult to obtain however due to our strong programming background.

    • Comment on the multidisciplinary aspects of the project. Does the project require multidisciplinary technical skills within the team?  Or does it require your team to interact with some other people from a different discipline?

The project does not necessarily require multidisciplinary technical skills outside of our major but we will need to apply some mechanical engineering to our design. Our team will be able to build, wire, and program our entire project.