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Talkie BoardProject Review

2/19/2008

ARMS 1209

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Talkie Board

Introduction Talkie Board

Project Leader: Sridhar Tamminayana, Soph. ME Pradnav Kachhwaha, Senior ECE Nitin Aswani, Senior ECE

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Talkie Board

Community Need GLASS instructors often

utilize communication aids when working with students. Cards representing different

words are given by the student to the instructor to communicate.

Take n’ Talk allows for 4 messages to be stored and are tied to specific locations.

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Talkie Board

Community Need GLASS approached the team with a desire for an

improved version of an existing product.

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Talkie Board

Community Need Take n’ Talk records sounds to locations, not

objects, which can lead to misunderstandings Addressing the need will:

Allow GLASS instructors to communicate more effectively with students

Increase the abilities of GLASS students, allowing them to live more fulfilling lives

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Talkie Board

Goals of the project Talkie Board will provide a customizable

communication aid that will allow students to communicate through the use of pictorial representations, not specific locations.

Talkie Board will not help students to physically speak on their own, but will provide a means to communicate through pre-recorded messages.

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Talkie Board

Goals of the project Deliverables:

Talkie Board device. 15 customizable cards. User manual. Detailed construction

instructions. Detailed maintenance

requirements.

Success Criteria This Project must allow

for messages to be tied to cards, not locations, and cost at most, as much as currently used devices.

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Talkie Board

Project SpecificationsRequirement: Specification:Ability to record sounds Hold 15 pre-recorded sounds

Sound Access Access to sounds based on card, not location

Volume Control volume level

Different modes Be able to change between record/play and between pickup/takeoff of cards

Power Control Ability to turn on/off

Multiple message accessibility Allow up to 4 messages to be available for use

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Talkie Board

Background Research

Current models of similar products allow for recording by card location only.

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Talkie BoardBackground ResearchRequirement Mini Tape

RecorderiPod &

Griffin iTalkTalkie Board

Ability to record sounds

Sound Access Volume Different modes Power Control Multiple message accessibility

Cost ≤ $50

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Talkie Board

Functional Decomposition Card Identification:

Identify specific cards. Identify when cards placed or removed.

Mode Selection: Change between record/play, put on/take off, power on/off.

Sound System: Record/play messages. Access messages dynamically.

User Interface Present cards in viewable manner. Controls accessible to teacher, cards to student.

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Talkie Board

Operational Overview

On/Off Switch

Select Mode

Select Activation

Mode

PressRecord Button

Pick up Card

RemoveCard

Play Message

Speak into base unit

microphone

Play

Record

pick up

put down

Select Card

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Talkie Board

Identification Sub-system Overview

Identify specific cards. Identify when cards placed or removed Requirements/selection criteria

Unique ID Works in close proximity to other cards Portable Low power consumption Maintenance Inexpensive

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Talkie Board

Proposed Solutions: Identification RFID

Use RFID to detect a tag placed near by. Each tag already has unique ID, no need to create one. Inexpensive.

Barcode Scanner Barcodes placed on cards and a scanner scans at each

location. Unique IDs, but would need 4 scanners greatly

increasing cost.

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Talkie Board

Proposed Solutions: Identification Reed Relay/Switch

A magnet placed near a relay or switch activates circuit. Magnets are inexpensive but, underlying circuitry may be

impractical to implement. Teeth

A unique pattern of grooves or teeth is arrayed along the bottom of each card and read with a laser.

This could possibly introduce more mechanical problems than initially anticipated.

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Talkie Board

Proposed Solutions: Identification Resistance

Each card would make a unique resistive contact to the base unit.

Can choose what ever resistance values desired that makes calculations easier.

Able to convert resistance to a voltage and compare values.

Easy to implement voltage comparators. Resistors cheap and easily replaced.

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Talkie Board

Proposed SolutionsRequirement Spec RFID Barcode

ScannerReed

SwitchTeeth Resistance

Unique ID Each card must be uniquely identifiable from the other cards.

Works in close proximity to other cards.

The cards’ ID should not be affected by the distance or contact of other cards.

Portable Works inside and outside. No computer, laptop, or external assistance. (Stand alone)

Low power consumption

The indentifying technology should not require more than 5V.

Maintenance Each cards’ identification technology must last +5 years.

Cheap Cost of maintenance or replacement should be less than $5 a year.

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Talkie Board

Selection Criteria

Practicality Does solution make sense to implement?

Ease of use by user Does technology negatively affect how product is

learned and used?

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Talkie BoardDecision Matrix

Concepts

Engineering/Customer Requirements

We

igh

ts

RF

ID

Ba

rcod

e S

can

ne

r

Lig

ht S

en

sitivity (Da

tum

)

Me

cha

nica

l

Re

sistan

ce

Op

tical E

nco

de

r

Safety 5 0 -2 0 0 -1 0

Cost 4 -2 -1 0 0 1 0

Ease of implementation 3 -2 -1 0 0 0 -1

Complexity 4.5 -2 -1 0 0 0 -1

Modifiable by someone else 5 -1 -1 0 0 0 0

Reliability 5 1 1 0 -1 0 1

Precision of Student 4 2 1 0 -1 -1 -1

Power usage 4 -1 -2 0 0 0 -1

Need for extra enable 3.5 -1 -1 0 0 0 0

Can add extra cards 2 2 2 0 1 0 0

Weighted Total -18.5 -25 0 -7 -5 -10.5

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Talkie Board

Discussion of future plans Specification Development and Conceptual Design phase

is still ongoing. Still left to design:

Mode Selection: Change between record/play, put on/take off, power on/off.

Sound System: Record/play messages. Access messages dynamically.

User Interface Present cards in viewable manner. Controls accessible to teacher, cards to student.

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Talkie Board

Discussion of future plans Card Identification

Implementation of photo diode and using it to produce an address.

Do testing to find exact resistance values based on light exposure.

Specification Development and Conceptual Design phase to be completed for remaining sub-systems.

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Talkie Board

Discussion of future plans To be completed this semester:

Card ID. User Interface.

Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14Card Identificationorder partstesting of partsdecision and final orderingwiring and setting up sensorstesting setup with microCard and Casing Designpreliminary designsfinal designoderingcasing

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Talkie Board

Questions?