Category: Alexis’ Status Reports

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours).

This week I help set up the infrastructure for 6 blocks where I soldered the battery case to the adapters and added on wires for GND, TX, and RX for the LCD to pogo pin. We received the rest of the items so I was able able to cut pref boards and solder all the pogo pin pairs onto their respective boards. In addition, I was able to laser cut the LCD opening at the top of the block as well as the pogo pin and USB-C charging port at the bottom. I first experimented with card board and did it on one block after creating the cuts on ink scape software that is compatible with the rabbit laser cutters in tech spark. From that experience I was able to extrapolate the best settings for the acrylic cubes that we had. For now based on how long it took to manufacture just a row of blocks I feel that a PCB is not needed at the moment and so I am focusing my efforts on other things such as CAD for the grid and for the holder of the components inside the block. On the software side, we discussed handshaking signals and functions that would be used / called between game controller and embedded controller to ensure that we are all on the same page as we are developing.

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule?

I am currently on schedule with my progress! There is an added need for a 3D printed holder of components in the blocks but that will be accounted for with the time that was originally allocated for the PCB constrution.

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

I hope to finish laser cutting the rest of the blocks this week, come up with a CAD for the holder of components inside each block, and I would establish a full working row with the submit button in conjunction.

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or
photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient
effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours).

This week I worked on the hardware, prototyping, and communications. I manually soldered the pogo pins onto cut pref boards as the pins were too small to fit on a standard bread board. This was done for just two blocks I then wanted to test the continuity of the pins and wires connected to it so at first I did a simple test with a multi-meter and later on I tested through the UART TX and RX line. I also created a cardboard 3″x3″x3″ with cutouts for the pogo pins, the standard LCD that we had available, and on/off switch for battery. From this cardboard prototype we were able to determine that all the parts we initially planned for would all fit. I also put together the power system and tested it by plugging the micro-usb b into the port of the Rpi to which it was able to turn on. With the initial layout going according to our original plan we felt that we could now order all the remaining parts to build all of the 8 blocks that we need for MVP. We bought acrylic boxes that are 3″x3″x3″ and we got a rough weight of what the blocks feel like and we are on track to meet our dimension and weight design requirements. On the software side, I was able to set up UART between Rpi and the Rpi pico via the pogo pin connection. I did a simple test of sending and receiving a message that is printed onto the console while Wen Hui added more logic to it for a proper protocol. Though I haven’t measured the exact latency we found that it was fairly fast and which I meets our design requirements as well. I am currently working on using the new LCD that we received from wave share on Friday and interfacing with the LCD library.

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be
taken to catch up to the project schedule?

My progress is on schedule. This week was a good determination of whether we needed the PCBs for the blocks and we settled on a plan that I would create a PCB that is on “hold”. After manually building 2 blocks and timing it, we will determine if we need to place the order for these or if we have enough time to just manufacture each ourselves. We will also look into PCB milling at Techspark. But as of right now we are on track!

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?
The deliverables that I have for next week is to get a full E2E of 2 blocks communicating with the Rpi via the multiplexer and laser cut all of the blocks for the ports and slots that we need as well as the battery holders. It would be ideal to get 1 full row working as well. I will work on interfacing with the LCDs on each block and the design for the PCB. I will also produce a CAD for the grid and assemble it when we can ensure everything will fit based on the row we produce.

This week I worked on the Design Review Slides, making tables to compare the different communication protocols and microcontrollers that we looked at which ultimately helped us decide on what we wanted to move forward with. I also help to quantify our tests and draw connections to our requirements so that we can better measure our success. I also updated some of the diagrams in the solution approach and the power block diagram to reflect the components that we are going to be prototyping with. As for the Rpi, I helped Wen Hui boot up the OS and set up Real VNC viewer. Also, I made CAD models of our proposed block and planned where we will need to make cut outs for the ports and switch of the battery. I also helped order parts this week and acquire some scrap materials to help us make an initial prototype for next week. Also, I went to Techspark to solder jumper cables onto our battery holders, buttons, and header pins on row LCD to make prototyping easier.

My progress is slightly behind schedule according to our initial gantt chart because we need all the parts to come in before we decide if we actually need a PCB or not. For now I am just modeling where things will go and am planning out what the inside of the block will look like so that maybe we can just 3D print holders for all our components if a PCB is not necessary. I am shifting my focus into preparing as much parts as I can so that we could easily merge things together for prototyping a block.

My deliverables for next week is to create a mock on the block in its entirety with a plan for where each component will lie in the block. I also will work on establishing the UART protocol between the Rpi and Rpi pico as well as get the 2 row LCDs working so that we can display the proper category and flash it with a particular color. After getting all the parts I’ll also decide if a PCB is needed or not. If it is needed I will research the etching machines that are down in techspark for faster PCB development.

This week, I helped finalize several key aspects of our project. After researching LCD options, I identified models with integrated ESP32 (IC) that perfectly suit our needs and offer enhanced functionality. I contributed to developing the narrative for our project proposals and conducted comprehensive research on required components. We have decided to order the LCDs before the actual blocks and prototype with cardboard or similar so that we can determine the final dimensions after everything is put together. I made a trip to techspark to ask about the possibility of laser cutting slots in our pre-made acrylic blocks. I asked about the possibility of drilling too for more complex areas. We devised a plan to be able to do this without too much drilling. I also submitted a borrow request for the Raspberry Pi 5 and picked it up from the receiving office.

Additionally, I explored the possibility of implementing a rechargeable circuit system. The concept involved using a power path IC with a LiPo battery for power management, where the blocks would charge when connected to the grid and switch to battery power when disconnected, ensuring uninterrupted power supply. However, I ultimately decided against this approach as of right now due to the complexity of the circuitry and the time it would take to prototyping and testing. Given our timeline constraints and the need for reliable power delivery, I believe that sticking with a known, absolute power supply solution with the 9V batteries would be best and so I found all the necessary components to make this happen.

Diagram of Power on block

I am on schedule with all of my tasks. Next week I hope to finish selecting the LCD, order all of our preliminary parts, start a PCB (if we decide this is still necessary as this will depend on what LCD + MCU on the block we are getting), and finish the CAD of the blocks and grid maybe even create a mock model out of cardboard for our blocks and use an LCD I already have to get the rows working.