UCR CS122A Fall 2000 Sample Projects List
Prof. Frank Vahid

• "Follow Me" (1 player)
  Have a series of lights and turn one on for a short predetermined amount of time. If the player succsessfully hits the corresponding button within the alloted amount of time, the player gets a point.
  
  
• "Follow Me" (2 player)
  Have a series of lights and turn one on for a short predetermined amount of time. Each light will have two corresponding buttons. The player who hits their button first gets a point. The first player who gets to ten wins.
  
  
• Dollar Auction
  A device to carry out the classic sociology experiment "The Dollar Auction." A dollar is available and two people must bid for it; the highest bidder gets the dollar. The catch: each person must pay whatever they bid, whether they win or not. The device requires a large display of the current bids, and buttons with which bids can be placed. "Bells and whistles" can be added to make it more entertaining to watch the bidding process -- ideally even a auctioneer's voice announcing the bids and encouraging higher ones.
  
  
• Competing Colors
  A device demonstrating another classic psychology experiment. A two person game where each player has a blue card and a red card. If both players play the blue card then both players will get 5 points each. If both players play the red card then they lose 5 points each. If one players plays the blue card and the other plays the red card, then the player with the red card gets 10 points and the player with the blue card gets no points.
  
  
• Competing Truck Companies
  A device demonstrating another classic psychology experiment. There are two truck companies on opposite sides of a mountain. Both companies must cross the mountain to make their deliveries, and each delivery is worth $10. There are two single lane roads which the truckers can take. One is a straight road. The other is a curvey road. The straight road is twice as fast, but if both compaines take the same road, they will run into each other and one of the trucks will have to back up to the begining of the road to let the other pass. The two competitors should not be able to see one another. A map should display where each truck is located at any given time.
  
  
• Sound Detection
  A device that measures what frequencies a human can hear. The user can adjust the frequency, which is generated and also displayed numerically. The user presses a button at the lowest and highest frequencies heard, and those numbers are displayed. To ensure they aren't lying, a checking mode has them listen for a sounds of different frequencies, pressing a button within a certain period of time, to validate the low and high.
  
  
• Voice sampler
  Records and then plays back short sentences, possibly adding special effects.
  
  
• Animator
  Using a digital camera, captures images when requested and plays them back in sequence when requested. A user moves objects slightly between capture request, so the playback looks like smooth motion.
  
  
• Xilinx to LCD interface
  Write a program which allows the user to print characters or strings on the LCD's using the XS40 boards.
  
  
• How a CPU WOrks
  A display that shows how a CPU works. Items are shown being fetched from memory/registers, transformed, and stored back -- ideally, data could be input and output too. Even better, a simple program could be written by the user, and its execution observed!
  
  
• Dog Bark Detector
  Detects a dog bark, and emits a signal in response.
  
  
• 8051 model extension
  Incorporate interrupts, timers and UARTs into UCR's 8051 VHDL model.
  
  
• VHDL model of A2D system
  Implement the A2D lab fully in VHDL, including the 8051 core, A2D converter, LCD, etc.
  
  
• Mail detector
  Detects if mail is in a mailbox, signals a unit inside the house (wirelessly) if so.
  
  
• Garage door indicator
  Detects if a garage door is open and it is dark outside, meaning the home owner forgot to close it. Blinks a red light rapidly inside the house in this case, maybe accompanied by an occasional beep. Slowly blinks a green light under other conditions (door closed, or door open but light outside) to indicate that the system is working.
  
  
• Music synthesizer
  Plays musical notes in response to keys being pressed. Allows programming of songs, as well as modification of the sounds.