I can't decide whether this is a tacky idea, a best seller, or
both(!). You decide.
People often like to give loved ones gifts to remember them by,
particularly when they are going way. Ornaments usually stimulate
visually and sometimes with scent (e.g. some wooden objects). I had
wondered if it would be desirable to be able to leave a message too.
This could be achieved using low cost electronics - a speaker which
could double as a microphone, an 8-bit DAC + comparator (for ADC), a
microcontroller and a small amount of flash memory. To ensure half
way decent sound quality it may well be necessary to perform some
digital signal processing using the microcontroller (which is where
the research aspect comes in). This could probably be performed
Low power and low cost and small size are key issues here. Cambridge
Consultants have kindly donated one of their XAP microcontroller
prototype systems and ORL a PC to run the development environment.
This processor only uses around 3000 gates so it can easily be
embedded in a small, cheap, mixed analog/digital chip. Thus a one or
two chip solution could be manufactured.
Construct a scale mockup.
None that I know of.
XAP development system. I can provide this for one student.
I'm willing to supervise this project.