Letter from the Team:

Throughout the design process the Apollo Team had the opportunity to experience the "real world" of product design and development. Through the events that have occurred in our project, the group has had the opportunity to practice the behind-the-scenes aspects of system design that it would never have been able to understand otherwise. These experiences in themselves make senior design worth the time dedicated to it and we hope that the knowledge we pass on here may be helpful for future senior design teams.

Sincerely,

The Apollo Team

1. How could the Apollo Project be extended/improved upon in the future?

It was the group’s continuing desire that the work completed by the Apollo Team will lay the groundwork for further investigation into the implementation of Bluetooth in the MP3 player and audio market in general, an effort that had not been bought to fulfillment at the time of the Apollo Project’s inception. By incorporating our research into a future group's project design, they may be able to create a fully functional MP3 audio player.

2. Are there any new project ideas that we came up with (even if entirely different from our current project)?

One project idea that we considered was developing the MP3 audio player as an automobile unit that would incorporate Bluetooth wireless transmission technology as the bridge between the unit's hard drive and a computer in your home. We thought this idea might be particularly intriguing to implement in a future senior design project.

Other ideas the Apollo Team had include an exploration into optical camouflage technology. It would have been our goal to research such technology and inevitably create a physical object that has optical camouflage. This idea is currently being explored at the University if Tokyo and can be viewed at the following website for those interested: http://www.star.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/projects/MEDIA/xv/oc.html

3. Can we provide a list (links/contacts) of the valuable sources we have received support from (vendors/donations/tech support) and how they helped us?

The Apollo Team received support from a variety of sources that include members of the ECE Department and companies in industry.

Professors Stuart Tewksbury, Hong Man, Chandramouli, and Bruce McNair were most supportive to us with their expert assistance and advice in developing the Apollo Project. Professors Tewksbury and Mann provided useful TI software and evaluation systems for Digital Signal Processors while Professor Chandramouli provided some Bluetooth equipment all of which was integral in our decision making process. As the project advisor, Professor McNair has provided invaluable insight which has pointed the group in the right direction as the team persistently strives to complete the project. McNair and Senior Design TA Dominik Hepp also provided us with the ability to etch printed circuit boards (PCBs) through the ECE Circuit Lab which also proved invaluable.

Texas Instruments has provided Digital Signal Processors, A/D converters, and software free of charge and delivered in a timely manner. While they are not sponsoring the project, they have offered equipment that has been integral in the decision making process and are suggested for any senior design group to use in the future.

On the other hand, it is important for us to also acknowledge one company who has caused us an unfortunate amount of trouble for our project as well. We purchased our Bluetooth Development Kit from SmartM Technologies who, through a good amount of false-advertising and thin documentation, led us to believe that the unit we purchased would effectively meet the needs of our project. Sadly, they were wrong and we have been hampered by this $300 purchase ever since. We would suggest to avoid companies like this if possible at all costs. ENSURE that what you get truly is what you expect, although as we have proven sometimes this is just not possible.

4. Anything else?

As the group continued to strive towards project completion, it encountered a number of issues that have led to alterations in the project scope. While the team continued to endeavor towards maintaining its original project expectations, it made certain concessions based on problems that occurred with inadequate software, false advertising, misinformation, and undesirable results. Despite these setbacks, the design team achieved results that match the original intent of leading an exploration into the utilization of the Bluetooth standard for audio transmission. It is important to always remember to not focus on the negatives of project design but on the positives and on the opportunities that are often created by such changes. Remember, in the "real world" almost 90% of projects embarked on fail but companies always are able to adjust to unexpected results and develop something worthwhile.  It is senior design's ultimate goal to help lead us to the same end.