Voice-Activated Television Remote Control (VAR)

Senior Design I

Mid-Semester Presentation

[1]

VAR Team MembersTeam LeaderElectrical Engineer

• Design• Hardware• PIC programming

Computer Engineer

• Website• Voice Recognition Coding• PIC programming

Computer Engineer

• Website• Voice Recognition Coding• PIC programming

Adviser: Dr. Pan Li

Electrical Engineer

• Hardware • Research • PIC Programming• Debugging

Melissa Webb

David Trosclair

Bobby Britton

Bader Yaseen

Outline

• Problem• Solution• Constraints

• Technical• Practical

• Approach• Progress

• Timeline

• Questions

Problemand

Solution

Problem

Some people do not have the ability to operate a standard hand-held television remote control.

Our market is the elderly and/or disabled.

 

“During the 20th century, the number of people in the United States aged 65 or over increased by a factor of 11, growing from 3 million to 33 million” [2, 3].

Solution

The VAR will allow users to operate their television by using voice commands.

By speaking into a microphone, the user is able to control 6 functions of the television:

- Power On - Power Off

- Volume Up - Volume Down

- Channel Up - Channel Down

What is the VAR?

• The user will speak the commands into a microphone attached to a computer with our voice recognition software.

• The software will translate and wirelessly send the signal to the VAR.

• A microprocessor will convert from the wireless input to an IR signal and output to the television.

VAR

Technical and PracticalConstraints

Technical Constraints

Name Description

Power SupplyThe VAR must operate from a standard 120V wall outlet.

Response TimeTarget time for complete process is less than two seconds.

Transmission Distance

The wireless signal and the IR signal’s maximum distances are 15 feet.

Voice Commands The VAR will recognize six vocal commands.

IR AccuracyThe IR signal must be transmitted and received accurately 98% of the time.

System Overview

Practical Constraints Manufacturability: Product Size

The VAR will be no larger than 8’’ x 8’’ x 3’’.

• Convenient for user

• Easily fits into any space

• Portable

• Comparable to devices such as modems and routers

Practical Constraints Manufacturability: Operating System

The VAR software will be Windows OS compatible.

• Microsoft Windows is one of the most commonly used operating systems for personal computers [4].

• Executable files of the program can easily be made.

Approach

Voice Recognition Software

Microsoft Speech API (C#)

• Supported by Microsoft OS

• Free Library

• Easy to use

Wireless Technology

What is important to the design:

• Supported by Microsoft OS

• Convenience

• Point to Point Connection

Wireless Technology

NameRange (ft)

Bandwidth (Mbps)

ConveniencePoint to Point Choice

IEEE 802.15.4 [5]

250 0.25 No Yes

Bluetooth [6] 328 1 Yes Yes

Wi-Fi 300 54 Yes No

Wireless Technology

Name Range (ft) Bandwidth (Mbps) Convenience Choice

IEEE 802.15.4 [5] 250 0.25 No

Bluetooth [6] 328 1 Yes

Wi-Fi 300 54 Yes

NameRange (ft)

Bandwidth (Mbps)

ConveniencePoint to Point Choice

IEEE 802.15.4 [5]

250 0.25 No Yes

Bluetooth [6] 328 1 Yes Yes

Wi-Fi 300 54 Yes No

Bluetooth Module

Name Range (ft)

Operating Voltage (V)

Price ($) Choice

BlueSMiRF Gold [7]

350 3.3 – 6 64.95

Roving Networks (RN-41) [8]

330 3.3 59.95

BlueSMiRF Silver [9] 60 3.3 – 6 39.95

Name Range (ft)

Operating Voltage (V)

Price ($) Choice

BlueSMiRF Gold [7]

350 3.3 – 6 64.95

Roving Networks (RN-41) [8]

330 3.3 59.95

BlueSMiRF Silver [9] 60 3.3 – 6 39.95

Bluetooth Module

Need serial interface & general purpose I/O pins

PIC24HJ32GP202 [10]

• Low Cost

• Team Experience

• Supports Library

Microprocessor

[11]

IR Transmitter

High-Output Infrared LED [12] [13]

Progressand

Timeline

Progress: Voice Recognition

“Listen”

Progress: Voice Recognition

“Volume Down”

Progress: Voice Recognition

Voice commands implemented

Progress: IR Receiver

Progress: IR Receiver

38KHzInfrared Receiver

Module

Progress: IR Receiver

4.7 K ohmsResistor

Progress: IR Receiver

LED

Progress: IR Receiver

Progress: IR Receiver

Command                 1st code 2nd codePower on 00000110100010 00001001011101Power off 0000011 0100010 00001001011101Volume up 00000010100010 00001101011101Volume down 00001010100010 00000101011101Channel up 00001000100010 00000111011101Channel down 00000100100010 00001011011101 1 00001000000010 00000111111101 2 00000100000010 00001011111101 3 00001100000010 00000011111101 4 00000010000010 00001101111101 5 00001010000010 00000101111101 6 00000110000010 00001001111101 7 00001110000010 00000001111101 8 00000001000010 00001110111101 9 00001001000010 00000110111101 0 00000101000010 00001010111101

Space-Width encoding

Progress: IR Receiver

Command                 1st code 2nd codePower on 00000110100010 00001001011101Power off 0000011 0100010 00001001011101Volume up 00000010100010 00001101011101Volume down 00001010100010 00000101011101Channel up 00001000100010 00000111011101Channel down 00000100100010 00001011011101 1 00001000000010 00000111111101 2 00000100000010 00001011111101 3 00001100000010 00000011111101 4 00000010000010 00001101111101 5 00001010000010 00000101111101 6 00000110000010 00001001111101 7 00001110000010 00000001111101 8 00000001000010 00001110111101 9 00001001000010 00000110111101 0 00000101000010 00001010111101

Space-Width encoding

Progress: IR Transmitter

High-Output IR LED

Progress: IR Transmitter

Resistors

Progress: IR Transmitter

NPNTransistor

Progress: IR Transmitter

Progress: Breadboard

On/Off Switch

Progress: Breadboard

3.3V Voltage Regulator

Progress: Breadboard

Status LEDs

Progress: Breadboard

BlueSMiRF Silver Bluetooth Receiver

Progress: Breadboard

PIC24HJ32GP202

Progress: Breadboard

IR Transmitter

January February March April

Research

Design

Parts

Coding

Troubleshooting & Debugging

Working Prototype

Timeline

References

[1] (2012, February 18). “Elderly Couple Watching TV,” in fotosearch. [Online]. Available: http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/television-programme.html

[2] F. Hobbs. (2012, January 21). “The Elderly Population,” in U.S. Census Bureau. [Online]. Available: http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/elderpop.html

[3] (2012, January 21). “Sixty-Five Plus in the United States,” in U.S. Census Bureau. [Online]. Available: http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/statbriefs/agebrief.html

[4] (2012, February 18). “Operating System,” in StatCounter Global Stats. [Online]. Available: http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-ww-monthly-201202-201202-bar

[5] (2012, February 18). “Home Networking with Zigbee,” in EE Times. [Online]. Available:http://www.eetimes.com/design/embedded/4006430/Home-networking-with-Zigbee

[6] (2012, February 18). “Bluetooth Range,” in BluetoothRange. [Online]. Available: http://www.bluetoothrange.org/

[7] (2012, February 18 ). “Bluetooth Modem- BlueSMiRF Gold” in Sparkfun Electronics. [Online]. Available:http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10268

[8] (2012, February 18). “Bluetooth Module Breakout-Roving Network,” in Sparkfun Electronics. [Online]. Available: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10559

[9] (2012, February 18). “Bluetooth Modem- BlueSMiRF Silver,” in Sparkfun Electronics. [Online]. Available: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10269

[10 ] (2012, February 20). “PIC24,” in Microchip. [Online]. Available:  http://www.microchip.com/ParamChartSearch/chart.aspx?branchID=8186&mid=14&lang=en&pageId=75

[11] (2012, February 20). “PIC24,” in Ictradent. [Online]. Available:  http://www.ictradenet.com/Vendor/Microchip_Technology/Index18.htm

[12] (2012, February 25). “IR LED,” in Radio Shack. [Online]. Available:  http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062565

[13] (2012, February 25). “Transistor LED Drive Circuit,” in TX-IR Infrared Transmitter. [Online]. Available: https://docs.google.com/a/msstate.edu/viewer

Voice-Activated Television Remote Control (VAR)

Senior Design IMid-Semester Presentation

Questions?