This page presents the course material organized by topic, not by the chronological presentation of the lecture notes
Information and links will be added throughout the term, so it's a good idea to check back to see what is new.
Servo library
The notes on an ambient light indicator (7 pages)
describe how different if ... else structures can be used with a
photoresistor and two LEDs as indicators of ambient light levels. These notes
use a series of exercises that begin with a review of voltage dividers, and end
with an examination of different coding strategies.
For a discussion of how for and while loops relate to the
loop function required by all Arduino codes, read
What's this "void loop" thing?
The goal of the breathing LED project is to develop your skills with algorithmic thinking. We begin with a problem specification, "Make an LED circuit and Arduino program that causes the LED to pulse with the rhythm of a human breathing". To achieve that goal, we first have to come up with a mathematical model of how the brightness of the LED will vary with time. Once we have the model, we then need to implement it in an Arduino program.
The goal of the desktop fan project is to design, fabricate, assemble and demonstrate a small oscillating fan using the parts from the Sparkfun Inventors Kit. Students also need to design the structural support for a small servo motor that causes the fan to oscillate, and the DC motor that turns a small propellor. The structure is made from acrylic that is cut with a laser cutter and bent with an acrylic bender. Students are free to develop their own design for the structure. The two-dimensional outlines of the acrylic parts are specified with Solidworks drawings.
The pump project is the culminating exercise for EAS 199A. Students use milling machines to fabricate the pump body from pieces of ABS plastic supplied by the instructor. The pump impellers are created from ABS with a 3D printer from 3D solid models created by the students. The pump is assembled and tested, so that students obtain the pump curves for the pumps they have created.
The pumps are used in the next class -- EAS 199B -- to circulate water in the temperature and salinity-controlled fish tank.
