EE/CE Capstone Projects

Wilderness data collection devices require access to electrical power and are often deployed in difficult to access terrain.  The goal of this project is to create a robust solar power collection and battery management system that can be deployed for several years without maintenance, specifically in environments that have non-ideal solar power collection conditions.  

The heart of the system's hardware is composed of shading-tolerant photo-voltaic panels, DC-DC step down buck converter, and a microcontroller.  These elements work in tandem with a maximum power point tracking algorithm to charge a battery cell. The microcontroller uses a novel battery management system to track and balance the battery state of charge between two batteries.  The microcontroller enforces and ensures that charging only occurs under safe conditions.

This project presents the design and development of a custom variable DC power supply intended for versatile laboratory and prototyping applications. The system has five different outputs: three variable channels that deliver up to 30V at 3A through banana connectors, one USB 2.0, and one USB-C output for powering small electronics. To ensure high efficiency, stable regulation, and compact implementation, each variable channel is driven by its own buck converter, while the USB and USB-C ports share a converter. The entire system is powered from a standard wall outlet, stepped down through a transformer, and then a rectifier to provide DC power for the buck converters. A Teensy 4.0 microcontroller is used for user interface management. User interaction is supported through an integrated display, keypad, and hardware on/off switches. 

Renewable power generation is rapidly becoming more popular among users in off-grid environments. An auxiliary power conversion system is required to codition and store the power generated from environmental sources such as wind and flowing water. Utilizing an external three-phase source, an AC to DC power converter is implemented with the purpose of charging lead-acid batteries. Power is provided to a charge controller circuit using an Arduino software-controlled buck converter.

This project implements a system that allows E-bikes to charge a secondary battery while in operation. The design uses a generator attached to the wheel to recapture energy that would otherwise be wasted, and uses that energy to charge a battery. A microcontroller handles the logic to keep the charging stable even when the bike changes speed. This feature has the advantage of keeping the battery topped off and extending the range of the bike itself. 

This project presents a portable solar-powered cooling system designed for personal airflow cooling in off-grid environments. The design integrates a solar panel, DC/DC buck converter, lithium-ion battery, embedded controller, and DC fan into a compact standalone system. Solar energy is used to power the fan while also supporting battery charging for continued operation during reduced sunlight conditions. An Arduino Nano microcontroller monitors system state and regulates converter operation to improve energy utilization and maintain safe operating conditions. The project emphasizes portability, energy efficiency, and simplified user interaction while demonstrating the integration of renewable energy systems, power electronics, and embedded control into a low-power consumer application.

The Emergency Hand-Crank Charger and Flashlight is designed to provide a small, on-demand source of electricity during power outages. By turning a hand crank, users generate power to charge essential devices or operate an LED flashlight without requiring access to the electrical grid. The crank drives a DC generator, whose variable output is regulated by a synchronous buck converter. A Teensy 4.1 microcontroller manages this voltage and current regulation to safely charge a recycled rechargeable battery pack for later use. The battery pack can then supply power to either the flashlight or a USB Type-C charging port. This project explores the development of a low-cost, efficient, and practical emergency power device.

This project involves the design and development of a 12 V solar-to-battery power system that efficiently converts solar energy into a regulated DC output suitable for off-grid applications. The system architecture integrates a solar panel, a buck converter, and a battery management system controlled by an embedded microcontroller running a Maximum PowerPoint Tracking algorithm. Simulation results and physical hardware demonstrate effective voltage regulation and energy transfer from the solar panel to the battery. 

While solar is an increasingly viable option for consumers looking to generate their own electricity, the cost of hardware is still a barrier. This project aims to design a low-cost charge controller for a low-power solar unit, which is accomplished by using digital logic circuits rather than a microcontroller to generate the control signals. This design prioritizes affordability over maximum power transfer while still meeting the charge requirements of the system’s load battery.

Remote off-grid systems often rely on batteries to power mechanical loads. This project proposes a solar-powered system for recharging a 12V lead-acid battery while simultaneously powering a connected mechanical load. The solar panel generates the power required for both battery charging and mechanical load operation, and the charged battery supplies additional power when solar generation alone is insufficient. To maximize power generation, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm using the perturb and observe (P&O) method is used. The MPPT algorithm is implemented on a microcontroller and regulates the panel voltage through a buck converter. To maintain safe charging and prolong battery lifespan, a 4-step lead-acid battery charging algorithm is implemented in a secondary buck-boost charge controller.

This project presents the design and development of a 65 W USB-C Power Delivery (PD) charger capable of providing multiple output voltages for modern electronic devices. The charger converts standard AC wall power into regulated DC power through a two-stage power conversion system consisting of an isolated AC-DC flyback converter and a DC-DC buck converter. USB-C PD communication allows connected devices to request the appropriate charging voltage. The project focuses on efficient power conversion, electrical safety through isolation, compact design, and reliable operation.

This project involves the design and implementation of a system for monitoring and correcting the power factor of various inductive loads. A load of up to 100 W is powered by a 60V RMS 60Hz voltage source. The system also includes a DC power supply for a microcontroller, which determines the capacitive compensation needed for power factor correction to the inductive load.

This project involves the design and implementation of a portable solar generator. The system is composed of a 100W solar panel, a 12V, 10Ah lead acid battery, a 120V outlet receptacle, and two USB ports. The solar panel generates power to charge the battery, which is designed to supply up to 80W to the load. 

The Mobile Weather Monitoring Systems aims to enable long-range environmental monitoring with visualization of this data and its GPS location on a custom, user-created map. The transmitter/monitor is designed to be simple and require minimal maintenance besides between charges, as its use case is meant for mounting onto vehicles and will send weather and signal metrics back to the receiver/base station autonomously. The base station is also meant to be simple and user-friendly. It will be connected to the user’s computer and will run scripts to take in the data sent by the transmitter and plot them on the user’s custom map. This system is meant not to need user interaction besides the initial setup and charging of the monitor. To achieve this goal, the system will utilize an off-the-shelf sensor for environmental data, an off-the-shelf GPS module, and an RF module that contains a wireless microcontroller with its own radio and LoRa modem.

Products aimed at assisting patients with single-sided hearing loss are limited. The personal directional audio system, PDAS, is a cost-effective solution. PDAS is a bone conduction headset for single sided hearing loss patients. Unlike traditional hearing aids, the PDAS provides a stylish bone conduction open ear headphone design. An analog microphone placed on the ear with the hearing loss starts the audio pipeline with the analog signal entering a microprocessor. PDAS contains an analog to digital converter; to achieve removal of noise and artefacts, it passes the digital signal conversion through a filter. Once the digital signal has been cleaned, PDAS then converts it back to analog, amplifies it, and transmits it through a bone oscillator sitting on the mastoid area of the normal hearing ear. The rerouted audio from the poor ear is transmitted to the normal ear through vibrations. The user has access to controls that allow them to turn off/on, as well as raise or lower the volume. PDAS is conveniently powered through a lithium-ion battery.

The Capacitive Foot Pressure Mat is a very low-cost alternative to biometric health monitoring pressure mats in the market today. A low-power STM32 microcontroller applies a charging and scanning sequence to a physical copper matrix which the user stands on, forming capacitors at each copper intersection point. Values of capacitance at each intersection are determined by how much weight the user applies at each intersection (more weight leads to higher compression of the copper intersection, thus more capacitance). Data frames encompassing all intersection values are passed through digital filtering and then transmitted over a USB-C 2.0 A-B cable to a host PC for real-time visualization and record keeping across different user sessions. Once filtered data frames are received and the average center of pressure is computed inside of the host PC, then the center of pressure deviation and left/right foot load distribution are calculated and stored in an excel file. A PNG is also generated and saved containing a plot of the path of travel of the user’s center of pressure during a standing still session and a session in which the user walks over the mat. This project is intended to help me, Reese Bergeson, track my own balance over a period of time since I have undergone two spinal discectomy surgeries two years ago. In the rehabilitation process, it was crucial for me to assess my progress in physical therapy, so a system which produces a fine grain history of my balance was required. Thus, the system was customized for my use but is also usable by any user over any desired history of time.

The Portable Heart Monitor is a wearable device that collects, processes, and displays heart-related data in real time. The system monitors important physiological signals using a pulse sensor module connected to a microcontroller. The sensor data will go through filtering and amplification to reduce noise and improve signal quality before calculating beats per minute, which is displayed to the user. The main goal of this project is to create a portable and reliable device that can monitor a person’s heart rate to detect arrythmias. The hardware uses low-power components so the device can run efficiently on battery power and remain lightweight and portable. Along with accurate heart rate monitoring, the project will focus on maintaining stable signal processing and reliable performance in different environments. What makes this project different from many existing heart rate monitors is its focus on affordability while still keeping good accuracy and functionality. By using cost-effective components and an optimized embedded system design, the device aims to provide an accessible and practical solution for everyday heart rate monitoring without sacrificing performance or portability.

This project presents the design of a low-power wildfire smoke detection system using an STM32 Nucleo-F030 microcontroller, a Bosch BME688 environmental sensor, and a Reyax RYLR896 LoRa communication module. The system monitors gas resistance values from the BME688 sensor to detect smoke and poor air quality conditions that may indicate the presence of a wildfire or combustion source. To improve reliability and reduce false alarms, the code performs multiple sensor scans before confirming smoke detection and transmitting an alert message over LoRa communication. The system also uses low-power sleep mode with timer interrupts to reduce power consumption between sensor scans for battery-powered operation in remote environments. LoRa wireless communication was selected because it provides long-range transmission while maintaining relatively low power consumption. This project demonstrates microcontroller system concepts including I2C and UART communication, sensor integration, interrupt-driven code, wireless data transmission, low-power embedded system design, and environmental monitoring for remote wildfire detection applications.

This senior project presents a low-cost, open-source wildfire detection system designed for long-term deployment in Pacific Northwest forest environments. The system uses distributed autonomous sensor nodes to detect early thermal indicators of wildfire ignition before small fires grow into larger threats. Each node integrates three MLX90640 infrared thermal array sensors, a low-power STM32WLE-based LoRa module, battery monitoring circuitry, and power-management hardware. During normal operation, the node remains in a low-power sleep state and periodically wakes using the RTC to power the sensors, acquire thermal frames, classify hot-region patterns, measure battery voltage, and transmit status or alert packets. Thermal data is processed locally to identify abnormal hot clusters relative to the ambient background, reducing communication requirements and supporting faster response. When a likely fire condition is detected, the node sends an alert over a 915 MHz LoRa link to a gateway for logging and notification. The design emphasizes low cost, multi-year battery life, scalable deployment, and improved early wildfire detection coverage.

The WatchDog is a portable security device designed to deter theft and aid recovery of personal belongings through Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and onboard motion detection. The tag features an integrated loop for attaching to bags and embedded magnets for mounting on doors and drawers. Users arm the device by locking it through the companion iOS application, after which any detected motion is timestamped and recorded to a motion log for later review. An optional audible alarm can be enabled to actively deter potential thieves when movement is detected. The WatchDog is built around the STMicroelectronics STM32WB05 wireless microcontroller, integrating a LIS2DUX12 three-axis accelerometer for motion-triggered interrupts, a BQ25186 linear battery charger, and a BQ27427 fuel gauge for state-of-charge reporting. A piezoelectric buzzer and RGB LED provide audible and visual feedback. The firmware leverages STM32WB05 DEEPSTOP low-power modes to minimize sleep current while the iOS app, built in SwiftUI with CoreBluetooth, manages bonded devices.

Since the 1980s, wildfires have been increasingly common, with a notable increase in severity and amount of acreage burned. Wildfires are more common in areas such as Australia, but with the rise in global temperatures, Washington has also seen a rise in wildfires particularly during lightning season but with a rise of wildfires in the summer. Many forests in Washington state are very dense with large trees or are near residential areas. This makes it difficult and dangerous for firefighters to access and obtain accurate alerts. Our system is made to mitigate the damage from wildfires using low-power wildfire detectors, which provide early alerts to fire and forest authorities in the event of a large-scale fire as well as monitoring environmental conditions to identify signs of wildfire activity and transmit real-time alerts to improve emergency response times. The aspect of low power consumption will enable the sensor to be easily deployed in remote areas with minimal maintenance.