The goal of the project was to just "do something cool" with the Arduino equipment, and the breadboards. The project I worked on with another student ended up as a setup that played the "Happy Birthday Song" with a Piezo buzzer. The next goal was to have the audio play, with lyrics being played on a LCD. The lyrics reads, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Day too you, Happy Birthday dear Bretton, happy Birthday to you!". However, it wasn't actually my birthday when the device was constructed.
Below is an exact clone of the code we programmed the Arduino board with.
if (names[i] == note) { int newduration = duration/SPEE; playTone(tones[i], newduration);
}
} 333333333333 3333333333333333
****9***99*999999999999999999999999999++++++++
}
void setup() {
lcd.begin(16, 2); pinMode(speakerPin, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) { lcd.setCursor(0,0); lcd.print(lyric1[i]); lcd.setCursor(0,1); lcd.print(lyric2[i]);
if (notes[i] == ' ') {
delay(beats[i] * tempo); // rest
} else {
playNote(notes[i], beats[i] * tempo);
} // pause between notes
delay(tempo);
}
}
Below is our circuit diagram. It is a guide used to help rebuild the device if necessary.
Ohms - A measure of resistance through an electronic circuit. (Measured in "Ohms" or "Ω") Ohm's Law - A mathematical equation developed to accurately measure resistance through an electronic circuit. This method has as of yet failed to be disproven. I=VR is the equation, "I" being (amperage), "V" being (voltage), and lastly, "R" being (resistance).
Current - A measure of how much electricity is flowing through a circuit. (Measured in "Amperes" or "Amperage")
Voltage - The measure of the difference in electrical potential energy. (Measured in "Volts")
My group's overall efficiency early in the project was a bit low when it came to brainstorming ideas for our design. I too found it difficult to think of something creative and unique to do as many of our other ideas were being carried out by other students. Many things could have gone better, like our cooperation, my partner was a bit hesitant to some of my initial ideas, but we were able to settle for the one you see above. Some of the things that went well included my group's productivity once our idea was selected and finalized, our focus was narrowed on the goal of the project.
Some pits I noticed in the progression of the project most notably was a difference in mutual background knowledge. I personally have had past experience with coding, however it was another language; Python. The Arduino boards operate in C++. One last pit was in time management. My partner and I underestimated the deadline in which we had to finish these projects. Some peaks definitely included wonderful help from other students in the classroom. They had offered great advice and tips, also warnings of mistakes they had made. These tips came in handy later on. One final peak, our project in the end, in my opinion, turned out awesome! My partner and I had acquired great new skillsets and understanding of the challenges we faced in the design process.