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EIE Microcontroller Application Design Contest (2015-16) (Final)

The “EIE Microcontroller Application Design Contest (2015-16)” is organized by the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering (EIE), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and sponsored by RS components Ltd. The contest aims to promote EIE students’ interest in microcontroller-based electronic product design and to provide a platform for EIE students to exercise their creativity and innovation through teamwork. The contest consists of two phases. In Phase I, each team with at most three members was required to submit a proposal to describe the design and implementation of its products. It was completed on 31 December 2015 with many proposals received. Ten teams were shortlisted for Phase II. In Phase II, shortlisted teams received financial support and technical advice/support from the EIE Department and RS Components Ltd. RS Components Ltd. organized a workshop for all teams to know more about certain free design software it offered, such as DesignSpark PCB and DesignSpark Mechanical. All teams had around six weeks to produce their products based on their proposals. On 26 February 2016, they delivered a 15-minute presentation to describe and demonstrate the features of their final products with a 5-minute Q & A session right after. A panel of judges was formed by the EIE Department and RS Components Ltd. All teams enjoyed the whole competition journey and they learned a lot of things through the competition. The information of each team is listed below: 

-          Design Title

-          Award

-          Abstract

-          Introduction

-          Final Report

-          Comment from the Judging Panel (for champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up only)

-          Presentation and Interview (Photo and Video)

 

Award: Champion

Design Title: HorsePros (Horse Medical Care System)

Abstract: HorsePros is a horse medical care system designed to measure the horse’s heart and respiratory rate so as to identify the horse’s health condition. The measured data will be shown on a LCD display and also on a web page through a server.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-horse-health-monitor

Final Report: will be updated

Comment from the Judging Panel: This team designs a microcontroller system that can read the heart rate and the breath rate of a horse to identify the health status of the horse. The design is very interesting because it can be carried by a horse and there is no existing product which can do the same thing. The measurement can be very useful since the system can do real-time measurement and report if there is something wrong. The implementation is complete and some experiments are carried out to prove that the product can work properly.

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: First Runner-up

Design Title: New Security Lock

Abstract: This project aims to develop a lock system that is unlocked by answering some questions instead of using a key or entering a password. A user can download questions to the lock. When the user wants to unlock it, the LCD on the lock system will display a question for the user to answer. If the answer is correct, it will unlock.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-smart-security-lock

Final Report: will be updated

Comment from the Judging Panel: This team designs a lock which can be unlocked by answering some predefined questions correctly. The lock is controlled by a microcontroller. All questions and answers are saved into a text file and the text file can be stored in the lock through a SD card. The design is interesting because the lock can be personalized and shared by a couple or good friends. The implementation is also good because the team makes it within a reasonable price and the team has overcome many implementation problems to finish it on time (e.g. the location of small buttons in the lock, the material to make the outlook of the lock, etc.).

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: Second Runner-up

Design Title: Battleship with Firepower Control System

Abstract: This project aims to develop a “weapon system” for a toy battleship. The weapon is a coli-gun which is a type of electromagnetic gun shooting bullets. A personal computer can remotely control the weapon system and the toy battleship through a microcontroller.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-remote-control-battleship-prototype

Final report: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/final-report-battleship-with-firepower-control-system

Comment from the Judging Panel: This team designs a microcontroller system to control the movement of a toy battleship with an electromagnetic gun by using text commands through wireless communication. The control of the battleship is trivial and the highlight is the electromagnetic gun. The electromagnetic gun can shoot properly but the power of the gun is not as high as expected. The overall design and implementation is good but it will be much better if the shooting range of the gun can be increased significantly.

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

Award: Merit

Design Title: Smart Fan

Abstract: This project aims to develop a smart system to control a fan by using a microcontroller. The microcontroller detects the current temperature and humidity by using sensors to determine whether the fan should be turned on. Finally, an app in a mobile device remotely controls the fan through the microcontroller by using Bluetooth.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-smart-fan

Final report: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/knowledge-item/final-report-for-project-smart-fan

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: Merit

Design Title: Portable Air Quality Detector

Abstract: This project aims to develop a smart device to measure air quality through sensors. The result will be displayed on a LCD monitor and through an app in a mobile device by using Bluetooth. Finally, the locations of the mobile devices will be stored in a server so that the server collects data from different mobile devices to generate an air pollution map.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-to-portal-air-pollution-detector

Final report: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/final-report

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: Merit

Design Title: Lie Detector

Abstract: This project aims to create a smart electronic device called Lie Detector. It makes use of a microcontroller with different sensors to gather “emotion data” and identify whether a user is lying or not. This device should be portable so that it can be used everywhere.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-to-project-lie-detector

Final Report: will be updated

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: Merit

Design Title: Drone Parachute System

Abstract: This project aims to develop a smart system that automatically opens a parachute when free falling is detected. It is expected that the system will be installed in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). When the UAV is falling, the system will generate some warning signals (light and buzzer) and open the parachute. Concurrently, the system will generate signals so that a user can find his/her UAV through his/her mobile device by learning the GPS location of his/her UAV.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-drone-parachute-system

Final Report: will be updated

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: Merit

Design Title: Soft Emotion

Abstract: This product aims to be a helpful tool in drawing a user’s attention when his/her mobile device receives some messages. It looks like a small toy but it takes action(s) when it gets a message from an app in a user’s mobile device. The toy also responds to a user’s actions (e.g., shaking the toy).

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-soft-emotion

Final report: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/knowledge-item/final-report-of-project-soft-emotion

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: Merit

Design Title: Smart Switch

Abstract: This project aims to develop a smart switch that provides two main functions. The first function controls the power supply by using a timer or an app in a mobile device. The second function measures the electricity usage. The results will be displayed on the app. Finally, a user can lock the switch through the app.

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-smart-switch

Final Report: will be updated

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

Award: Merit

Design Title: Arduino Indoor Environment Monitor

Abstract: This project aims to develop an indoor environment monitor. The monitor has an infra-red sensor to detect whether there is any person in a room. If human being is detected, the monitor will start measuring the room’s temperature, humidity and air quality. The results will be displayed both on a LCD display and via an app in a mobile device.

 

Introduction: http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/knowledge-item/introduction-of-project-arduino-indoor-environment-monitor

Final Report: will be updated

Presentation and Interview: will be updated

 

 

 

 

Organizer "Microcontroller Application Design Contest (2016-17)" Department of Electronic and Information Engineering The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
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