Towards the end of this past week, we finally received the parts for the PCB and the PCBs with stencils themselves. One of the tasks I did this week involved running tests to estimate the appropriate resistance needed to be put in series with the LEDs in order to run 100mA current through each diode. When I placed the order, I had ordered a resistor with a quarter the ohmage as the one used in the unit tests with just one LED at a time (since we are illuminating up to 4 100mA diodes at a time). Then, I ordered a couple of resistors with +/- 1.5 Ohms in case the PCB traces introduce more wire resistance than in our tests. Since we only have a couple of these high-power resistors to place, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to desolder the resistor if it is too resistive or not enough. Additionally, while the LEDs we use are rated for 100mA of constant current, they can theoretically safely handle 1A of current so long as they are pulsed (which is our mode of operation). So, we should be able to run our diodes comfortably with all this in mind. Next week, we will begin soldering and frame assembly. I believe this puts us right on schedule to finish our project in time.
Darwin Torres’ Status Report for 3/26
This past week, Matt K and I commenced the integration between the Arduino data processing and Python Screen control interface. Time has been spent understanding how to communicate between the Arduino and our Python interface via USB, which would allow us to send touch control requests to the OS directly from the Arduino. We have a plan outlined and have commenced simple tests for communicating touch type and position. As we wait for the hardware subsystem to be completed, testing will consist of creating dummy coordinates on the Arduino and sending certain commands to the OS through the Python interface. To confirm that the observed output is accurate, we compare with touch control requests sent from a local Python test script. Next week, I will get together with the others to solder the components onto our PCB and hopefully start testing our hardware subsystem. With the slack time we have and the progress I have made, I feel that I am on track with the schedule.
Matthew Kuczynski’s Status Report for 3/26
This week, my main focus was to continue the software integration. As I continued to combine my software with Darwin’s, I realized that some major decisions about the overall software design needed to be made. Therefore, much of the work that I did this week involved overall planning and design of the project’s software system. The biggest question was how exactly a touch event would be communicated to the screen control software. In the end, I chose to design a system where after subsystem B detects the touch type and position, both an event type and screen position are communicated to subsystem C. Most of the time, the event type will be “no touch”, in which case the position can be ignored. Overall, I think that I am on track to finish my parts with some slack time built in, and the fact that the PCB + components came in means that we can move forward as a team. Next week, my focus will shift to the soldering that needs to be done with the PCBs, and there may be a chance to do some physical testing near the end of the week depending on how the soldering goes.
Team Status Report for 3/26
This past week, we have continued integration between subsystems B (Arduino data processing) and C (Python Screen Control Interface). This will allow us to send touch control requests to the OS from the Arduino via USB. Integration between subsystems A and B will begin on a later date, as we still need to finish the PCB and frame. We have been held back on the arrival of our components, but fortunately we finally have them on our hands and are eager to start getting our hardware subsystem ready. Next week, we plan on starting the assembly of subsystem A by dedicating our time to PCB soldering and finalizing frame design, potentially also starting frame construction. Given the slack time we gave ourselves, and our ability to shift focus on the software as we waited for parts, we feel we are currently on schedule with our tasks.
Darwin Torres’ Status Report for 3/19/2022
This week, I continued testing for the screen control interface. These tests have all been through software, emulating requests via python scripts. Once we have an initial frame set up, we can start testing directly with physical user input. While we wait for parts to come in, software integration is starting to commence, as Matt’s Arduino subsystem starts to join with the Python touch-control interface. This would allow us to start testing the sending of requests from the Arduino via USB. In the coming weeks, I will help with the PCB once our parts arrive, and until then I will be able to allocate most of my time to further testing, which should hopefully result in a smoother integration experience and less debugging once we are able to conduct our physical tests. On the software side, I feel that I am on schedule, though on the PCB I am a bit behind, but this is because we are still waiting for parts. Overall, this isn’t an issue as I am able to put more time into tweaking my scripts as I mentioned before.
Team Status Report for 3/19
Over the past week, our team has focused on finishing the PCB and software testing. We are falling a little behind schedule on the software side since we still do not have a working concept of the Arudino and Screen Control integration. As we wait for the PCB this week, this should be our main task. Additionally, since the PCB is taking a lot longer than advertised, we are a week behind on our soldering plan. Fortunately, our Gantt chart has ample slack time to work with for our current standing. Our updated schedule will have all of our plans shifted back by a week with the above tasks inserted into this upcoming week.
Matthew Shen’s Status Report for 3/19
Over the past couple of weeks, I have focused on finalizing and ordering the PCB. A lot of the PCB work involved designing a way to connect all of our PCBs electrically and mechanically. We intend to kill two birds with one stone by using through-hole connector pins to act as a way to fasten the boards together, while also passing signals from the Arduino along to the top and left edges. Since we have at most 2 tries getting the PCBs right, I spent a significant deal of time verifying the dimensions of these so that we should only have to worry about electrical problems if another iteration is necessary. We are still awaiting the board, but I also have yet to place an order for the through-hole components.
I also purchased solder paste as we have updated our PCB assembly plan to use a PCB stencil and oven to place our components onto the board. I feel like we are on schedule, although the PCB’s arrival will dictate our schedule going forward.
Matthew Kuczynski’s Status Report for 3/19
This past week, I began working on the finger detection algorithms, which were explained in some depth in the design review report. This is somewhat difficult without being able to physically test, so this is mostly a framework for now. Additionally, I began integrating my portion of the software with Darwin’s, which is combining subsystems B & C from the report. Next week, I plan to work on the frame design and continue the integration of the two software systems. Additionally, I will work with the rest of the team on the PCB when it arrives, which should be soon. The majority of the work that I still need to contribute individually on this project involves tuning the detection algorithms through physical testing. So far, I feel that I am on schedule, but I will need the PCB to complete most of the work that still needs to be done.