MajorProject_EECS1011_description_STUDENT_doc_v4
EECS 1011 Major Project v4 STUDENT Nov 2021
Copyright James Andrew Smith; you do not have permission to upload or share outside of York University
The EECS 1011 Major Project
(Optional)
One sentence overview
Go beyond the labs and class material and demonstrate, via a hands-on project, how you have
achieved proficiency.
Overview
Each student is responsible for creating a hands-on project based on the Grove board and
MATLAB. Students are responsible for costs and materials related to the project.
Grade weighting
To possibly achieve a final grade of “above expectations” (A or A+) you will need to
successfully complete a major project in this course. This work is completely optional and goes
eyond the completion of the other material in the course.
The project is worth 20% of your final grade. Completing the major project will possibly lead to
a change in your pre-project final grade, as per the following:
• Below Expectations (1/4) : no change to your
pre-project grade.
• Marginally meeting expectations (2/4):
increase by one increment (B to B+ and
elow, but not B+ to A.)
• Meeting expectations (3/4): increase by one
increment (B to B+, B+ to A, etc.)
• Exceeding expectations (4/4): increase by two
increments (B to A, B+ to A+, etc.)
Each component of your project will be assessed
against a four-point ru
ic. Each ru
ic is equally
weighted. The average of them will determine your
project grade.
Final Submission (20% of final grade)
1. Five minute video (10% of final grade)
2. Five page report (10% of final grade)
3. Due on last day of class in December by 11:55pm.
You are permitted to submit it late. However, each day that the submission is late, a penalty of
5% final grade mark will be applied.
Want to exceed expectations?
EECS 1011 Major Project v4 STUDENT Nov 2021
Copyright James Andrew Smith; you do not have permission to upload or share outside of York University
Project topic
The application or topic is up to you. It needs to be related to computational thinking, procedural
programming, instrumentation and/or mechatronics. What you need to do is:
• Solve a problem with a computer system
• Design and implement the solution
• Use a microcontroller (Grove board)
• Use MATLAB
• Integrate external components (like sensors,
communication, motors and/or displays)
• Program the board and MATLAB
• Test the system
• Demonstrate the system
No Re-use of other peoples’ work
Any re-use of another person’s project (in class, online or otherwise) will result in a grade of 0
on this project. The project must be original and must be executed by the student. Any help
eceived by the student (online forum questions, etc.) needs to be cited, with a transcript in the
appendix of the report (does not count towards the page count).
Yes, you may use pre-existing li
aries and/or header files. However, if a significant portion of
the project appears to be entirely based on this external work it will count as if the work were not
original.
EECS 1011 Major Project v4 STUDENT Nov 2021
Copyright James Andrew Smith; you do not have permission to upload or share outside of York University
Project technical scope
The project’s technical scope is variable, just as the topics are.
The general “rule of thumb” is:
1. Two simple sensors or one complex sensor (inputs)
2. Two simple or one complex actuato
display(outputs)
This assumes that the sensors or actuators are relatively “basic.” Three of each might make
sense, depending on your design. If you were using a very complex sensor, then only one would
e sufficient.
Consider the following:
• Your experience level dictates complexity
• 1st timer? Simple off-the-shelf, no soldering
• Old hat? Solder the board or try complex COTS (commercial, off the shelf)
• Use discrete components (individual chips, if you’re comfortable)
• Multiple discrete chips & support hardware
• e.g. RS485 chip + power supply + support components
• Combine off-the-shelf boards… for example
• e.g. 1 or 2 Arduino Shields
• e.g. 1 or 2 Mikroelektronika Click Boards
• Integration of system
• Breadboard is good
• Pay attention to clean wiring (aesthetics and reliability)
• Soldering is harder but better
• Packaging, Power & Display
• Cardboard box is good
• Wood, plastic or metal is better
Important dates
The entire project submission is due on the last official day of class (before the exam period) in
December by 11:55pm. A penalty for lateness will be applied.
EECS 1011 Major Project v4 STUDENT Nov 2021
Copyright James Andrew Smith; you do not have permission to upload or share outside of York University
Suggested topics
While you can choose any project that you wish, if you are still struggling with coming up with a
topic consider the following and a suggested list.
Your project should be thought of in the context of your final year capstone project.
Environmental issues like COP26, or public health issues like COVID19 are encouraged.
• Air quality monitor (CO2, PM2.5 etc.)
• Automated door opener
• Toy trainer controller
• Bird feeder
• Solar powered calculator
• Clock display
• Tamagotchi
• Doo
ell and remote chime
• Automated safe
• Simple “Roomba-like” cleaner
• Kinetic sculpture
• Musical instrument
• Weather station
• Home alarm
• Wireless telemetry or data logger (LoRa, ZigBee)
• Anything Bluetooth related (generally hard!)
• Background sound alarm
• Building temperature monitor (indoor vs. outdoor temperature)
• Window blind controller
• NFC-controlled inventory system
• … you may suggest some on your own.
You can also take the minor project (the watering plant project) and augment it to be much more
than what was expected in the context of the minor project.
Dangerous projects are prohibited. That means that medical projects, anything to do with direct
connections to AC power, anything with sharp objects or cutting surfaces are not permitted. There are
plenty of other possible projects that are dangerous and we’re not going to deal with those in this class.
If you are thinking of doing something that might be considered dangerous, please come to speak with
me.
EECS 1011 Major Project v4 STUDENT Nov 2021
Copyright James Andrew Smith; you do not have permission to upload or share outside of York University
Part 1: Optional discussion of your idea
Feel free to discuss your idea with me during office hours or during in-class sessions. No official
submission is required for this.
Part 2: Final Submission
The final submission is due in December, on the last day of class, by 11:55pm. You are
to submit both a report and a video. Both the report and the video will be evaluated
according to the course learning outcomes. Each is supposed to tell the story of your
design work. The video is to be about five minutes long. The report is to be approximately
five pages long. Read on for details.
The Report
Make sure to use the following headings in your report.
INTRODUCTION
• A short description (three to five sentences)
CONTEXT:
• Describe “what” and “why”
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS / SPECIFICATIONS
• List of things that the system should do. A drawing (schematic) can be included here.
• You can be more general and less formal (“requirements”) or more specific and formal (“specifications”)
COMPONENTS LIST: [as you built the device]
• What was in your system? Write a bulleted list. Provide descriptions to clarify details.
• A photo of the system is appropriate here.
PROCEDURE:
• Describe the process that you used in creating your project.
TEST:
• how did you test that the system worked?
• Got graphs showing the results of tests? (power, etc.)
CONTINGENCY
• Did you have one idea in mind but have to execute a different one because things didn’t work out as
planned? Reflect on this. What would you do differently next time? Looking ahead to ENG 4000 are there
any lessons you learned that you would like to apply?
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
• Especially, anything to do with making your project “holistic”. Tie in context of the project and discuss
any social, political or environmental aspects about your project that you believe makes it a candidate for
“exceeding expectations.”
CONCLUSION
• Wrap up in a few sentences.
EECS 1011 Major Project v4 STUDENT Nov 2021
Copyright James Andrew Smith; you do not have permission to upload or share outside of York University
The Video
The video is to be about five minutes in length. The video format and
approach are more free form than the written report. Keep in mind that
the assessment is not free form, though. It is evaluated the same way,
using the ru
ics as the written report. During your video you need to
not only showcase your project, but you must also address aspects of the
following.
Fill out the consent form and complete the follow-up survey on using your smart phone to
create videos for class: https:
it.ly/2SIjGv7
Review this video for general skills about video creation for student projects:
• https:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzDbPOg1rxs
You should be creating a na
ative video, with voice over or text subtitles. What does a
na
ative video look like? Have a look at this example:
• Alternate link: https:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjycUDQHcnE
EECS 1011 Major Project v4 STUDENT Nov 2021