Case 01 / BU EK210 Section A9

Optical communication prototype

Transmit keyboard-entered text over a directional optical link, with a 5 ft minimum distance requirement.

My contribution

Contributed to CAD, integration and testing (owner-reported). Specific subsystem decisions remain unresolved; printed-part manufacture is credited to Jake Spaulding.

Key result

The team reported transmission through 13 ft against a 5 ft requirement. Raw trial counts and complete conditions are unavailable; this does not establish guaranteed range or an error rate.

Results and technical detail ↓

Purple optical prototype beside a keyboard, with its LCD illuminated. — FIG. 01Team optical-communication prototype with keyboard input and illuminated LCD.EK210 team: Ken Yasuda, Gabe Mukherjee, Jake Spaulding and Matthew Watkins. Printed parts credited to Jake Spaulding in the team BOM.

Constraints

Distance requirement and component budget documented in team report.

Implementation and Evidence

Printed enclosures organize electronics, display access and optical aiming. The team CAD shows an optical mount above the lid and electronics below; the prototype photograph shows the packaged system.

The documented path connects PS/2 keyboard input to Arduino, 38 kHz IR modulation and receiver LCD output, with servo aiming. The carrier frequency is not data throughput. Alignment and ambient light remain important unrecorded test conditions.

Purple enclosure with LCD, optical mount and connected cables on a laboratory table. — FIG. 02Team demonstration still showing the printed enclosure, LCD and optical mount.EK210 team: Ken Yasuda, Gabe Mukherjee, Jake Spaulding and Matthew Watkins. Printed parts credited to Jake Spaulding in the team BOM.

Original transmitter CAD view showing enclosure, electronics and optical mount. — FIG. 03Team transmitter assembly view showing the enclosure, electronics and optical mount, including vendor components.EK210 team: Ken Yasuda, Gabe Mukherjee, Jake Spaulding and Matthew Watkins. Printed parts credited to Jake Spaulding in the team BOM.

Original receiver CAD view showing enclosure, electronics and optical mount. — FIG. 04Team receiver assembly view showing the enclosure, electronics and optical mount, including vendor components.EK210 team: Ken Yasuda, Gabe Mukherjee, Jake Spaulding and Matthew Watkins. Printed parts credited to Jake Spaulding in the team BOM.

Transmitter wiring illustration connecting Arduino, LCD and optical components. — FIG. 05Original team transmitter wiring illustration. These report illustrations do not establish a complete validated as-built drive circuit: emitter-current limiting and other drive details are undocumented. No electrical safety review is established.EK210 team: Ken Yasuda, Gabe Mukherjee, Jake Spaulding and Matthew Watkins. Printed parts credited to Jake Spaulding in the team BOM.

Receiver wiring illustration connecting Arduino, LCD and optical components. — FIG. 06Original team receiver wiring illustration. These report illustrations do not establish a complete validated as-built drive circuit: emitter-current limiting and other drive details are undocumented. No electrical safety review is established.EK210 team: Ken Yasuda, Gabe Mukherjee, Jake Spaulding and Matthew Watkins. Printed parts credited to Jake Spaulding in the team BOM.

Evidence & interpretation

Results & validation

The team reported transmission through 13 ft against a 5 ft requirement. Raw trial counts and complete conditions are unavailable; this does not establish guaranteed range or an error rate.

Team prototype integrates Arduino, PS/2 input, IR modulation, LCDs and servo aiming.

verified-in-artifact · team

IR modulation

38 kHz

verified-in-artifact

Modulation frequency; not data throughput.

Distance requirement

5 ft

verified-in-artifact

Course/team requirement, not an achieved test measurement.

Reported transmission range

13 ft

qualified team-reported result

Raw counts, trial independence, message length, ambient lighting and alignment protocol unavailable; no every-attempt or field-reliability claim.

Component BOM · TX / RX / total

86.51 / 45.85 / 132.36 USD

reported estimate

Listed transmitter, receiver and combined BOM; reported component costs, not receipts, current procurement or production cost.

Transmitter budget · typical / max

1.98 / 3.65 W

reported estimate

Estimated typical and maximum transmitter component budgets; not measured system draw.

Receiver budget · typical / max

1.46 / 2.225 W

reported estimate

Estimated typical and maximum receiver component budgets; not measured system draw.

Engineering limitations

Range is team-reported without raw counts or complete test conditions. Power budgets are component estimates, not measurements. Printed-part manufacture is credited to a teammate.

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