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Prototype Development Documentation
EET250/250A

Other Resources for students involved in building projects for their classes and home hobby ideas:

 

               (Current Projects Using the AVR 8-bit RISC system by ATMEL is Under Construction).  We have been using the STK-500 Developmental Board and primarly the Atmega8515 and Atmega16 devices that come with the kit to support the development of each teams project.

 

The Final Projects for EET250
Spring 2002

 
The class of 02! Each robot was manufactured with the same specifications. The rules used in determining which was the better robot was determined by the rules of Sumo Bot "wrestling".
There was three groups of students who fabricated Sumo-bots for their final
project.  Each robot meets the specifications for regional competitions.
The fight is on!! Once the on button is turned on- the robots will wait 5 seconds before seeking out other. The five second delay represents the bow that takes place in the traditional competition.
Battlin' Bots-- Two of the bots duke it out for bragging rights.  The blue rubber
bands on the wheels is to give the robots extra traction.
The sensors on the front of this robot is what allows it to find the robot in front of it. There are also sensors on the bottom of the platform that are calibrated to determine where the white ring of the edge on the platform is ... The robots will not run of the end of the platform with these sensors working!
The victor of the competition for bragging rights. 
Runner up for whose the best!  Make sure to have fresh batteries next time around.                                                                                           Top of Page
There are three major componets to this project. The first component is the sensors within the box that accept the color being shown through a light system.
This project is a color filter detector.  In combination with the sensors on the front of the "black box" and the filter colors (red, blue, and green) the micro-controller can determine which color is being viewed.
This is a close-up view of the inside electronics of the sensor system that detects the color. The second component of this project are the colored filters that are placed in front of the sensors. You can see the edges of two of the filters (right).
There are three identical circuits that senses either red, blue, or green color that is being shown through the projection system.  Notice the different filter colors on the front of the box.
The 68HC11 Development board allows users to program the micro-controller and build interface circuitry on it. The external circuitry is connected to the input/output ports of the micro-controller so that the device and controller the hardware via a software program. These programs can either be written in assembly or C.
The third component (the brains).  The 68HC11 micro-controller is being used to determine from the sensors which of the filters is being shown.  From this detection circuit a program that was developed by the students turns on one of three light emitting diodes (LEDs) to complete the circuit.
The complete project put together.  The external nine (9) volt battery is the supply for all of the external circuitry and the micro-controller.  The filtered color plates were placed on a "coffee can" and an overhead projector light was used so that the sensors in the "black box" could pick up the emitted light energy.
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The LEDs for this project are basic output indicators. An application for this project is a automatic control device for a greenhouse. Instead of using LEDs for outputs the two outputs can be connected to a heating and/or air conditioning system. The two systems would automatically turn on depending on the temperature reading read by the sensor and interpreted by the program in the micro-controller.
This project is a temperature sensor.  The program written for the micro-controller determines at which temperature range the sensor (transducer) has detected.  Depending on the temperature of the water one of two LEDs turns on.  In this picture the green light turned on which represented a water temperature below 70 degrees Farenheit.
Even though this project used light emitting diodes to simulate the correct outputs for the range in temperatures... This project can be finished with the correct actuators and pumps for this to work in a greenhouse or other closed environment.
In this picture the sensors was placed in a hot water container and the yellow light turned on indicating that the air conditioning should be turned on for the plants.
Close-up view of the output port connections that turn on the lights depending on the temperature.  The sensor used in this project (to left) was from the automotive program at the college.                                                              Top of Page
A "modified" romote controlled vehicle. This car instead of using the handheld controller to move it.... Yes that's right! We used the micro-controller to determine the direction that the wheels should turn.
The interface circuitry was very complicated for this project... As you can see!
The 68HC11 micro-controller (to right) was to be used in controlling the direction that the wheels were to be turned in guiding the vehicle.
A sneek-peek of the interface circuitry used in the remote vehicle project.
This was the circuitry designed for inside the vehicle so that the micro-controller could control it.                                                                             Top of Page