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Michael’s Status Report 02/22

This week was dedicated to our design presentation, and I had to present. I spent a good amount of time preparing the slides, ensuring they were filled with robust about our project’s key ideas and progress. I also anticipated questions from the professor to identify potential weak points that the professors might raise, which pushed me to clarify and strengthen our core concepts. For example, I delved into the specifics of our testing approach for intensity and brightness, researching the use of a lux meter to compare lux values and making sure the ratio is over 3x, which I believe offers a reliable method for our tests. This whole process not only made our presentation more robust but also deepened my understanding of the project’s overall direction. In addition to preparing for our own presentation, I took time to provide thoughtful feedback on other projects via a Google form, further contributing to our collaborative environment.

After the presentation, I shifted my focus to furthering our project work by diving into research on how to feed continuous real-time data into the Vankyo Burger 101 projector. Admittedly, I was not able to make significant progress as far as purely writing code went due to many obligations, but I was able to explore various communication protocols and data interfaces. This included exploring both the realms of wired and wireless to determine the most efficient way to ensure a steady stream of high frequency data. I simulated different data flow scenarios to better understand potential challenges, such as latency and data integrity issues, and began drafting technical documentation to outline a suitable architecture and the necessary API requirements. I believe that this process gave me a further understanding of enhancing the projector’s functionality, and I’m confident that with further refinement, this approach will significantly improve our project’s performance. Overall, it’s been a aptly productive week as far as presentation as well as further exploration on areas of the project that I needed further research on.

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Team Status Report 02/15

For the three-part question: A (public health) was written by Michael, B (social factors) was written by Winstone, C (economic factors) was written by Moises.

This week, our team made a few major changes to our design – a major one is that we decided to remove the use of OpenCV and a camera for Sudoku board detection. Instead of relying on image processing, we will now load the Sudoku board file directly, simplifying our system and reducing unnecessary complexity.

In addition, we have improved the interaction method. Rather than using arrow keys to navigate through 81 cells – which could be tedious – we decided to implement a capacitive touch sensor grid. This involves laying copper foil and dielectric materials to create 81 capacitors, allowing users to interact naturally by selecting cells through touch. The projected Sudoku board will align with this grid to create a real-time interactive experience, where users can select a cell, enter a value, and seamlessly move to another.

Additionally, we had a team meeting on Friday to finalize the project’s direction and establish a more robust and reasonable set of key testing metrics – for example, we decided that the projection system should maintain an accuracy of within 1mm. To ensure that our project timeline reflects the changes we made to our design, we are also in the process of updating our Gantt chart. In terms of parts – we have ordered the Raspberry Pi that will serve as the core processing unit for our design.

Moving forward, our focus will be on implementing the capacitive touch grid system and integrating it with the Raspberry Pi. We will also continue refining the projection system to optimize accuracy and responsiveness. Our software development plan will be adjusted to align with these design modifications, and we will begin testing the board interaction mechanics before moving into full system integration.

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Michael Status Report 02/15

This week, I made several adjustments to the software design in response to our team’s decision to move away from using OpenCV and a camera for board detection.

Since the Sudoku board will now be loaded from a file rather than scanned, I had to modify how the software initializes and manages board data. This required reworking the logic for handling user inputs and ensuring that the projected grid updates dynamically as users interact with it. Additionally, I’ve been considering how to efficiently update and maintain a constantly changing 9×9 grid in real-time as users input values. One possible approach is using Matplotlib for rendering the board updates, but other alternatives such as Pygame, Tkinter Canvas, or drawing functions could also be explored to ensure smooth real-time updates.

Speed optimization is another critical factor, as we need to ensure that changes appear on the projected board with minimal delay. We are currently targeting an update rate of 10 milliseconds, so I will be focusing on implementing a lightweight rendering solution that meets this requirement. I’ve also ordered the projector, and once it arrives, we can begin integrating the hardware with the software and refining the display logic. Another key aspect I’ve been pondering on is the undo/reset functionality, allowing users to revert their actions efficiently. One potential approach is implementing a history stack, where each board state is stored, enabling users to step back to previous configurations.

Health (A):

Our interactive system promotes cognitive health by providing a real-time, projected Sudoku board with capacitive touch functionality and thus offering a more engaging alternative. Mentally stimulating activities like Sudoku can support cognitive well-being and help slow cognitive decline, making our system beneficial for brain capacity and mental health. To ensure safety, we are incorporating proper insulation, minimal exposed wiring, and low-voltage operation to prevent electrical hazards. Additionally, our design enhances welfare by making Sudoku more accessible and intuitive, particularly in educational settings, where it can help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in an interactive, hands-on way.