Welcome to the home page for EE459Lx (Embedded System Design Laboratory), a Capstone Design course in which teams of engineering students build a moderately complex digital system incorporating a programmable microcontroller. This class gives the students an opportunity to use the skills and knowledge they have learned in several other classes in the EE curriculum.

Since 2008, EE459Lx has offered a unique learning experience to the students by having them collaborate with undergraduate students from other schools at USC to develop the prototype of a commercially viable product. Teams of EE459Lx students are combined with teams of students from a class in the Marketing Department in the USC Marshall School of Business, and with students from a class in the Roski School of Fine Arts to form a interdisciplinary product development team. Throughout the semester the teams meet to discuss the product and to resolve issues that come up. The EE 459Lx students provide the engineering expertise to design and build a working prototype of the product. The marketing students conduct market research to determine the features and prices that will make the product a success and determine how the product will be launched and marketed to the consumers. The fine art students build "looks-like" prototypes of the product, select color schemes, and design the logos and packaging material.

Note: Due to the size of the MKT and FA classes we can only have about 20 students in the EE459 class that collaborates with them. If the demand for seats in EE459 exceeds this numbers we normally open a second section of the class at a different time. The second section works on the same types of projects as the collaborative section but does not do any collaborating.

Team 6 (FitBit), Spring 2017		Team 6 (Tesla), Spring 2016
Team 1 (Garmin), Spring 2015		Team 5 (Apple), Spring 2014
Team 2 (Siemens), Spring 2013		Team 4 (LG), Spring 2012

The goal is to expose students to the process of developing a new product in an interdisciplinary environment and to provide an experience very similar to what an engineer would have at any company where they work to produce a product that not only functions but is also something customers will want to buy.

The products selected for development by the combined teams are intended to be typical consumer electronic devices:

• Spring 2017: A navigation and location device for recreation in wilderness areas.
• Spring 2016: A residential irrigation controller with features for improving water conservation.
• Spring 2015: A "smart" device for use in a recreational activity.
• Spring 2014: A device to be part of a "smart home".
• Spring 2013: A wireless controller for conserving energy in homes.
• Spring 2012: A residential irrigation controller with features for improving water conservation.
• Spring 2011: A device to prevent children from drowning in swimming pools.
• Spring 2010: A thermostat for controlling the heating and air conditioning in a home.
• Spring 2009: An energy saving device for use in home electronic entertainment centers.
• Spring 2008: An alarm clock with features attractive to college students.

For each product, the teams are encourage to innovate and add features to the product as they see fit based on the available technology and the results of their market research. The teams are for the most part free to set their own schedule during the semester. The EE459Lx lab is open 24/7 for use by the students. In addtion to meeting with their MKT and FA teammates, each EE team meets with the instructor every week to review their progress. During the semester the teams will be required to:

• Meet with the MKT and FA students to decide how their product will work.
• Design the prototype of their product using CAD tools or on paper.
• Determine what parts will be required and select vendors.
• Construct and debug the prototype in the EE 459Lx lab (OHE 240.)
• Demonstrate their product to the instructor and other students.
• Participate in a combined team (EE+MKT+FA) oral presentation of their product.
• Do an oral presentation to the class on the technical details of their product.
• Submit a written report including circuit diagrams, software listings and a detailed analysis of the cost of manufacturing the product in large quantities.

Some links of interest:

• Course syllabus and project description from the most recent semester.
• EE459Lx reference library - a collection of course related documents including datasheets for most of the parts available in the EE 459Lx lab.

Questions, corrections and comments about the content of this page should be sent to Allan Weber
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