Wireless Environmental Sensing Electronics Framework Development with Successive Capstone Projects

Abstract a. Plan of submission In the full paper we will describe the evolution of our wireless system framework over three annual capstone cycles. This will include electrical components and capabilities, how those attributes have changed over the three years of project sponsorship, and where we see them going in the future. We will discuss the successes and failures of successive generations of documentation and recurring snags in getting started. We will also describe overall research successes including a discussion of resultant publications and how this ongoing program has encouraged students to pursue research in electrical engineering. b. Assessment methods We will discuss team self-evaluations from CATME surveys, research results, documentation and residual code generated, and research careers resulting from this project series. c. Statement of results Over the last three years, the author's lab has sponsored one capstone project annually in the area of wireless environmental sensing. These projects were each unique but have leveraged design reuse, documentation, and code repositories to create an evolving wireless sensor node project framework. This framework continues to develop and can be used to facilitate new research collaboration projects, involve undergraduates in research, and generate new publications. In contrast to typical industry-sponsored projects, the annual research lab-sponsored projects themselves have resulted in two publications and attracting at least three students to graduate school. d. Topic Capstone/senior design and project-based curriculum