Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering
EEC 417 / 517 - Embedded Systems
Term Project Guidelines
EEC
517 students are responsible for proposing and completing a term project based on
a Microchip microcontroller. Students are allowed to use a microcontroller
other than the one we used in class, but it must be a Microchip
microcontroller.
EEC
417 students are not responsible for a term project. However, if they
complete a term project that receives a grade of 60% or better, then they can
obtain as much as 10% extra credit for the course. The extra credit amount is
linearly proportional to the project grade. For example, an EEC 417 student who
completes a term project with a grade of 80% will get an extra 8% added to the
course grade.
Project
can be undertaken as either individual projects or team projects.
Project Components:
Letter of Intent This is a one- or two-page letter that comprises an
extended abstract of the proposed project. I will give you feedback on your
letter that indicates whether or not your project idea is acceptable. Late
submissions will not be accepted. If you are not sure how to write a letter of
intent, I have a letter of intent
template available on the Internet that may help. Although your letter of
intent does not necessarily have to follow the template, you will be in good
shape if you do follow it. The file name of your letter of intent should be
<LastName><FirstName>LOI with the appropriate extension - for
example, SimonDanLOI.pdf.
Proposal The
proposal should be between four and six pages long. Late submissions will not
be accepted. The file name of your proposal should be
<LastName><FirstName>Proposal with the appropriate extension - for
example, SimonDanPropsal.doc.
Oral Presentation Presentations will be given during the last week of scheduled
classes. Helpful examples of oral presentations can be found at Eastern
Illinois University’s Speaking Across
the Curriculum Web site.
Written Report There is not a set limit for the length of the written
report. The written report should be long enough to be complete but not so long
that it contains superfluous material. I typically expect written reports to be
anywhere between 15 and 75 pages long, depending on the length of software
listings, number of graphics, etc. Late reports will not be accepted. If you
are not sure how to write a technical report, I have a report template available that may help.
Although your report does not necessarily have to follow the template, you will
be in good shape if you do follow it. The file name of your report should be
<LastName><FirstName>Report with the appropriate extension - for
example, SimonDanReport.docx.
Common
writing problems are discussed in CommonProblems.html.
Read about them and avoid them to improve your grade. Here are some good
examples of written reports. They are all written in somewhat different styles
and formats, but they all have the qualities that comprise an excellent term
paper.
·
Samarth Mehta, Spring 2008 - Samarth’s report is notable in that it
includes an excellent literature review. His report is about robotics, so he
talks about what technologies others have used for robot control and gives
journal references. A good literature review should actually be more complete
and extensive than what Samarth did, but his literature review is one of the
best I’ve seen up until now. Samarth received 49 points out of 51 possible. He
lost one point because his introduction was not extensive enough. For example,
it did contain motivativation for the project, and did not summarize the
results of the project. He also lost one point because his software flowchart
was not detailed enough.
·
Matt Dolloff, Spring 2008 - Matt also has a good literature review.
Matt received 48 points out of 51 possible. He lost one point because his
hardware block diagram was not complete, and it also had a typo. He lost one
point because his future work was written in bullet points rather than prose
(remember that a written report is not a Powerpoint presentation). He lost one
point because his references did not contain any books or journal papers.
·
Gaurav Konchady, Spring 2008 - Guarav received 47 points out of 51 possible.
He lost three points because he did not have a literature review, and he lost
one point because his reference list was not formatted correctly. For example,
he did not include publisher or date information for the books in his reference
list.
·
Bill Lane, Spring 2008 - Bill received 48 points out of 51
possible. He lost two points because he had hardly any literature review in his
introduction. His future work section was not great because he used bullets
instead of paragraphs, but he did not lose any points for that because his
future work items were still discussed in enough detail. He lost one point for
not having enough comments in his software listing. For example, a computer
program should begin with comments discussing what the program is, what it
does, how it works, assumptions, limitations, etc.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism
is a serious offense that can jeopardize your grade, your degree, and your
career. Before handing in a written report, make sure you understand what
plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Here are some resources:
·
Purdue University’s
Plagiarism Web Site
·
Indiana University’s
Plagiarism Web Site
·
An article about a Masters
student who plagiarized
·
The CSU
ECE Department’s Ethics Policy
Term Project Ideas:
The
term project should involve graduate-level material. This applies to both
graduate and undergraduate students. Look at the course web site to see what
type of material we are covering in upcoming labs. This may give you some ideas
for project material. I will not tell you what to do for your project. Part of
your project assignment is to come up with your own project idea. However, in
case you really cannot think of anything, here are some decent project ideas:
·
Mobile
robot
·
Motor
control
·
Fuzzy
logic, neural network, or genetic algorithm implementation in a PIC
·
Master/Slave
PIC arrangement
·
Compiler
or visual programming environment
·
Boot
loader for updating code in real time (with a PC interface)
·
Wireless
radio communication
·
Ultrasonic
and infrared distance sensor
·
Math
routines implemented in PIC assembly code
·
Inclination
sensor
·
Interactive
game
·
Interesting
and well-motivated uses of recursion or self-modifying code
·
Speedometer
or pedometer
For
additional ideas check the PIC links on the course web site, the application
notes on the Microchip web site, or the
multitude of other web sites and books that are devoted to Microchip PICs.
Project Grade:
Each
of the subtasks listed below is worth three points. The success of your project is an especially important criterion for
your project grade, even though it is only implicit in many of the subtasks. A
project that is not demonstrated successfully to the class will not receive a
good grade.
|
Task |
Subtask |
Points |
|
Letter of Intent |
|
6 |
|
Proposal
|
|
15 |
|
|
Abstract |
|
|
|
Project/Problem
Description |
|
|
|
Plan
of Attack |
|
|
|
Expected
Results |
|
|
|
Milestones/Timeline |
|
|
Project |
|
21 |
|
|
Practicality |
|
|
|
Interest
Level |
|
|
|
Motivation |
|
|
|
Features |
|
|
|
Success |
|
|
|
User
Friendliness |
|
|
|
Scope |
|
|
Written
Report |
|
51 |
|
|
Title
Page |
|
|
|
Abstract |
|
|
|
Introduction |
|
|
|
Literature
Search |
|
|
|
Hardware
Block Diagram |
|
|
|
Hardware
Schematic |
|
|
|
Software
Listing |
|
|
|
Comments
in Software |
|
|
|
Flowchart
of Software |
|
|
|
Future
Work |
|
|
|
Parts
List |
|
|
|
Professionalism |
|
|
|
Figures
and Graphics |
|
|
|
Organization |
|
|
|
Clarity |
|
|
|
References |
|
|
|
Conclusion |
|
|
Oral
Presentation |
|
27 |
|
|
Introduction |
|
|
|
Professionalism |
|
|
|
Correct
Length |
|
|
|
Organization |
|
|
|
Clarity |
|
|
|
Visual
Aids |
|
|
|
Demonstration |
|
|
|
Audience
Interaction |
|
|
|
Conclusion |
|
|
Total |
|
120 |
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Last Revised: January 17, 2012