EEL 4924 Electrical Engineering Design (Senior Design) Preliminary Design Report. 2 February Project Name: LoL Assistant

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1 EEL 4924 Electrical Engineering Design (Senior Design) Preliminary Design Report 2 February 2012 Project Name: Team Members: Name: Kyle Lewis ktlewis02@gmail.com Abstract: The goal of this project is to create a device that assists a user playing the computer game League of Legends (or LoL). The device will incorporate a touch screen display and a microcontroller and other components and provide visual and audio feedback in order to keep the user on track during a game of LoL. The device will be powered via a USB connection with the user s PC or a rechargeable battery. On power up, the user will be presented with a menu system. The user can then select from multiple applications to assist them (jungle timers, champion guides, damage charts, etc). Functionally, the device must be easy to use and cannot impede the user while he is playing. League of Legends is an intense, fast-paced game at times and the user cannot be expected to ALT+TAB while playing to look up information online.

2 Page 2/9 Table of Contents: Team Members:... 1 Abstract:... 1 Table of Figures:... 2 Introduction:... 3 Project Features:... 4 Concept and Technical Objectives:... 5 Hardware Block Diagram:... 6 Current Hardware:... 7 Software Concept:... 8 Cost Objectives:... 8 Projected Timeline:... 9 Table of Figures: Figure 1: Hardware concept art... 4 Figure 2: Preliminary block diagram for Figure 3: Concept art for the Buff Timer application Figure 4: Gantt Chart... 9

3 Page 3/9 Introduction: League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena (or MOBA) computer video game developed by Riot Games, was released in The game is (along with the entire MOBA genre) heavily influenced by the old WarCraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, or DOTA. League of Legends features a free-to-play model where gamers can sign up for an account, download the game, and play it absolutely free of charge. While free to play, Riot has monetized the game by implementing an in-game store where users can buy cosmetic items called skins for their characters. The game is easy to pick up and play; however, there is a high skill cap to keep competitive gamers happy. The game is typically played five versus five (5v5) and many new players experience ladder anxiety where they fear facing human opponents using the online match making system, or ladder. In general new players just aren t very good so they have a right to be nervous. The hopes to alleviate the stress new players experience when trying to learn the game. The device will tell the player exactly what items to buy and what skills to upgrade for his selected champion. This will steer the player into what is known as a standard or safe game style. A standard build will help a new player feel safe and semi-confident while he learns the ropes. There is no actual product out today like the but I believe there are some cell phone applications for AndroidOS that provide the same functionality as the Buff Timers application. The application domain is consumer electronics. The game is incredibly popular and the user base continues to explode. There has never been a better time to cash in on the enthusiastic player base. A product like this (or even a cell phone application) at the right price would sell very well.

4 Page 4/9 Project Features: The main features of the will include: Graphical LCD + Touch Panel for user input o The X and Y coordinates will be digitized with an ADC. MSP430 or similar microcontroller for system and peripheral control microsd Card reader for non-volatile storage USB interface with PC Simple and efficient GUI Audio circuitry o MP3, WAVE, or MIDI decoding, DAC, audio amplifier, and speaker Audio and/or video file playback (media player) Figure 1: Hardware concept art

5 Page 5/9 Concept and Technical Objectives: is a reference for the game League of Legends and is useful both in and out of the game. Alt-tabbing while in game is not a safe option, and you can learn with the companion while not playing. I am currently using the MSP430F5529 for its on-chip USB controller and large amount of flash memory and RAM. I always had problems fitting my program onto the MSP430F2272, especially when graphics are involved. I think the F5529 will be suitable for the final prototype, but I also bought an ARM evaluation kit to experiment with in case I need more processing power. The kit is an STM32F4-Discovery which features a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller. The final PCB layout should be the same size as the selected LCD screen. The graphical component is the most important aspect of. The end goal for the prototype is a nice looking, clean, and easily navigable GUI. Hopefully someone with zero experience can figure out a thing or two using the companion. This will be a software intensive task and where I plan on spending most of my time. Power requirements are a concern and I would like to go the rechargeable battery route.

6 Page 6/9 Hardware Block Diagram: Figure 2: Preliminary block diagram for.

7 Page 7/9 Current Hardware: Texas Instruments MSP430F5529: o 128KB Flash / 8KB SRAM (10kB if USB is disabled) o Full-Speed USB 2.0 o 16-Bit RISC Architecture up to 25-MHz o 3x Timer_A Blocks, 1x Timer_B Block o 2x USCI (UART/SPI/I2C) Blocks, 16Ch 12-Bit ADC12_A, 12Ch Comp_B, 63 I/Os Texas Instruments TPS V, 500mA Low Dropout Voltage Regulator for MSP430 power microsd Card Slot (supports up to 2GB SD cards) o FAT file system based on the open source FatFs file system General purpose push buttons General purpose LEDs Linear Technology LTC Dual 10 Bit DAC NXP Semiconductors TDA7052A - 1 W BTL mono audio amplifier with DC volume control 8 Ohm speaker LCD Touch Panel: Toppoly TD043MTEA1 4.3" Active Matrix Color LCD Screen (480x800 RGB) + Touch Panel Analog Devices AD Bit ADC for resistive touch screen sensing I still need to figure out how I am going to power the LCD screen and other peripherals. I would like to use a rechargeable battery of some kind if possible. I also need to determine what audio format and decoder I am going to use. Sparkfun has several breakout boards available.

8 Page 8/9 Software Concept: Figure 3: Concept art for the Buff Timer application. Cost Objectives: The main points of cost come from the LCD touch panel and professional PCB milling. Texas Instruments is good at giving out free samples but other vendors are not so generous. I expect to spend $300 to $400 total on this project. PCB milling $33 or $66 + Shipping LCD Screen with touch panel $30 to $90 Various other chips and parts will cost $200 (rough high estimate)

9 Page 9/9 Projected Timeline: Figure 4: Gantt Chart