EE 552 Project Ideas

You will be spending a considerable amount of time on your project this term.  Start off with an idea which interests you.  Build something related to: Beware of projects that could best be implemented in software.  These can often end in frustration.

Still stuck for an idea?  Try something from this list:

Ethernet Toaster

As ethernet interfaces and hubs become cheap, it would be useful to connect more than just computers: VCRs, thermostats, microwave ovens, coffee makers, toasters, etc.  Design a chip that can control and monitor an appliance, and respond to ethernet requests.  Consider other communications interfaces as well (USB, infrared, midi, RS-232 (SLIP),  parallel printer port).

Telecom

There are a variety of hardware gadgets to be built that connect to or between ethernet, T1, ATM, etc.
 

Efficient Implementation of Convolutional Error Control Encoding and Decoding Techniques

The use of error control coding in communication systems is now commonplace due to the need to increase the accuracy of transmission in ever-increasingly noisy environments.  Efficient software/hardware implementations of error control coding procedures are becoming more and more important as the number of standards that communications equipment must accommodate proliferates.

Convolutional codes are one type of error control code that are in widespread use in a variety of communication systems, including deep-space, satellite, and mobile cellular systems.  Their premise is straightforward:  restrict the transmitted data sequence to one of a number of valid sequences.  The object of the decoder is then to detect if errors have occurred, and if so, to determine the closest valid sequence.  There are several approaches to decoding a convolutional code, the most popular being the Viterbi algorithm.

The challenge of this project will be to design, test, and verify an efficient implementation of both the encoding and decoding mechanisms of a convolutional code.

 - Ivan Fair
 

Optical Switch Controller

Design a digital controller for TRLab's optical switch.

Variable Resolution Array Scanning

This project involves the design of a digital circuit for scanning an array of sensing elements in an efficient manner.  The conventional array-scanning technique is sequential, selecting one row and one column at a time.  Time complexity of the sequential technique, therefore, is linear with respect to the number of sensing elements.  If only a small number of sensing elements are active, however, a more efficient
solution can be developed by selecting multiple rows and columns at a time and quickly eliminating large inactive regions without any active elements.  The optimal time complexity in this case is logarithmic with respect to the number of sensing elements. The objective this project is to design a special-purpose decoding circuit that is critical in realizing the logarithmic scanning technique.
 - Hong Zhang
 

Theremin Music Synthesizer

The pitch and volume of a Theremin synthesizer are controlled by hand gestures which are detected by antennae.  Theremins were first implemented with vacuum tubes, but can be implemented with digital logic.
 

Digital synthesized radio transmitter

Using an FPGA chip and passive components, build a radio transmitter. Background on phase-lock loops and the necessary circuit tricks will be provided.  One application of this is the wireless transmission of telemetry.
 - Elliott
 

Integrated Petri Net

Using a reprogrammable FPGA, program Petri Nets as VHDL code.  Background on Petri Nets will be provided.   Synchronous and asynchronous implementations are possible.
 - Joerg & Elliott
 

Hardwired Compute Engine

Build dedicated hardware to solve a computationally challenging problem (traveling salesman, decryption).

Simple Microprocessor

Design a new processor

SIMD Parallel Computer

Design a fast parallel processor
- Elliott

Digital Signal Processing

Filter signals in real time