Team 3
Power Meter
James Aitkenhead, Nicole Ogden, Matt Quantz
The Product
 Targets customers who want to monitor energy
statistics with an easy-to-use graphical interface
 Our widget will help you to be more aware of your
energy usage, saving you time and money
Mechanical Design
Mechanical Design
Project Management
 We used a combination of traditional and agile
project management.
 It would be very hard to manage a project that
has never been done before using a strictly
traditional approach (hard to estimate task
durations)
Resource Scoping
 FPGA
 Different versions of Nios II
 Software
 IP Blocks
 Internal Power Supply
 Outsourcing Consultants
 Other items considered for design
Code Repository
 Used TortoiseSVN for Project Version Control
 Directory Structure:
 C Code
 C Scripts
 C Test
 RTL Code
 RTL Scripts
 RTL Test
 Documentation
 This Directory Structure Supports Reusability
Code Reviews
 We did not implement formal code reviews
 We collaborated between team members for
writing and testing code
Benefits of RTL and C Coding Guidelines
 Makes Code More Readable
 Makes Code More Reusable
 Makes Code More Portable
 Increases Productivity of Code Reviews
 Allows Auto-Documentation (Doxygen)
IP Design and Reuse
 IP Component Reuse saves time in a project
 Component Reusability should be paramount in a
design
 Reusability brings the product to market faster
Hardware to Software Interface
 A register map is a listing of all the memory
registers used in the project, and their address
 The register map is used by everyone from
design to layout to verification engineers
 This makes it important to create the map early in
the project
 The register map can be created manually, or
there is software available to automate the
process
Functional Verification
 Direct testing was used
 Code Coverage was 100%
Cost Estimate (Break-Even Cost)
Part Price
Fpga 30
Lcd + touch 100
Pcb 30
Case 25
MCP3909 7.50
Power supply 10
Software 1,000,000
Outsourcing consultants Free
Engineering time spent Priceless
IP blocks used 100
Misc. components 200
Total ~ $500
Lessons Learned
 Don’t wait until the last minute to add
documentation
 Read the datasheets for little “Easter eggs” which
could delay
progress
 Divide tasks more evenly between team members
Roadblocks
 We struggled to re-create last quarter’s touch
screen interface
 We struggled to learn how to use all the project
tracking tools effectively
 We struggled with the opto-isolator interface
between the MCP3909 and the FPGA
 The SPI interface was odd to work with
Conclusions
 We successfully interfaced with the MCP3909
Evaluation Board
 We successfully displayed the measured data on the
16x2 character LCD
 This was a fun project with numerous practical
applications
 With more time, we would implement a wireless data
transfer, uploading the data to the Internet, or both
 Also with more time we were going to try to
implement Ethernet to connect the device to the
internet and communicate to websites like: “Google
Powermeter,” and “Microsoft hohm;” to relay instant

Power Meter

  • 1.
    Team 3 Power Meter JamesAitkenhead, Nicole Ogden, Matt Quantz
  • 2.
    The Product  Targetscustomers who want to monitor energy statistics with an easy-to-use graphical interface  Our widget will help you to be more aware of your energy usage, saving you time and money
  • 3.
  • 4.
  • 5.
    Project Management  Weused a combination of traditional and agile project management.  It would be very hard to manage a project that has never been done before using a strictly traditional approach (hard to estimate task durations)
  • 6.
    Resource Scoping  FPGA Different versions of Nios II  Software  IP Blocks  Internal Power Supply  Outsourcing Consultants  Other items considered for design
  • 7.
    Code Repository  UsedTortoiseSVN for Project Version Control  Directory Structure:  C Code  C Scripts  C Test  RTL Code  RTL Scripts  RTL Test  Documentation  This Directory Structure Supports Reusability
  • 8.
    Code Reviews  Wedid not implement formal code reviews  We collaborated between team members for writing and testing code
  • 9.
    Benefits of RTLand C Coding Guidelines  Makes Code More Readable  Makes Code More Reusable  Makes Code More Portable  Increases Productivity of Code Reviews  Allows Auto-Documentation (Doxygen)
  • 10.
    IP Design andReuse  IP Component Reuse saves time in a project  Component Reusability should be paramount in a design  Reusability brings the product to market faster
  • 11.
    Hardware to SoftwareInterface  A register map is a listing of all the memory registers used in the project, and their address  The register map is used by everyone from design to layout to verification engineers  This makes it important to create the map early in the project  The register map can be created manually, or there is software available to automate the process
  • 12.
    Functional Verification  Directtesting was used  Code Coverage was 100%
  • 13.
    Cost Estimate (Break-EvenCost) Part Price Fpga 30 Lcd + touch 100 Pcb 30 Case 25 MCP3909 7.50 Power supply 10 Software 1,000,000 Outsourcing consultants Free Engineering time spent Priceless IP blocks used 100 Misc. components 200 Total ~ $500
  • 14.
    Lessons Learned  Don’twait until the last minute to add documentation  Read the datasheets for little “Easter eggs” which could delay progress  Divide tasks more evenly between team members
  • 15.
    Roadblocks  We struggledto re-create last quarter’s touch screen interface  We struggled to learn how to use all the project tracking tools effectively  We struggled with the opto-isolator interface between the MCP3909 and the FPGA  The SPI interface was odd to work with
  • 16.
    Conclusions  We successfullyinterfaced with the MCP3909 Evaluation Board  We successfully displayed the measured data on the 16x2 character LCD  This was a fun project with numerous practical applications  With more time, we would implement a wireless data transfer, uploading the data to the Internet, or both  Also with more time we were going to try to implement Ethernet to connect the device to the internet and communicate to websites like: “Google Powermeter,” and “Microsoft hohm;” to relay instant