Proximity Spatial Glasses

Team basics

• Project Title

  • Proximity Spatial Glasses

• Team Name

  • Kiwis

• URL to your team's project page on the EECS-CSE Senior Projects site (from #2 above).

  • http://srproj.eecs.uci.edu/projects/proximity-spatial-glasses

• URL to team project video

  • https://youtu.be/mJ3ArF42z18

Team composition

• Solomon Victoriano, EE

  • Team Captain

  • Circuit Design and Semiconductor Specialization

  • Repair Technician at Neunaber Audio Company

  • Experience: C, Arduino, Soldering, Repairs

  • Contribution: Plan to design our overall prototype that will be presented at our Winter Design exhibit. Will assist teammates in designing our circuit design as well as picking out the parts that will be used in our circuits. Will help integrate our sensors together with our microcontroller.  

• Wesley Wu, EE

  • Hardware Lead

  • DSP Specialization

  • PCB design using EagleCAD

  • Contribution: Plan to connect the electrical devices, focus on heat and power dissipation, and focus on reducing any noise or disturbances that affect the electrical devices.

• Kendrick Ngor, EE

  • Software Lead

  • Circuit Design and Semiconductor Specialization

  • Data analyst

  • Experience with C, VBA, VHDL, Arduino, Raspberry Pi

  • Contribution: Plan to develop firmware for the microcontroller as it interacts with our multiple sensors. Also plan to work on the design of the glasses and how all the parts will be integrated together.  

Team information

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

(6 points) Mentor

• the name of the mentor and major

  • Chin C. Lee, EE

• 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?

  • Class. Very relatable, charismatic, and intuitive teacher. Knowledgeable and experienced professor who has a mindset that parallels the team goals. Always willing to meet for guidance and has a lot of knowledge about electronics. Can provide guidance with working with sensors and IC’s.

  • We met Chin C. Lee in 2 of the classes we’ve had at UCI. He was very charismatic, intuitive, and knowledgeable in his teachings so we sought to get him as our mentor. As electrical engineers, we also wanted to work with someone in our field who could direct us in our work. He is well versed in theoretical concepts such as laser, semiconductor, and optics that can guide our ideas into actual real components of our design.

• 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.

  • Other faculty was emailed previously but never responded to our emails. The emails were sent all at once to multiple professors but at the same time, our current professor accepted our offer first.

• If your team still does not have a confirmed mentor, list whom you plan to ask and why.

  • N/A

(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.

  • Our project is a wearable set of sensors that allows the sight-impaired to better navigate the outside world. Using real-time sensors that can detect upcoming obstacles, the user will be given responses that will help them avoid dangers. Our design is meant to be a practical device for sight-impaired individuals that can be used everyday. The prototype will be designed as glasses that are lightweight and easily accessible.

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

  • This idea was created during a group discussion by the students. Our target audience leaned towards handicap or disabled individuals because we believe there’s a lot of potential for technology in this area. Also because the goal of our project is to help people and the easiest group of people that need help everyday is the handicap/disabled.

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

• I believe this project encompasses many theories and practical applications learned in school. The problem with most technology that is purposed for everyday use are the users’ concerns. They are not aesthetically pleasing or hard to use. We plan to create a smart design users will appreciate while providing all the practical applications necessary. This project has been created before in various types of designs for different uses, however our design will be directed towards visually impaired with a glasses design.

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 has sufficient experience working with microcontrollers and sensors. Many projects seen in the past allowed us to gain experience working with electronic hardware. The biggest area our team lacks is programming expertise. As electrical engineers, we had minimal practice with programming; however I believe the project’s goals are within reach. We will individually study different aspects of the design and together integrate the components to create a working prototype.

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?

• This project revolves mostly around electronic hardware and software. The hardware portion of the project involves how to efficiently connect, communicate, and power the electrical devices. The software involves the communication system between the user and the device, between the electric devices that are used in our projects and between the user and the environment. Everyone within the team has some level of experience with each subject. Design will also require mechanical design with Solidworks. Having used this program our 1st year, this team will be able to begin the design but may have to contact mechanical engineers for further assistance. The software portion will also be a challenge for us where CS majors will be asked. We may struggle depending on the type of software and how to integrate the software between the user and their environment.