Projects

On-board diagnostics multifunction display (external website)

An Arduino-based display of engine control unit parameters such as vehicle speed, engine speed, engine coolant temperature, intake air temperature and pressure, etc. This system implements Volkswagen’s version of an on-board diagnostics protocol, called KW1281, in order to retrieve data from the engine control unit.

Temperature controlled soldering iron

A dsPIC33-based system that monitors the temperature of a soldering iron’s tip, and maintains the temperature at the user-defined value. The system utilises a thermocouple for temperature sensing, and a TRIAC to modulate the power to the soldering iron.

Lamp controller for energy saving

A dsPIC33-based system that attempts to reduce the energy wasted by lamps that are powered when not in use (i.e. no user is nearby to make use of the light). The system utilises an ultrasonic occupancy sensor, and a TRIAC to switch the power to the lamp. The system attempts to learn the usage patterns of the occupant in order to reduce the chances of the lamp turning off while the occupant is present but not detected. Additionally, a LabVIEW interface was developed for data logging purposes using.

Maze Solving Robot (co-developed by Meena Patel)

A dsPIC33-based 3-wheel robot that can find its way out of a maze. The robot uses ultrasonic sensors to detect surrounding objects, and a pair of DC motors for motion.

Electro-mechanical display controller

A PIC18F-based system aimed at restoring functionality to an electro-mechanical 7-segment display. The system is used for sports event timing and makes use of a temperature-compensated crystal oscillator for accurate timekeeping. The system was designed to have a 10 millisecond resolution (limited by the number of digits on the display) and an accuracy of 15 microseconds per second (as per the temperature-compensated crystal oscillator).

This project was completed as a partial requirement for the Bachelor of Technology degree at CPUT, under the supervision of Mr. T. du Bruyn and Mr. J. de Villiers, and won third place in the category of Industrial Engineering at the CPUT BTech Conference in 2014.