Project

Well.. To start off.. This is an interesting topic for those who are practically
inclined towards science!. I would like to define a project as that which shows you the
real science and everything that really happens. It makes you understand what really is
rather than thinking what might be happening. Getting involved in a project will really
make you very strong in your discipline as ‘seeing and learning’ is far better than
‘hearing and learning’. I feel that sight is far more efficient than hearing in layman’s
term. Technically, anything which is an image is absolute without any loss. Sound energy
is subjected to numerous losses and by the time it reaches our brain, the signal
information is damaged significantly and we are forced to take something out of it. And
that depends on our efficiency as well. So… What do we do ?? We just do projects…!!!
As an aspiring student who would want to do a project, there might be numerous
questions say.. Where to start?? How to start?? Whom to approach?? Which field to
choose?? How long will it take to complete?? Will I gain something useful from it??
And etc…. I had all these questions and many more last year when I started to do
something practically.. I’ll just give a small picture of my experience and give you all
some useful information..

It was nearly the end of my fifth semester in college when I really felt the urge to
do something practically.. As I had to start everything from scratch, I had no clue where
to begin. That was when luck shined on me and got me introduced to one of the best
masters this world can ever produce. Maybe I felt that way.. I don’t know.. He was the
one who was like a jump-board and he was the one who gave me that initial torque which
rotated my large body with huge inertia. The first thing I told him was this.. I said that I
was interested in doing something which would relate programming, electronics and
mechanics(Robotics) and asked him what were the prerequisites to become well-versed
in this field. He asked me to learn Microprocessors and Microcontrollers.. As I didn’t
know both of them that time, I asked him to teach those things from the basics.. And then
I started rotating faster.. He taught me everything from the beginning and helped me to
complete my first project. Not a project actually.. A kind of mini-mini-project.. I feel that
this would be the first thing any engineer would’ve done in his life.. To make an LED
glow with the help of a microcontroller!!!!!! It had a small program which I wrote and
that was the first leap I needed.. He explained the basic architecture of a microcontroller
and I used the same henceforth.. From that point, we started moving on to seven segment
displays, Counters, Led Drivers and on and on.. Once your mass has started rotating,
there’s no stopping you.. The reason is that Science attaches a huge flywheel which keeps
you rotating from that point onwards.. Once we felt that we can display anything in this
world on a display device, we reached the next level. The next level was the LCD..

LCDs were really really tough in the beginning for us and interfacing it with a
microcontroller was not an easy job. We spent sleepless nights on interfacing them and
finally succeeded.. Remember one thing.. The above transition might’ve taken few lines
but it took two long months for us.. Once LCDs were learnt, we wanted to give some
inputs to the MicroC and process the input. It’s not easy to completely master the knack
of giving inputs properly to the MicroC.. You’ll know it when you do it.. The sinking
current.. Pull down resistors.. Pull up resistors.. Current limiting resistors.. Floating
input.. Ground interference.. The problems’ll only be adding up everyday.. We patiently
figured out everything and finally we understood how to interface the input devices(For
ex: A Switch).. Then we had to understand input devices.. We started learning about
various sensors which would help us.. Like.. Photodiodes, Photo-transistors, Ir Receivers,
Ir transmitters.. Etc.. After the sensor part was over, we were fully conversant with the
electronic side of robotics.. Then, we dived into the mechanical side of it.. What we
thought was an easy job, stretched us to insanity.. We learnt that mechanics can be the
toughest when you don’t have the right tool!!!! After days of interfacing a motor with a
MicroC and controlling it with the help of Switches, we were finally ready to do
something in robotics…!! I still remember the day when we were playing with a small
robot with a small chassis with four wheels attached to motors.. We were pressing the
switches in combinations which made the motor run in different directions.. It was bliss..
Many problems arose that day. The IC became hot, Battery lost its charge soon.. The
wheel was not coupled properly.. The assembly was not stable.. Inability to have two
voltage levels ( 12 and 5) from a 12V source.. Few capacitors did the trick and we were
able to provide a stable supply, dissipate the heat efficiently and couple the wheels
efficiently..

We started to design a line follower after that.. Instead of us manually

pressing the switches, we had to make the robot smart by tracing a line and moving
accordingly.. It had to follow circular paths, sharp turns, decide whether to turn left or
right, keep track of the distance covered and etc etc.. All these were made possible by one
word… PROGRAMMING.. You can do anything with a MicroC programmer and a
stable chassis!!!! After months of programming and testing, our line follower was finally
born……..!!!! As you can see, we travelled a long way from point Zero.. Now, let me tell
you how you can travel the long journey which we travelled in a short time..
For Travelling fast.. ……

1. Identify your field of interest and work only on it.. Never do things which
you don’t like.. There are other people to do it..

2. Identify friends or people with similar interests and wavelength.. It helps a

lot. It can help your knowledge grow radially..

3. Identify MR.X who can provide the much required starting torque.. That X
might be a staff, a senior (We all are ready and happy to help), a book, a
friend, GOOGLE, Wikipedia, etc etc. You all know them all..

4. Do not seek the solution in the beginning itself. Wait till the solution comes
to you. Take one thing at a time.. Understand every step carefully and fulfill
all the prerequisites you project demands.

5. Set a goal and work towards it.. The easiest way is to enroll yourself in a
competition.

6. Make sure everybody knows everything in your group.. Grow together.. Be

patient.. Don’t lose hope if attempts fail.. Science’ll test your patience..

7. And finally, don’t forget engineering and science after the project is
completed.. Cherish it forever.. Art is long and life is Short after all…

I think you can easily reach great heights if you have faith in yourself and trust
science.. A beautiful thing which you would realize after you do the project is
that you will understand that you’ll rise to the same level of your master and
you both’ll start learning together from that point. It’s true. Our masters are not
somebody enlightened. They’ve just done what we haven’t done once before
us..!!!

I’ve told you everything which I wanted to convey and hope it threw some
seeds in any one of you all’s vast grounds……!!!!

Always happy to help and willing to learn,

Auswin George .T
EEE SSNCE 2006-2010 BATCH