Preliminary Design Report. Project Title: The Charming Rod Team Name: Stickle

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1 EEL 4924 Electrical Engineering Design (Senior Design) Preliminary Design Report 27 January 2010 Project Title: The Charming Rod Team Name: Stickle Team Members: Name: Jenna Stallings Name: Wesley Hickle Project Abstract Our project will consist of building a magic wand that can be used as a universal infrared remote control. The wand will control basic television remote tasks with simple hand movements and will have an infrared detector connected to a micro-controller. The detector will allow the wand to learn incoming infrared remote signals and store them for future use. A programming phase is necessary for the user to input specified remote buttons to correspond to wand movements. A three-axis accelerometer will be utilized to determine wand motions. The voltages emitted from the three axis outputs of the accelerometer will be inputted to the microcontroller by way of its built in analog-to-digital convertor. Code will be developed that can determine the direction of each motion and relate that motion to the previously program s button. Once the button has been determined, the micro-controller will output the corresponding stored signal to an infrared transmitter circuit that is read by the television.

2 Stickle The Charming Rod 2 Table of Contents Project Features...3 Project Objectives 3 Concept Selection 3 Technology Selection..4 Distribution of Labor...5 Projected Timeline...5 List of Tables 1. Distribution of Labor...5 List of Figures 1. System Block Diagram 4 2. Gantt Chart

3 Stickle The Charming Rod 3 Project Features This project is being designed for entertainment or novelty value for the growing number of magic enthusiasts. The Charming Rod will be encased in a handheld wand shaped housing. The wand will be able to distinguish a variety of motions that correspond to the most essential television remote buttons. The current magic wand on the market can distinguish up to thirteen movements with corresponding remote functions. We hope to exceed this number and to incorporate more complex, interactive movements. In order to make our wand a true universal remote it must incorporate learning abilities. To accomplish this we will include an infrared detector so that we may program the button codes used by any infrared remote control. Potential additions include: incorporation of spells, LED/laser pointer, and a touch sensitive ON/OFF. Project Objectives The design objectives to accomplish in this project are as follows: Create a fully functional and reliable universal infrared remote control. Incorporate learning ability for remote. Have wand movements as user input to execute remote commands. Have a battery life comparable to that of an ordinary remote. Create this product at a cost less than that of the existing model (the existing model costs approximately $70). Create a product that distinguishes itself from the existing model in complexity. Encase our design in a small wand-shaped package. Concept Selection The concept for this design came from a preexisting model of a magic wand universal infrared remote control. The Kymera Magic Wand is the inspiration for our project and is our goal to meet and then exceed its achievements. This existing wand can only distinguish up to thirteen commands with simple wrist movements and it relatively expensive at a cost of approximately seventy dollars. We also decided on this particular project because it appears to have the potential for very high entertainment value and, thus, can be enjoyed by many.

4 Stickle The Charming Rod 4 Technology Selection The technology that we will be incorporating into our design consists of an infrared detector to read in the programmable signals, an accelerometer to determine movement of the wand, an MSP430 micro-controller, and a simple infrared emitter circuit. We will be utilizing a three-axis, analog output accelerometer whose output voltage will be inputted to the micro-controller through its internal analog-to-digital convertor. The MSP430 was chosen because of our team s experience in using it and for its low-power consumption for our handheld device. System Block Diagram IR IR Transmitter Wand Movements Square-Wave Pulses Accelerometer Controls Analog MSP430 Square-Wave Pulses IR IR Detector Figure 1: System Block Diagram

5 Stickle The Charming Rod 5 Division of Labor The following is a breakdown of each individual team member's work effort based on percentages. As indicated by the percentage allotment, the project will truly be a team effort. Wesley Hickle Jenna Stallings IR building/testing 50% 50% Coding for IR signals 50% 50% Accelerometer testing/coding 50% 50% Board Construction 50% 50% Troubleshooting 50% 50% Table 1 : Division of Labor Projected Timeline The following is a Gantt Chart of the projected timeline. Each part of the project is broken down on the left portion of the chart. "Additional Improvements" includes any possible features that can be added to the design (as discussed previously). Figure 2: Gantt Chart