This page contains documentation of various projects I am
working on or have completed, ranging from engineering, design,
woodworking, and music technology. You may also want to check
out my
resume.
Wireless Communication System | October 2022 - May 2024
I was a member of both the signal processing and hardware teams
of IEEE at UCLA's Wireless, RF, and Analog Project (WRAP),
where we collaborated to create a 27 MHz communication link
from scratch capable of sending messages across a room.
As a member of the signal processing team, I created and
simulated a BPSK communication system in MATLAB, including
demodulation with a phased locked loop, timing recovery, and
packet detection. Then, I wrote embedded software in C to
implement the system on a pair of STM32 microcontrollers.
On the hardware side, I designed amplifiers, oscillators,
mixers, and filters, performed simulations in LTSpice and
Keysight ADS, and brought up circuit boards.
Video Demonstration
Embedded Physical Modeled String Instrument | January 2024 - March 2024
In this projct, algorithms for plucked string sound synthesis,
distortion, and reverberation were implemented on a digital
signal processor to create a musical instrument. This project
combines several existing algorithms together to create a full
end-to-end system of sound generation effects, and shows
potential benefits of using an embedded system compared to more
traditional personal computer-based approaches. Real-time
implementations of the Karplus-Strong algorithm, clipping
distortion, and Schroeder reverb algorithm are demonstrated
using a modified ping-pong buffer approach to achieve low
latency. The system is capable of generating sounds with
effects in real time with a latency of 20 ms, which is
considered to be within acceptable limits for a musical
instrument. Additionally, the system has stereo output and
three-voice polyphony, and can be played and fine tuned using
an interface of buttons and knobs.
Video Demonstration
Treasure Tracker | January 2022
Treasure Tracker is a compass that points to coordinates set by
the user rather than magnetic north. It allows users to record
their current location and toggle between the compass pointing
to four previously stored locations. Treasure Tracker is useful
for navigation on outdoor hikes and adventures where there is no
cellular data. This project was created by an interdisciplinary
team consisting of me, Trevor Guo, Andrew Gautier, Getty George
V, and Cameron Fiske at IDEAHacks 2022, a hardware hackathon.
As the team's electrical engineer, I designed and soldered the
circuit. I also wrote code to control servo motors and
interface a Teensy microcontroller with a GPS module and 9-DoF
IMU.
I co-led IEEE at UCLA's Micromouse project, instructing and
mentoring 70+ students as they designed and programmed small
autonomous maze-solving robots. I designed a PCB for students
to use in the first quarter of the program to learn about the
needed circuits and practice soldering and programming.
The PCB has circuits for voltage regulation, motor control, and
IR sensing, as well as headers to plug in an STM32 Nucleo
microcontroller. This design is an improvement from ones from
previous years because it features space for battery holders, a
programming header, and a UART header to connect to an
additional breakout board.
As a Micromouse Lead, I reviewed schematics and board layouts
for 20 Micromouse PCBs and ordered parts for them. I also
coordinated and hosted IEEE at UCLA's intercollegiate All
America Micromouse Competition.
Budgie is a rhythm game for music education developed by me,
Trevor Guo, Andrew Gautier, Getty George V, and Raymond Song as
part of the BruinLabs entrepreneurship competition. The project
features a physical shaker device that connects to a mobile app
to provide feedback on the accuracy of the rhythm being played.
Budgie aims to provide a hands-on, tactile experience for music
students practicing rhythm.
As the team's electrical engineer, I designed the circuit to
connect the microcontroller, gyroscope, charger, and other
components together, and to control the vibrational motors and
LEDs. I wrote the Arduino code for the ESP32 Microcontroller,
including processing the signal from the gyroscope and
connecting to the phone using Bluetooth Low Energy.
Additionally, I was responsible for assembling and testing the
physical product, which involved lots of soldering and 3D
printing.
Budgie recieved an Honorable Mention award at the BruinLabs
Demo Day.
In this final project for UCLA's Introduction to Electrical
Engineering class, I implemented IR sensor fusion and PID
control to program the small robot car to follow a curved path.
Additionally, I wrote a C++ library to use quadrature encoders
to distinguish forward and backward motor rotation. My car
completed the path fastest out of 107 students in the class.
Video Demonstration
Micromouse | October 2020 - May 2021
I participated in UCLA IEEE's Micromouse project, in which I
remotely collaborated with fellow UCLA student Jason Wu to
create a small autonomous maze-solving robot. We designed
breakout PCBs for motor control and IR sensing using Autodesk
Eagle and implemented PID Control and the Floodfill maze
solving algorithm in C on an STM32 microcontroller. We further
improved our mouse by adding a gyroscope and bluetooth module.
Our mouse first place at IEEE at UCLA's All America Micromouse
Competition in May 2021 by solving a maze the fastest.
I continued my Micromouse journey by co-leading the project
for the 2021-2022 school year, teaching and mentoring the next
cohort of Micromouse students. This role involved some
technical work.
Handwriting Recognition with EmbeddedML on the SensorTile |
February 2021 - March 2021
This project is a device to identify written characters/symbols
based on pen stroke motions. When the user writes a character,
acceleration and angular velocity data is collected, and the
motion is classified using a neural network. The system can
recognize six simple distinct characters resembling capital 'L'
shapes and lines in certain directions. A potential application
of this concept would be a stylus that does not require a
specific writing surface and can be trained for the writing
styles of different individuals. This project was my final
project for UCLA's Engineering 96C class (Introduction to
Engineering Design: Internet of Things).
Video Demonstration
To-Do Cue Queue (IDEAHacks) | January 2021
This project is an internet connected checklist to improve
organization and focus in a remote learning environment. It was
designed and prototyped using an ESP32 microcontroller and an
electronic circuit on a breadboard. An OLED display shows the
list of tasks and a 7 segment display shows the number of tasks
yet to be completed. An LED and piezo buzzer are used to beep
when the user makes selections. An IR emitter/reciever pair are
used to monitor how long the user has been in their seat and
remind them to take a break. This project was designed at
IDEA Hacks 2021: Home Applications, a hardware hackathon hosted
by UCLA IEEE.
This project is a 3D model for a recorder (instrument) created
in Autodesk Fusion 360. It is based on pre-existing technical
drawings for a recorder. I am currently in the process of
getting this project 3D printed.
Side Table | January 2020 - March 2020
This project is a work in progress that has been indefinitely
postponed due to COVID-19/lack of access to tools to complete
it. All of the necessary wood has been gathered and most of the
individual pieces have been cut to size, but the table needs to
be assembled, sanded, and finished. Shown below is a CAD
drawing of it that I created in SketchUp.
Plywood Nesting Bowls | November 2019 - January 2020
To create these two bowls, I used both traditional and CNC
woodworking techniques. Before hand turning, the bowls were
first assembled from concentric plywood rings cut using the CNC
router (a test run of this process is depicted in the second
photo). This method is less wasteful of wood compared to usual
bowl turning, where the entire inside of the bowl needs to be
hollowed out.
Digital Audio Effects Pedal | July 2019
This project is an effects pedal that I created at a summer
workshop at Stanford's CCRMA called Embedded DSP with Faust.
It uses a Teensy microcontroller with an audio shield. The
Teensy code was written in the Arduino language, and the signal
processing algorithm was written in Faust. I made the box for
this project using a laser cutter. Different programs can be
loaded onto the Teensy using the USB to create different types
of sounds. With the current program I am running, the pedal
includes a flanger, low pass filter, and echo.
Video Presentation and Demonstration
Trumpet MIDI Controller | June 2019
This project is a wind MIDI controller with buttons that change
pitch similar to valves on a trumpet. The project features a
wind (breath) sensor to control volume and a soft membrane
potentiometer slide to shift pitch either continuously or
discretely. I completed this project at the Designing
Physical Interactions for Music workshop at Stanford
University's Center for Computer Research in Music and
Acoustics.
Video Presentation and Demonstration
Shelf | April 2019 - May 2019
I designed this shelf in the CAD program Vectric Aspire and cut
out the pieces using the CNC router. The shelf is made of
plywood, and the pieces fit together using box joints, making
this project very sturdy.
Mancala | 2019
This project was designed as a way to test my high school's new
CNC router, and is my first project using this tool. I designed
this project using the CAD program Vectric Aspire. The board is
made of maple and mahogany.
Bowls | 2018 - 2020
Pictured are several bowls I turned on the lathe. The method for
creating the plywood bowls is described in further detail
here.
Cutting Boards and Rolling Pin | 2018
Pictured are an end-grain cutting board, simple cutting board,
and rolling pin.
Tongue Drum | March 2018 - May 2018
The tongue drum is a percussion instrument in which beams
vibrate at certain frequencies to create tonal sounds. To
design this instrument, I used the equation for the natural
frequency of a cantilever beam to calculate the required ratios
between the lengths of the beams to produce notes from the
pentatonic scale. The drum features a maple top to produce the
tones, hickory sides, and a removable sliding cherry bottom to
store mallets and make minor tuning adjustments.
Pens | October 2017 - December 2018
Pens were my first lathe project. I made around 15 pens in my
first year of woodshop class, many of which I gave as gifts to
my family and friends. Six of them are shown below.
