• Further design plans detailed in 2.6 Test Plan

• With advice from our advisor, we decided very early in our project on the primary concept and system diagram for our network. 

• Given the constraints of a single school year and current knowledge we possess, we did not require many different concepts for an already existing system.

• We had to make a decision between a wired network vs. wireless network.

  • • Our most important wants in the decision matrix were stability and latency, this would allow the network to work without any noticeable hiccups to the listener. Wired networks are better at serving these wants compared to wireless networks.

    • Wired networks would not provide better audio fidelity but would also be much easier to implement within our projects time constraints.

    • Due to these advantages, a wired network is the clear winner.

• Similarly, we also had to decide whether to use a powerful microcontroller or microprocessor for the primary processing unit of the network.

  • Microcontroller: RA6M3, upsides include easier integration, cost is that resources are slightly more constrained.

  • Microprocessor: upside here is more power to handle the audio processing tasks better, but at the cost of more implementation time, due to potentially requiring an RTOS.

  • Based on our decision matrix, an MPU looks to be the overall better solution given that ease of implementation isn't that substantially different between the MPU and MCU, cost is equal for either, and the MPU is much more scalable and powerful which were rather important requirements.

Hardware Specifications:

• BT Module: Nordic nRF5340

• Microcontroller: Renesas RA6M3

• Ethernet Switch: TBA

• Network Module: Renesas RZ/A3UL

• Output: Dual-Channel DAC

• Speakers: Any speaker that can receive dual 3.5mm connections

Software Specifications:

• Renesas Board Programming: e2 studio

• Code Management: GitHub

• PCB Design: Altium Design

• UI App Software: TBA