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ECE 477 Final Report Spring 2004
code that ended up in the remote unit, and contributed to the base unit code (this code was very
simple).
I contributed a small portion to hardware design. I was responsible for researching and
designing our serial port hardware. I found out that we needed a level translator for the actual
serial communication, so I chose one of those for our design. I also found what pins were
needed for communication.
I also completed the base server software. We decided to start working on it Visual C++,
but had trouble adapting the sample code for the serial interface, so switched to Visual Basic
because of its ability to access plug-in attachments with ease. Most of the functionality and any
part that dealt with communication with the remote unit I wrote.
Since my homework assignments were integrated into the final paper, I’ll briefly mention
them there. Since I was the software liaison, my professional paper was the Software Design
Considerations paper. I had a good idea what was needed in terms of software, and I did well on
this paper. My design report was on safety and reliability, which I was given because it had less
to do with actual hardware design considerations.
The last contribution I made was editing the demonstration video. I needed to time the
voice over that Dan and I did, and added visual and audio effects to punctuate parts of the video.
I had a lot of fun doing this. Too much fun in fact; most of the special effects I used Ed
requested I take out because they may have made our video look unprofessional, so I put them on
the website for fun.
My contributions this semester were varied. I did a lot of software design, and a lot of
miscellaneous tasks not directly related to the project itself, such as the website. I work
diligently on the PC side software and the embedded software, dealt with the communications
aspects of the hardware design, put a lot into website design, and edited our video, as well as
kept up with my homework assignments. Because of the quality and quantity of my work, and
my co-operation with the fellow members of my group, I believe I deserve an A in the class.
Contributions of Jon Hopp:
Soon after our group was assigned, we broke up the future tasks to utilize the strength of
each team member. From the start, we all agreed that Ed and Dan would be in charge of the
A-5