Buck Converter

This project involves designing and simulating a bandgap reference, charge pump, latch, oscillator, and buck converter to generate a stable voltage reference and regulate power efficiently. Despite achieving functional circuit operation, the efficiency score remained at 0.076 due to higher-than-required current consumption.

The bandgap reference circuit stabilizes the voltage reference against changes in temperature by combining two opposing temperature-dependent voltages. The image above is the layout of the bandgap.

The schematic above is of the comparator. The circuit compares two input voltages, Vin- and Vin+, to determine Vout. For the buck converter, it is used to compare the voltage feedback with the voltage reference from the bandgap. If Vfb<Vref, Vout goes low (0V), and if Vfb>Vref, Vout goes high(5V).

On the left is the schematic of the charge pump, which doubles the input voltage using inverters and capacitors. On the right is the waveform output, showing Vin/inv2 transitioning between 5V-0V and Vout/CLKout reaching 8.5V-0V.

The charge pump was integrated with the latch using inverters and NAND2 gates. The latch stores logic states, utilizing a pulsing input for state transitions, while the feedback loop and NMOS transistors stabilize the output.

The schematic above is of the buck converter, which compares the feedback voltage to the bandgap reference to regulate a 5V or 0V signal into the latch, ensuring no MU/MD overlap, while the inductor, capacitor, and resistor filter the output for a clean signal.

Mobile Robotics

This project involved developing a mobile robot capable of simulation and real-world operation using ROS, a URDF model, and various hardware components such as a Jetson Nano and LIDAR. The rover was designed to perform tasks including teleoperation, mapping, localization, and autonomous navigation with collision avoidance, integrating software and hardware to achieve efficient environmental interaction.

On the top left is the Rviz 3D model of the mobile robotics (lidar, jetson nano, wheels, etc.), bottom left is the lidar scan of the room, on the right is the robot itself.

I played the lead role in getting the robot to perform LIDAR scans of the room, save the map, and move autonomously. I worked in a two-person team. The mobile robot was able to move using a keyboard, scan its environment with a LIDAR to detect barriers, and map the room to navigate autonomously.

HoloTouch is my senior design project that integrates hand gesture recognition with a holographic display system, allowing users to control a computer through intuitive hand movements. The project utilizes an enclosed box with an acrylic panel set at a 45° angle, a front-facing camera, LED lights, and a display powered by an Nvidia Jetson Nano, employing MediaPipe for hand tracking and PyAutoGUI for gesture-based computer interactions.

On the top left is the Holographic display of the monitor, bottom left is the diagram on the handle model, on the right is table of different available hand gestures.

I played the lead role in setting up the Python environment for hand gesture recognition, suggesting hand gestures, organizing and leading the team in deciding which project to pursue, and highlighting certain industries where our project could be implemented for display and advertisement. I worked in a 4-person team. The computer is controlled via hand gestures, which are displayed on the hologram.

This project had my teammate and I working with the microcontroller’s LCD and push-button matrix to display strings and data on the LCD, either hardcoded or entered via the keypad/push-button matrix. We first hardcoded a string display message, then displayed a message when a push button in the matrix was pressed, and finally when a code was entered correctly.

This project involved programming an ATmega328PB microcontroller to interface with an ultrasonic sensor and a servo motor, enabling distance measurement and motor control. The system used serial communication to transmit real-time distance and angle data while the servo motor scanned a 180-degree range.

This project utilizes a TMP36 temperature sensor connected to an ATmega328PB microcontroller to measure ambient temperature. The microcontroller processes the sensor data and transmits it via an internet connection to ThingSpeak, where the temperature variations are visualized in real-time through dynamic graphs.