http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/~swlh/teaching/111/BSC_projects_F06.html

111 Lab, Basic SemiConductors (BSC)      
Prof. Holzapfel
for general information, see 111 lab homepage
 

BSC Final Project:

 

Guidelines for final projects are listed here:

http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~phylabs/bsc/PDFFiles/bsc13.pdf

 

Suggested Project Ideas.

 

Below is a list of suggested final project ideas.  These are only suggestions and you are free to design and build anything with some exceptions. Voltages above those available on your breadboard will be strongly discouraged, although higher current power supplies are negotiable.  With Labview programming, virtually anything is possible. Take a look at the list below, or think of some clever gadget you have seen. Once you have an idea, there are a lot of resources on the internet where you can get ideas. When deciding on a project, try to avoid expensive or rare components. Mechanical components are the leading source of project failure and should only be used sparingly.  If you build the same project as another group, you will be forced to face them in a BSC version of robot wars.

 

Audio:

Whistler Receiver/Recorder:

Detect the radio signals from global thunderstorm activity. To reach a place sufficiently radio quiet may require a field trip.

Theramin:

Musical instrument played by waving your hands around it. Used for 50's sci-fi movies and Beach Boys "Good Vibrations".  Previous versions of this have included Labview acquisition to produce harmonic content and imitate standard musical instruments.

Distortion/Effects Pedal:
Classic tube distortion or Heavy Metal Thunder. Delay and combine audio signals for further fun.

LED/Laser Transmission of an audio signal:
                        Modulate a laser with an audio signal and detect it.

Graphic Equalizer:
                        Several bands of filters and detectors
                        Graphical Display of power for each band.

            Noise canceling headphones:
                        Listen to your Ipod without being disturbed by lecture.

Voice activated switch:

Ever wonder what you say when you talk in your sleep?

Fast talker:

Speed up speech without making it sound like the chipmunks.

Cut out unnecessary bits to make it 3X faster.

 

Ultrasonic:

Bat Detector/Recorder:
Covert ultrasonic bat sonar to audio. This can be done with a heterodyne analog circuit or digital algorithm. Take it to the park and identify bats by their calls.

Ultrasonic Voice Transmission:
                        Voice transmission above the range of human hearing. Annoy your dog!

Dog Debarker:

Loud ultrasonic sound triggered by a dog bark.

Ultrasonic Sonar Velocity:
Use the Doppler shift of reflected waves to measure velocity. Measure the speed of a car, person or baseball. This can be done with all-analog or an analog/Labview mix. Integrate the velocity to track a person as they walk around.

Range Finder:

Measure distances to objects in a room by sound travel time. Combine with a turntable to map in 2D

Motion Detector:

Changes in the amplitude of reflected waves correspond to motion.

 

Optical Projects:

Optical Modem:
                        Transmit digital data by line of sight or over optical fiber.

Voice over a light beam:
                        Transmit analog data by line of sight or over optical fiber.

IR remote control:

Control your VCR and TV with a bulky and expensive computer, or build a Labview based TV simulator that you can control with your own remote.

Satellite/comet tracker:

Map the trajectories of satellites with a digital camera.

Requires a laptop and several field trips

Clock/Text Display:

Use a linear array of LEDs on a turntable or wand to make a 2D text display.

Computer controlled laser light show:

Use a laser and a pair of stepper motors to display text graphics.

Color sensor:

Use reflected light from LEDs to determine the color of an object.

With Labview one can show the color on the screen

                Laser eavesdropping:

                                Use a reflected laser beam off a window to listen in on conversations in a room.

                       

                               

Switches and Controls:

Clapper:
Two claps on/off.
Add three and 4 clap sequences for multiple devices. Your neighbors will think you are insane.

Telephone tone control:
                        Use telephone tones to control remote devices.
                        Hum a tune to unlock door.

IR remote control:
                        Control your TV.
                        Use you remote to turn on LEDs.

Touch switch:

Build a switch that relies only on touch

 

Toys/Games:

Moth Robot:
                        Robot drives towards light, and possible destruction.

Metal detector:
                        Discriminate between Iron and Gold to find buried treasure.  An exciting new career awaits you.
                        Bermuda shorts optional.

Pong:

Create an all analog version using an oscilloscope

Segway-lite:

Make a 1D stabilized platform

Vehicle that follows a line:

Vehicle will follow a pencil line or crack in the sidewalk.

 

Radio:

Radio direction finder:
            Find hidden bugs, you know they are listening... Maybe not, so you will need to build a bug to test it.

Walkie Talkies:
                        Communicate with radio waves.

Radio Control:
                        LED, spy plane, whatever.

Wireless network detector:

Detect and characterize the wireless environment.

Universal Garage door opener:

Garage door codes can be guessed by trial and error.

 

Test and Measurement:

Autoranging Ohmeter:
                        Measure a wide range of resistance without turning a knob

Capacitance meter:
                        Use the frequency of an oscillator to determine capacitance.

Temperature controlled station:

Combine a heater and cooler (Peltier junction) to make a temp controlled stage

Bicycle Speedometer:

Speed, distance and all that (in km of course)

Speed of sound:
                        Ultrasonic or audio sound speed measurement.

Airflow wind velocity/direction monitor:

Put the temperature coefficient of semiconductors to good use. Use it to build a speedometer.

Seismograph:

Detect and characterize an earthquake.

Electric field distortion monitor:

Detect the presence of people/objects through their distortion of the earth's electric field

 

Human Subject:

Brainwave monitor + biofeedback:

Monitor and try to control your brainwaves.

Brainwave controlled video game:

Play pong without turning a knob. Help train the next generation of robot warriors.

EKG analysis:

            Monitor the heart with simple diagnostic tools.

Finger tip pulse meter:

When your heart beats, the transmission of light through your fingertip changes.

Measure this to monitor your pulse.

Finger tip blood oxygen monitor:

A more advanced version of the previous project. The ratio of optical and IR transmission can be use to monitor blood oxygen saturation. Take it on your next Everest expedition.