Electrical & Computer Engineering Senior Design

• Custom PCB for ECE Labs

  Team Name // PCB Dream Team

  PROJECT DESCRIPTION
  

  DIP chips are becoming harder and harder to come by. Because of their relatively short life span and increasing rarity, the ECE Department is running out of necessary DIP ICs for Undergraduate lab activities. SMD chips are far easier to obtain, and much cheaper. As a result, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) adapters can be created to interface between the SMD chips and a solderless breadboard. Furthermore, in a learning environment, the ICs are subjected to much more wear and tear than the average commercial environment. ICs are often damaged, and it is difficult to determine if an IC is operational based on exterior damage. This system will include a tester, into which the PCB adapters containing the SMD ICs can be inserted to test their functionality.

  BENEFITS TO PROJECT CLIENT

  1. Increase productivity of students in ECE labs.
  2. Reduce the amount of errors by students in labs.
  3. Provides a cost-effective solution that will save the ECE department money.

  PROJECT GOAL

  The purpose of this system is to assist in the function of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department Coursework Labs. This will be achieved by creating adapters for Surface-Mount Device (SMD) Integrated Circuits (IC) to fit the footprint of Dual Inline Package (DIP) ICs. These adapters are essential in prototype testing using a Solderless Breadboard, since SMD ICs will not naturally fit the footprint required. This system will also include an IC Tester made to test these specific adapters and ICs for identification and function.

  TEAM MEMBERS

  • John Buckles
  • Neel Jain
  • Nicholas McClain
  • Jacob Warren

• Digital Carillon Controller

  Team Name // The Lords of the Ring

  PROJECT DESCRIPTION
  

  The bell tower on the University of Louisville’s campus is controlled using a digital carillon system that plays sounds through speakers on top of the bell tower. The current system has become antiquated and has run into issues recently with ongoing construction near the Student Activity Center.  The university has decided to overhaul the entire system and has enlisted the help of our capstone team to create a new controller for the system which will be significantly more cost effective than other commercial products while still providing necessary functionality.

  BENEFITS TO PROJECT CLIENT

  1. The client will save a significant amount of money
  2. The client will have greater flexibility in the operation of the bell tower
  3. The client will have a greater ease of operation with a more modern system

  PROJECT GOAL

  The goal of the project is to create a digital carillon controller that can play the Westminster chimes every half hour and the alma mater at noon each day while allowing for user manipulation in the schedule and for the import of new sounds.

  TEAM MEMBERS

  • Rio Brittany
  • Andrew Franxman
  • Johnathan Frech
  • Brian Mortberg
  • Nicholas Westurn

• Smart Toilet

  Team Name // The Potty Posse

  PROJECT DESCRIPTION
  

  A prototype will be made for urinalysis on a toilet to monitor hydration level of a user. An input will trigger the device to take a reading of urine color right before a toilet flushes. This trigger won’t require an extra manual input from the user.  The reading will fit into one of four categories aimed at hydration of the user. The four categories are hydrated, moderately dehydrated, severely dehydrated, or an erroneous reading. This hydration level will be sent via a text and/or email to the user with a recommendation to drink more water based on the reading. Urine color data of a user will be tracked over time.

  BENEFITS TO PROJECT CLIENT

  1. The Trager Institute will receive these benefits from this project that will help them fulfil their mission:
  2. This is a step to help elderly people age at home by being able to monitor their hydration level remotely
  3. This will give health professionals a tool for predictive analytics of a patient’s overall health over time based on their hydration level
  4. This project will show the potential of the Smart Toilet and will encourage the Trager Institute to continue sponsoring projects for its innovation

  PROJECT GOAL

  This project is sponsored by the University of Louisville’s Trager Institute. This organization’s main goal is “innovating the aging experience for individuals, community, and industry through leading-edge clinical practice, collaborative research, and inter-professional education” according to their website. The Trager institute became interested in  Smart Toilet projects as they found there’s a lot you can learn from a toilet.  These Smart Toilet innovations can be implemented to a user’s home toilet and can help monitor their health at home. This project has taken different directions in the past, but this semester the goal of the project is to help keep a toiler user hydrated. With the system being designed to trigger without any extra input from the user, they don’t have to remember to trigger it. This is part of the Trager Institute’s goal of the project that allows the system to be used for elderly people with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other illnesses that might affect their memory. The notification of the user’s hydration level could be sent to those patient’s care givers and loved ones so they can help make sure the patient is drinking enough water. The data tracking of urine color will allow the use of predictive analytics about the user’s hydration level over time and how it might affect their overall health.

  TEAM MEMBERS

  • Jackie Cheng
  • Lane Clark
  • Collin Cruise
  • Kuk-Jin Kim
  • Brian A. Mayer