Author: akundu2

Accomplish

This week, I focused on the firmware portions of the Design Review Report. I outlined how camera frames and microphone samples will be timestamped, queued, and written to the microSD card while capture continues. I also worked through the rolling-buffer and clip-preservation design, including how overlapping saves can share stored segments. For testing and validation, I helped define checks for capture continuity, audiovisual synchronization, trigger timing, and clip integrity.

Progress/Schedule

Firmware implementation is slightly behind schedule, with more progress made on defining the design than testing it on hardware. My priority is to establish a reliable capture-to-storage pipeline before adding preservation and transfer functionality. Testing this foundation early will help identify whether our estimated frame sizes, storage rates, and queue capacity are realistic. Right now, I am still waiting on being able to use the ESP32 to test out the firmware plans.

Deliverables

Next week, I plan to test camera capture and microSD writing on the ESP32-S3, measuring frame sizes, capture timing, and write latency. I will use these measurements to refine the staging queue and segment-writing logic, then begin implementing the rolling buffer and save-button handling. The immediate goal is to produce timestamped recordings that can serve as a baseline for testing retrospective capture.

 

Accomplish

Following our Design Review presentation on Monday, I shifted my focus toward the written Design Report and planning the firmware implementation. I worked on explaining how our firmware choices support the project’s requirements, particularly continuous recording, reliable clip preservation, and transfer to the phone. I also developed more of the discussion of public health, safety, and welfare, connecting the design to reduced user distraction, recording awareness, and clear feedback about whether footage was saved. For risk management, I identified SD write delays and Wi-Fi activity as potential causes of dropped frames and outlined buffering, write batching, and other transfer risk mitigation strategies.

Progress/Schedule

Firmware work remains on schedule at the design stage, with hardware testing pending the ESP32’s arrival. the next step is translating the architecture into preliminary code and resolving some storage allocation details. However, actual sustained recording performance and the details of recording during transfers remain the main unknowns as we can only figure those out once we are able to test on the board.

Deliverables

Next week, I will finish my contributions to the Design Review Written Report and begin setting up the firmware project in our repository. I plan to review the camera, microphone, PSRAM, and SD interfaces and prepare initialization code so we can begin testing promptly when the board arrives. My first hardware goals will be confirming memory and storage operation, capturing a JPEG, and checking microphone input before combining them into the recording pipeline.

Accomplish

This week, I focused on defining CapSure’s firmware architecture and preparing those portions of our design review presentation. I developed the design flow covering initialization, continuous recording, and the transition from filling the initial buffer to maintaining a rolling 60 seconds of footage. I also refined the different signals triggered to transition from one stage to another in the flow, as well as refined the specification user-button interaction so that one button press preserves footage and stores it on the device and a separate button press triggers Wi-Fi enabling and the transfer to the user’s phone, all while recording continues in the background. I worked through overlapping saves, interrupted downloads, and deleting saved clips only after the phone verifies that it has received the footage. Additionally, I outlined the recovery behavior for component failures and contributed quantitative testing plans for video quality, A/V synchronization, buffer preservation, and recording during transfers.

Progress/Schedule

The firmware is currently on progress with the schedule, and in the design stage, with hardware implementation pending on the ESP32’s arrival. The main recording and saving behaviors have been defined, but storage allocation still needs to be worked through a bit more. My immediate focus will continue to be refining the firmware structure, identifying more edge case scenarios to think through, and resolving these design details before our materials come.

Deliverables

Next week, I will flesh out the firmware flowcharts more and contribute the architecture and testing sections of the Design Review Written Report. I will also set up the firmware project in our GitHub and begin defining the capture, buffering, and saved-clip management interfaces. Once the board is available, my first hardware milestones will be confirming PSRAM and SD operation, capturing a valid camera frame, and transferring a preview over Wi-Fi for integration with Jayden’s mobile app.