Instrument droid: An intelligent data acquisition system with a very specific purpose or “killer application”. 

A 4-layer board that has a "Killer application" i.e., to automatically measure the Thevenin output resistance of a power source as a function of current draw. The Instrument droid characterizes any power supply from 0v - 12v. 

A custom Arduino UNO board designed from scratch with best design practices to eliminate cross talks, switching noise, near field emissions and power rail noise compared to the commercial Arduino Uno board. The primary functionality of the board was to accept uploaded code via a USB connection, execute the code on the Arduino IDE, and ensure complete compatibility with most Arduino Uno R3 shields.

The objective of this board project was to help us get acquainted with the complete board design process by utilizing a practical and uncomplicated design. The circuit chosen for this purpose was an Astable multivibrator featuring a 555-timer, which was used as an example to showcase the design methodology employed to create a functional PCB board.

This board was designed to showcase the most effective measurement techniques for quantifying switching noise in a PCB, as well as the impact of layout decisions on the amount of switching noise. The instructor's version of board 2's switching noise measurement provided us with a glimpse into the design process for that particular board. 

For this assignment, we were tasked with creating our own version of the board. The unique feature of our design was the incorporation of two identical hex inverter circuits. While one circuit was laid out using proper design techniques, including a continuous return plane and a decoupling capacitor next to the IC's power pin, every conceivable mistake was made on the layout of the second circuit.