Project Proposal
ECE 445
General Informa+on
• Due Date
– Week 4 of the semester (see calendar for specifics)
• Grading and Submission
– Grading scheme and evaluation sheets located on proposal page.
– Submit PDF to PACE
– Commented examples on proposal page.
Begin working on your proposal as soon as
your project is approved!
What is the project proposal?
The “plan” contains three sections whose purpose is to
articulate:
1. Introduc9on:
What is your problem? Why is it important? How do you
propose to solve it? What is different about your
approach?
2. Design and Requirement
How will you implement your proposed solution?
What are the acceptable requirement each
components need to sa+sfy? And what are the
most difficult/risk part?
3. Ethics and Safety
As an example, we will consider the development of a
wireless IntraNetwork.
1. Introduc+on
Title page
• Project title, team number, team members, TA, date, course #
Objective and Background
• Goals: What problem is being solved?
• Functions: What is the product supposed to do?
• Benefits: How is it good for the consumer?
• Features: What aspects make it marketable?
High-Level Requirements List
• What quan<ta<ve characteris<cs must your project exhibit to
solve the problem
• Maximum of 3 – in complete sentences.
Example: Wireless IntraNetwork
Objectives and Background
Goals and Benefits
• Bring internet to developing world using new infrastructure
• large number of solar-powered nodes to build a mesh network capable of transmiWng data
• Nodes will use Wi-Fi so any device may connect.
• Current solu+ons using mesh networking cost around $200/node.
• Satellite based solu+ons suffer bo\lenecks and are not easily expanded.
High Level Requirements
• Nodes must be able to connect to each other automa+cally, allowing data stored
on any node in the network to be available from any access point.
• Nodes must be able to operate indefinitely on solar power.
• Nodes must be as low-cost as possible, ideally under $20.
Bulleted list
2. Design
2.1 Block Diagram - what are the individual components?
• Diagram Itself
– Each block is a subsystem that is connected to other subsystems
– Consider high-level and detailed-level diagrams (example on website)
• Modularity
– Each block should be a self contained subsystem with clear inputs and outputs
Example: Wireless IntraNetwork
Mul+ple
Resolu+ons
Interconnections
clearly defined
Modular
Organiza+on
2. Design
2.2 Block Descrip+ons – Func+onality and Requirements of each component
• Summary of system followed by descrip+on of specific components in the block
• Describe the func+on of each block and component
– Every block in diagram should have a descrip+on.
– Describe how each block connects to others.
– Describe how each block contributes to overall func+onality.
• Requirement of each component
– Define func+oning behavior
– Concise and specific
– If all requirements are met block should work
– Func+onality of each component in block is covered
When writing your block descriptions use quantitative and specific language
Example: Wireless IntraNetwork
2.2 Control Unit
• A control unit manages the flash storage and prepares data to be sent over UART
(Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmi\er) to the WiFi module. A microcontroller
controls an SD card and provides a small user interface with an LED and bu\ons.
2.2.1 Microcontroller
• The microcontroller, chosen to be a PIC32, handles memory alloca+on for the cache. It
communicates with the WiFi chip via UART and reads the SD card cache through SPI (Serial
Peripheral Interface).
• Requirement 1: The microcontroller must be able to communicate over UART and SPI
simultaneously at speeds greater than 4.5Mbps (each).
• Requirement 2: Must sink or source 10mA +/- 5% on each of two GPIOs at 3.3V +/- 5%.
2. Design
2.3 Risk Analysis
• Iden+fy the block or interface that you that poses the greatest difficulty or risk to
implement.
– Choose one and jus+fy why.
– What are acceptable tolerances for the component.
– Relate back to high level requirements.
Ethics
• Refer to the ethics guideline page
• IEEE/ACM code of ethics
– Do not just copy/paste this into your paper
– Know and understand it
– h\p://[Link]/about/corporate/governance/[Link]
• Discuss ethical concerns as they apply to your project
• Human (IRB) and animal (IACUC) test approval
• If no ethical concerns, jus+fy yourself
Safety
• Refer to Safety Guideline page
• Discuss safety concerns
– Electrical safety
– Mechanical safety
– Lab safety
– Consider safety of both yourselves and end users
– Make a safety plan if necessary
– If few safety concerns, jus+fy yourself
-- If you have hazardous, or vola+le elements of your project, you must
create a “Lab Safety Manual”, or if you may use high voltage or certain
ba\ery chemistries, finish safe ba\ery usage training.
Cita9ons and References
• List of references formatted using the IEEE standard
– h\p://[Link]/documents/ieeecita+[Link]
• Should include things like…
– Textbooks or datasheets
– Informa+ve ar+cles or tutorials used (example codes…)
– IEEE code of ethics
• Please let us know if you are carrying over projects from
other places (classes, startups, student teams…)
Wri+ng Tips
• Wri+ng Resources
• Resources for writing the proposal can be found in “The Wri\en
Report” section here
• Follow IEEE Citation Guidelines
• We recommend using a LaTeX template
• Please label figures, schematics, etc.
• Read your text out loud after you have written it.
Thanks for watching!