Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2009
Capstone Advisor
Duane Marcy
Honors Reader
Ehat Ercanli
Capstone Major
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Capstone College
Engineering and Computer Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Computer Engineering | Digital Circuits | Other Computer Engineering
Abstract
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this Capstone project was to perform synthesis minimizations and optimal mesh algorithm selection for some of the digital components of a prototype Ultrasonic 3D Camera, the subject of my group senior design project for computer engineering. Both of the high-level design tasks that I performed were unnecessary for the scope of the senior design class, whose focus was simply to perform a proof-of-concept or create a basic, functioning prototype. The steps I took in performing synthesis optimizations and mesh algorithm selection went beyond the scope of the senior project, by doing the polishing that would be most suited for a project that was eventually going to be turned into an actual product.
Design Methodology
Synthesis optimizations were performed using the Altera Quartus II software, available to me as a student of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. With the assistance of the Quartus II sofware, I synthesized the behavioral VHDL code written for the project, and inspected the resulting netlists for places where additional logic was being unnecessarily included. In the places where unnecessary logic was found, I eliminated it, by rewriting behavioral code as structural, or by simply clarifying the definition of components.
Mesh algorithm selection was performed using the Microsoft Visual Studio IDE (Integrated Design Environment) in conjunction with the OGRE 3D graphics engine. Using Visual Studio and OGRE, I was able to experiment with different mesh-forming algorithms and determine which method was best suited for the Camera, given the nature of the incoming data.
Outcome
The VHDL code for the project is now optimized for synthesis, such that if my group were to take steps to have the VHDL code synthesized into a netlist, and then eventually into a mask, and then turned into an actual integrated circuit, that circuit would be almost minimally small, while still performing all its necessary functions. Likewise, the mesh algorithm selected, the naïve method, works perfectly well with the nature of the data that the Camera obtains.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Taylor, "Synthesis Minimizations and Mesh Algorithm Selection: An Extension of the Ultrasonic 3D Camera" (2009). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 457.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/457
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