Author: jchan4

This week, I made progress in integrating our hardware components. I breadboarded all components and tested the functionality of multiple NFC scanners using SPI’s select line. I also verified that multiple pressure sensors work as expected by ORing their outputs to a single GPIO pin. Additionally, I reached out to various professors and the ECE department regarding an Apple Developer account to support our iOS development needs. Lastly, I began floorplanning our final PCB design.

Although I would like to move faster, we are still on track.

Looking ahead, I plan to finalize the design and begin soldering all components to move toward a more permanent hardware setup.

This week, I focused on refining our NFC scanner setup by switching from I2C to SPI, which better supports multiple scanners on one pad and eliminates the need to boost the input logic to 5V. I soldered additional NFC scanners and worked on connecting multiple scanners to a single ESP32. Additionally, I helped Sarah set up all the hardware components so she could integrate them with the backend of our app.

While progress was made, ensuring all scanners work seamlessly with one ESP32 remains a challenge. Connecting multiple scanners introduced new debugging considerations, which I will continue to address. Despite this challenge, we are still on track with our goals.

Looking ahead, I plan to finalize the scanner setup so all units function reliably with one ESP32. I will also focus on planning a more streamlined circuit design and soldering it onto our flat breadboard. Additionally, I aim to conduct initial testing to identify and resolve any issues early in the development process. Ensuring stability across all hardware components will be key as we move forward.

This week, I focused heavily on the design report, ensuring that our documentation clearly outlines our approach and design decisions. Over spring break, I made significant progress on the Bluetooth (BLE) functionality, successfully getting it up and running on the ESP32. I also added the device naming feature, which will help with easier identification and pairing in our system. After finalizing BLE, I shifted my attention to setting up WiFi on the ESP32. I began working on getting it up and running and will continue refining this into next week to establish a stable connection for our system.

Overall, we are making steady progress and are on schedule.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue working on setting up WiFi connectivity and ensure that we can properly reliably transfer data over our WiFi connection. After that, since we have now received our NFC tags, I can also begin testing and setting up that connection.

 

This week, I focused on finalizing our design slides and worked with Sarah to review the hardware components for our presentation, ensuring that everything was clear and well-documented. After receiving feedback, I shifted my attention to researching how to pair our pad with our app, with Bluetooth emerging as the most viable option. Additionally, as a team, we decided to transition from force sensors to weight sensors for better accuracy and reliability. To support this change, I began researching weight sensors that would best fit our design requirements.

Overall, we are on track, but we want to accelerate our progress to stay ahead of upcoming deadlines. Right now, we are waiting for our LEDs to arrive—once they do, we can begin assembling version 0 of our system. This initial build will allow us to test the core functionality and ensure that all components integrate smoothly.

This week, I contributed to our project by working on multiple aspects of both the design presentation and the technical development of our system. For the design presentation, I worked on structuring and refining our content to ensure it clearly communicates our project’s goals, technical approach, and design considerations. Additionally, I finalized the selection of our hardware components, carefully evaluating their specifications and ensuring they align with our system requirements. To better understand how these components will interact, I created a diagram mapping out their connections and interactions within our system, helping to visualize potential integration challenges early on.

Beyond the hardware selection, I also assisted Sarah in designing the frontend of our mobile app using Figma. I helped with the layout and user experience, ensuring that the design aligns with our intended user flow and functionality.

Our progress remains on track with our project schedule. This weekend, I plan to help Sarah plan and practice for our design presentation, ensuring we present our ideas clearly and effectively. Additionally, I will all begin rapid prototyping, working towards a preliminary version of our system to test key functionalities. I also plan to start outlining the software-hardware interaction, determining how data will flow between our components and the mobile application to ensure seamless integration.

This week, I contributed to our project by working on multiple aspects of both the presentation, refining our user flow, and coming up with possible solutions to address some of the technical concerns we had. For our proposal presentation, I helped design and structure the slides to ensure they effectively communicated our project’s goals, requirements, and challenges while also meeting the proposal guidelines. I carefully reviewed the content to make sure our ideas were presented clearly and concisely. Additionally, I worked on refining what to say on each slide, ensuring that every point was addressed logically and that our pitch was both compelling and easy to understand.

Beyond the presentation, I contributed to selecting and evaluating hardware components, researching various options that could meet our system requirements. My initial research focused on sensor accuracy, power efficiency, and feasibility within our design constraints. While I identified some promising options, I plan to take a deeper dive into these components in the coming days, assessing their tradeoffs and how they interact within the overall system rather than just as standalone parts. This will help ensure that our hardware choices align well with our system and performance goals.

Our progress is on track with the project schedule. By next week, I plan to have a comprehensive list of all necessary components, ensuring that each one meets our system requirements. I also plan to start thinking about how everything will come together for our design presentation, ensuring that we can effectively communicate our approach, technical decisions, and progress in a clear and structured manner. If given the time, I would like to outline the assembly of a barebones version of our project to test how all components interact once we are able to order them. This will help us identify potential integration challenges early on.