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Currently Reading:
Programming the ESP32 in C using the Espressif IDF - Harry Fairhead

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Active Projects:
- Designing a custom PCB for a 10W-175W speaker amplifier.
- Developing a PCB module integrated into air filters for automated 6-week maintenance reminders.
- Experimenting with small-scale ESP32 applications and embedded C drivers.

Github Repository

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Language
System Verilog, C

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Hardware
AMD Blackboard - FPGA and Processor

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Description
A RISCV processor design focused strictly on hardware implementation. The design uses the AMD Blackboard for the FPGA and features a 5-stage pipeline: Fetch, Decode, Execute, Memory, and Write Back. It successfully operates on a 100MHz clock with no stepping down.

Github Repository UTA Blog Post

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Team Members
George Boone, Khai Nguyen, Roman Rattanakone, Zakir Muqueet, Jayde Brown

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Description
Developed and tested a custom Battery Monitoring System for an electric racecar as part of a Formula SAE team senior design project. The project involved working with freeRTOS, implementing cell balancing, learning to use KiCAD for PCB design, and designing components with Fusion 360.

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Reports
BMS_CpE_conclusions.pdf

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Demo Day Video

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Demo Day Setup

1.Poster

2.Setup

3.Voltage Tap Board

4.Masterboard

5.Interconnect Board

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External Cell Balancing Circuit

When the BQ chip detects that a cell is above the minimum threshold for cell balancing and the delta between it and it's neighboring cell's voltage is too high, it turns on it's internal MOSFET alowing the external MOSFET to also hit its Vgs threshold and draining the cell through the 15 ohm resistor.

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Last Voltage Tap Prototype before final version

This one is special because this is the version I designed, ordered and assembled personally. I was really happy when it spun to life and worked as intended.

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Hardware
Resistors, capacitors, BJTs, and op amps.

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Description
An analog LED strip controller built using only op amps and BJTs without any ICs or microcontrollers. It features a PWM generator using a circuit that creates a triangle wave compared against the output of a 4-bit DAC. The current set up uses two 4-bit registers made using just BJTs to store values for the red and blue LED strips that feed into the DAC.

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Videos

Github Repository

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Language
Embedded C

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Description
This was one of my favorite projects because I was able to flex my electronics knowledge. The project was to make an embedded system using the EK-TM4C123GXL with an IR emmiter and reciever. The project used the NEC Infrared Transmission Protocol for transmissions and was tested with a TV at UTA. Multiple interupts were used as different threads to run things almost in parallel. Main was used for the Command line interface using UART to control transmissions. In the command line, a user could load two bytes into the transmission buffer for another thread to transmit. The user could also check if the most recent transmission received if any. There were also some debug commands such as manually turning emiiter on and off or adjusting the brightness. On a seperate thread, if there is data in the transmission buffer, a timer on an interrupt would change the state of the emmiter (ON/OFF) using a state machine. The last thread used a GPIO interrupt and would use a wide timer to get the time since the last GPIO interrupt and determine if the time matched a start bit, a '1', or a '0' of the NEC protocol.

The part I'm proudest of is the hardware. Emitter required a 38kHz PWM when ON so the best solution was an 'AND gate' with GPIO for ON/OFF and the PWM. Most people used a AND gate IC to handle that but the emmiter reqired more current than what the IC could put out. Everyone else used two BJTs as a low side switches to act as the AND gate. They did however forget how BJTs worked and used some resistors in the kilo ohms for the base of the BJT and severly limitted thier current. I however used the formual Ib = Ic/Beta to use a more appropiate resisitor. I was the only person who did not need to be inches from the TV to send a command. The furthest I got was about 15 feet from the TV. The curcuit used is shown below

Github Repository

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Team Members
Jordan Pinson

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Hardware
TM4C123GH6PM Microcontroller, LIDAR Module (UART), Strain Gauges (Full-bridge/Half-bridge), Thermocouples, LC Sensors, Brushless DC (BLDC) Motors, Permanent Magnet DC (PMDC) Motors, Stepper Motors, Solenoids, Flyback Zener Diodes (1N5819, 1N5913), MOSFETs, Hall Effect Sensors, Optical Sensors, LEDs, and Oscilloscopes.

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Description
A comprehensive collection of mechatronics labs and mini-projects exploring the integration of hardware and software control systems. These projects utilize a TM4C123GH6PM microcontroller to interface with a variety of analog and digital sensors, control multiple motor types, and parse physical data ranging from temperature to spatial mapping.

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Lab 01: Solenoid and Back-EMF
Explored the effects of back-EMF voltage spikes generated by a solenoid and tested various flyback zener diode configurations (such as 1N5819 and 1N5913) to mitigate damage. The system was ultimately controlled using a TM4C123GH6PM driving a MOSFET.
Lab 01 Report

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Lab 02: Stepper Motor
Calculated holding torque based on varying voltages and demonstrated step control by driving the stepper motor coils using a TM4C123GH6PM.
Lab 02 Report

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Lab 03: PMDC with Back-Emf Speed Sensing
Controlled a PMDC motor utilizing a PWM signal and measured its RPM by comparing data from an optical sensor and back-EMF voltage calculations.
Lab 03 Report

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Lab 04: BLDC Motor
Operated a Brushless DC (BLDC) motor directly and via a TM4C123GH6PM microcontroller, utilizing Hall effect sensors to accurately determine the coil activation sequences.
Lab 04 Report

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Lab 05: LC Sensor Measurement
Designed and tested an LC sensor for dual applications: measuring liquid volume levels in milliliters and functioning as a metal detector with frequency-based LED color indicators.
Lab 05 Report

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Lab 06: Thermocouple Measurements
Implemented lookup tables and interpolation in C to calibrate a thermocouple, successfully recording extreme temperatures from dry ice (-73.1°C) to a hot soldering iron (101.1°C).
Lab 06 Report

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Lab 07: Strain Gauge Measurements
Calibrated a strain gauge using known masses to measure force in Newtons and identified structural fixes for axial strain interference using full-bridge or half-bridge configurations.
Lab 07 Report

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Lab 08: LIDAR
Interfaced a LIDAR module using UART to scan a physical space, storing and sorting the collected angle and distance data to calculate the total scanned area.
Lab 08 Report

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Language
System Verilog

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Hardware
DE10-Lite - Altera FPGA

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Description
The project was the use Verilog to create an 8-Bit Two Function Calculator. The project consisted of 4 main modules: an Arithmetic Unit (AU), a Input Unit (IU), an Output Unit (OU) and a Control Unit (CU). The AU is capable of addition and subtraction. For addition, full adders with carry outs linked accross were used. For Subtraction, the carry in for the first full adder was set to '1' and a hald adder adjusts the subtrahend. The IU uses a 4x4 keyboard and the IU scan the rows and colombs to determine which key is seleted. The OU uses a barrel shifter to convert from binary to BCD which is then converted to a format for a seven segment display. The display has a common cathode so the 4 values are stored in registers and they are cycled through and every display is being turned on one at a time really quick to give the appearance that they are all on. The CU uses a state machine to drive where we are in the operation. The module implementations are in the report in more detail.

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Multiplexed Display
The frame rate of my camera was faster than the display was cycling throught the digits. Thought it was interesting.

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More details and images can be found here:
Project Report

World Download (OneDrive)

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Description

This was a fun project I did while taking digital logic at UTA. As we completed labs on the Altera board, I would go into this Minecraft world and try to recreate the lab that week. Each lab is labeled accordingly with signs. The goal was to complete the final project, the calculator, using nothing but redstone. No command blocks or mods. The project was difficult because as a multiplexer in Verilog is just a couple of case statements, it was 8 or 16 AND gates depending on the inputs. The hardest parts were the barrel shifter and the BCD to binary converter. The barrel shifter was difficult just because of the sheer size of it. The converter was difficult the second digit had to be multiplied by 10 and the third by 100. In Verilog, we just used the multiplication operator which does not exist in Minecraft. I figured out I could use a matrix of AND gates and add all the rows together using a bunch of full adders just like you would if you were multiplying by hand and that worked. Despite the difficulties, I did complete the calculator. It's a little slow but that's just because Minecraft operates at 20 ticks a second and every gate takes about 1-2 ticks. There are some optimizations I could have made but I wanted to stay as close to source material as possible.

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Image

Cverall Design

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Video

Showing Clear and Running "57 - 61 = -4"

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A while ago I found a Game Boy Advance (GBA) in a poor condition. I grew up loving the GBA so I figured it would be fun side project to repair and refurbish it.

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Initial GBA damage:

- Will not stay on for longer than a second.
- Screen would not turn on.
- heavy damage to shell

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Ordered a new battery and shell.
GBA will now stay on but still no display

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I took the GBA out of it's shell.
The ribbon cable that connects to the screen was loose so reattaching it fixed the issue. All that is left is to put the GBA into its new shell.

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Finished!

- Game slot funtions.
- All buttons tested.
- Charging and link port tested.
- Sound and volume setting tested.
- Everything is in order.

Github Repository

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Language
Java

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Description
For my Object-Oriented Programming final project, I created an engaging and interactive game inspired by Wordle, incorporating different difficulty levels to enhance the player experience. The project was undertaken with minimal instructions, providing the freedom to explore creative solutions and apply various programming concepts.

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Key Features

1. Gameplay Mechanics
- The game is structured with three difficulty levels - Easy, Medium, and Hard.
- Each difficulty level corresponds to a specific word length (5, 6, and 7 letters, respectively).
- Players are given a set number of guesses based on the difficulty level, adding a strategic element to the gameplay.

2. Graphical User Interface (GUI)
- The project utilizes the Swing library to create a user-friendly GUI.
- The GUI enhances the gaming experience by providing a visually appealing and intuitive interface.

3. File Handling
- A key aspect of the project involved working with text files to read word libraries for each difficulty level.
- This allowed for a dynamic and easily updatable system for word choices, adding an element of variety to the gameplay.

4. JPanel with Card Layout
- One of the standout features of the project is the implementation of a JPanel with a Card Layout.
- This layout efficiently manages multiple panels, facilitating seamless transitions between different menus within the game.

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Challenges and Learnings
While the project was a success overall, it was not without its challenges. The choice of word libraries posed a significant challenge, with the 6-letter word list being too extensive and including obscure words, while the 7-letter word list was too limited, resulting in some common words being excluded.

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Conclusion
The Wordle Challenge Game is a testament to the creativity and problem-solving skills applied in an object-oriented programming context. The use of GUI, file handling, and innovative layout management contribute to a polished and enjoyable gaming experience. The project showcases the ability to overcome challenges and highlights areas for potential improvements in future iterations.

Grade: 18/18

MusicMatrix.c

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Language
C

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Description
As a former music major delving into post-tonal theory, I developed a simple yet effective terminal-based program for analyzing 12-tone music using matrices. Inspired by the principles of post-tonal theory and matrix analysis, this program provides a straightforward tool for music theorists and composers interested in exploring this avant-garde style.

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Key Features

1. Matrix Generation
The program takes a 12-tone series (the prime row) as input.

2. Matrix Display
It constructs and prints out the full matrix for analysis.

3. Chromatic Representation
Pitch values are represented in ascending chromatic order, starting from 'C' as 0 and incrementing by semitones. To maintain single-digit representations, 'T' stands for 10 (representing B♭/A#) and 'E' represents 11 (representing B natural).

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Usage Example

The program generates and displays the corresponding matrix for analysis.

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Learn More
For those interested in learning more about matrices in post-tonal music theory further, consider reading about it on https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/section-194.html.