1. How to RFA (Request for approval)
Amr Martini

2. Overview
RFA Process

3. Search and Approval for Projects
Review
Objective of this course is to work on a project that you…
Propose
Design
Build
Report
RFA proces s
Search and Approval for Projects
(Weeks 1-3)
Detailed Design
(Weeks 4-6)
Build and Test
(Weeks 7-14)
Demonstrate
(Week 15)

4. Project RFA (Review) All projects start on the Web Board
Each idea must first be presented on the web board
Professors, TA’s, and other students critique and discuss each idea
The first student to pitch an idea is the owner of that idea
After sufficient discussion, an idea becomes recommended for an RFA by the staff

5. Project RFA (Review)
RFAs will be evaluated by staff and either approved or rejected
Projects must meet our criteria for complexity and uniqueness
Deadline for RFA approval is September 12th, 4:45pm
Deadline is not when you submit the RFA, but when it is accepted.
5 points extra credit: Early RFA approval by September 5th

6. Project Ideas
Best Practices

7. Define the Problem Motivate your problem (i.e. why should we care?)
“A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” ~ Charles Kettering
Motivate your problem (i.e. why should we care?)
Scope and restrict focus
Are you building tools or are you solving a scenario?
When is the problem solved?
Decision problem: You lay out sensible constraints that you satisfy
Optimization problem: You show improvement over a previous iteration, and you cannot do better with your solution

8. Solve the Problem
Be aware of alternatives, and re-evaluate your design regularly
Is there a better or more efficient way to accomplish your project’s goals?
Can your problem be solved without using ECE approaches?
Are you using the best sensors for the job?
The earlier you accelerate this, the better
Strive for elegance
Modularity of design -> testability
Simplicity of design (without sacrificing your goals)

9. Design Complexity Complexity is a function of the problem definition
circuit implementation
software implementation
mathematical analysis (signal processing, control theory, EM, etc…)
Evaluated on a case-by-case basis

10. Example RFA
# Problem
Theme parks, airports, hotels, libraries, corporations, etc., all have general ideas of how many people are on their premises throughout the day or year but they do not know the instantaneous count of people over that area. Better estimates can improve traffic and resource management.
# Solution Overview
Our solution for accurately counting individuals entering or exiting an area is a portable battery-powered device which can be mounted above a door frame. It uses ultrasonic and infrared sensors to count individuals crossing the door threshold.

11. Example RFA (cont.) # Solution Components ## Sensor Subsystem
- Passive infrared sensors for detecting a human being about to cross a doorway and trigger ultrasonic sensors
- Ultrasonic sensors for detecting the heights of individuals, whether they are entering or exiting, and determining whether multiple people are crossing the threshold simultaneously
We will use different frequency ultrasonic sensors focused at different angles to gain topology information at different locations simultaneously.

12. Example RFA (cont.) ## Processing Subsystem
- Internal microcontroller for A/D conversion and initial signal processing (Atmel atmega328)
- Bluetooth or Zigbee to send data from microcontroller to external server
## Power Subsystem
- Converts standard outlet power to required sensor, microcontroller, communications module demands

13. Example RFA (cont.) # Criterion for Success
Our solution can accurately count groups of people crossing a doorway simultaneously, report counts to a remote server, and last at least one day on batteries.
SensorInsight currently provides a camera-based solution for watching crowds flows over a wide area. Our solution is different because we focus on precisely counting people entering or exiting an area. We seek to build a much cheaper solution than one of SensorInisght’s high definition cameras with our mixed sensor module.

14. Ideas vs RFAs (Expectations)
Similarities
Idea
RFA
May work from a project pitch in collaboration
May use previous ideas and proposals as inspiration for improvement
Do not use previous semesters as guidance for best practices
Differences
Idea
RFA
Does not need strict formatting
Follows guidelines for formatting
Does not need listed partners
Needs listed partners
Intends to get feedback
Intends to get approved
No points besides initial post
Graded by meeting approval deadline
Discusses a potential problem and potential solution
Problem is relevant, solution is well thought, design is clearly presented

15. In Five Visualized Steps
Submit an RFA
In Five Visualized Steps

16. Step 1: Post an idea to the Web Board

17. Step 2: Respond to feedback

18. Step 3: Submit the RFA

19. Step 4: Submit the RFA

20. Step 5: Incorporate Feedback
Your proposal is automatically cloned to the Web Board
That’s how you end up with “Project Proposal” posts
The staff may give you feedback
Update your RFA from the My Project page
Project Rejected
Try, try again…
Project Approved
Start working on your Proposal

21. Aug 29, 2019 4:45pm Sep 12, 2019 4:45pm Initial Post Deadline
Approval Deadline
Sep 12, :45pm