Electronic Engineering

Final Year Project

Progress Presentation
Damien Higgins
Topics of discussion
Introduction
Project Abstract
Project Stages
Progress to date
Project Plan
Conclusion
Introduction
Light chaser circuits can be used to create
lighting animation sequences and have been
used in the past to attract attention for
advertising, promotion and in mobile discos.
Light chaser circuits have been around for about
100 years. By the 1970s, integrated circuits and
transistors made light chaser circuits widely
available.
Wide variety of applications today.
Project Abstract
The goal of my project is to build a set of analog
processing modules to capture an audio signal
and by analyzing this signal to drive a series of
multi-colored, high power LED lights.
The design will be used as a portable light chaser
and could be productized as a peripheral for a
portable music player.
Stages of Project
This project can be broke down into different
Stages;
Sensor stage
Audio input amplifier stage
Processing the signal stage
LED driver stage
Power subsystem stage
Final stage
Sensor Stage
Firstly some audio will need to be detected to
have something to work with
This could be done with some sort of sensor like
a microphone for example.
Extensive tests will have to be carried out to
determine which sensor will be the most
valuable for the purpose that we intend to use it
for.
Audio Input Amplifier Stage
The signal got from the sensor will then needed
to be amplified somehow
To achieve this, extensive research and tests
should be carried out to determine what sort of
amplifier will be used.
Processing the signal stage
The signal obtained from audio input and sensor
stage will then need to be processed by a set of
filters
This is done to provide some sort of
information about the signal or the frequency
spectrum coming into the system
LED Driver Stage
The unit should drive multiple banks of LEDs
It is desirable to use the information from the
signal processing circuitry to modify the output
pattern of the LEDs to flash to different
frequencies at different times
Power Subsystem Stage
After all the stages are completed, the system
needs to have an efficient power supply using
battery power.
Final Stage
At this stage all the modules should be brought
together into a single integrated design
It should also be at this stage that any
modifications take place
Progress to Date
Light Chaser Circuits

Projects using LEDs


Research
Sensor Stage
Extensive researched on a number of audio
sensors

5 different electret microphones to test

Constructed circuits to power and test each
microphone individually
Audio Input Amplifier Stage
Reviewed a number of different amplifiers

Constructed a number of these amplifiers

After testing and evaluating each amplifier and
observing the results with the oscilloscope, an
amplifier design was chosen
Processing the signal stage
Looked into processing the signal using a set of
analog filters

Tested a number of different filters

Frequencies we want are between 20 and 20,000
hertz (typical for modern music)
Project Plan

By the end of January I hope to have completed most
of the LED driver stage and have some sort of working
module completed.

For the month of February I plan to work on the
Power subsystem stage.

In March I plan to tie up all loose ends with the project
and complete the Final stage.
Conclusion
Thank you for your attention!
Questions?