> TE-2005-000118 (submitted May 2005, revised July 2005) <
A Low-Cost Wireless Platform for First Year,
Interdisciplinary Projects
Jeff Frolik, Member, IEEE and Mike Fortney, Member, IEEE

Abstract— This paper presents a low-cost wireless circuit that is demonstrated to be a simple,
yet flexible platform to support a variety of low-level educational activities.
The circuit,
implemented by many for K-12 outreach activities, is based on a 555-timer and an AM radio
transmitter. At the University of Vermont, this CricketSat circuit has enabled the development of
a wide variety of wireless sensor and actuator projects. Herein, design specifics, circuit utilization
within an interdisciplinary first year design course and assessment results are presented. The
novelty of the approach is twofold. First, the course and projects pertain to the area of wireless
sensor networks.
Second, student groups come up with their own project applications and
problem statements for which to design a system. The key finding is that this platform has
enabled students to take ownership of a concept and bring it to a working reality within the time
constraints of a single semester course.
Index Terms— Engineering education, Systems engineering education, Electrical engineering
education
I. INTRODUCTION
Wireless communications is a ubiquitous and becoming a transparent technology that incoming
college students undoubtedly have first hand experience in using, whether it be with cell phones
or Wi-Fi for their laptops. However, technologies employed in even the most basic modern
systems are typically the subject of graduate level electrical engineering courses.
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exceptions include laboratory-based, wireless and microwave undergraduate courses at the
University of South Florida [1] and Utah State University [2]. However, this does not imply that
working wireless communication systems cannot be developed at a more basic level. Perhaps
many of the readers have had experience building a crystal radio to demonstrate an envelope
detector AM receiver. The work presented herein builds upon this theme that simple systems
can be utilized to demonstrate fundamental concepts and furthermore be used as a platform
upon which student creativity and interdisciplinary teamwork can be developed.
Clearly traditional wireless communication systems (cell phones, television, and radio) lie in the
domain of electrical engineering.
Wireless sensor networks, in contrast, are truly an
interdisciplinary area that builds upon the recent decade’s advances in electrical and mechanical
engineering including wireless communications, low-power embedded systems, MEMS-sensor
design, network architectures and instrumentation applications.
These networks promise a
means by which to better monitor and understand our industrial, military and natural
environments. Wireless sensors networks thus have broad interest and have been recognized as
one of the significant emerging technologies by the National Science Foundation [3, 4] and the
general press [5, 6]. Wireless sensor networks have also served as topics for graduate and
undergraduate courses.
Most courses address the networking aspects and reside in the
computer science or computer engineering curricula [7]. Few have considered applications and
systems [8] and thus the use of wireless sensor systems, presented herein, is a novel theme for
electrical and mechanical engineering education.
This paper presents the results of implementing the so-called CricketSat circuit at the
University of Vermont (UVM) in a cross-listed course for both electrical and computer engineering
(EE) and mechanical engineering (ME) first year students. Discussed are the adaptation of this
basic design to enable a wide variety of applications, the structure of the course in which student
projects are developed, example student designs, and assessment results.
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II. THE CRICKETSAT CIRCUIT
A. Circuit Origins
The CricketSat circuit has its origins in a simple, 555-timer based circuit (Electronic Cricket [9])
that produces clicks at a rate dependent on temperature. In this circuit (Fig. 1), the change of a
thermistor’s resistance (R1) with temperature changes the duration that a pulse at the timer
output (U1- pin 3) is high. Given a fixed low pulse length, the result is a change in pulse period.
This output is connected to either a speaker or LED (D1) resulting in a design that mimics the
chirping of a cricket. In support of the NASA Space Grant "Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly" student
satellite program, a similar circuit was adapted by Stanford University's Space System
Development Laboratory (circa 1999). The resulting CricketSat takes the timer output to drive a
low-cost, 8 mW, 434 MHz AM transmitter chip (U3 -TX433 from QKits [10] or TWS-434a from
Reynolds Electronics [11]). The transmitter output is fed to a simple dipole antenna created
using two quarter wavelength, non-stranded wires. By replacing a capacitor (C1) with a smaller
value, both the pulse on and off times are reduced proportionally, thereby converting the output
from a visual/audible chirp (pulse mode in Hz) to an audible tone (tone mode in kHz).
Fig. 1 CricketSat Wireless Temperature Sensor
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The CricketSat has been utilized by several NASA Space Grant K-12 outreach programs
including those in Alaska, Colorado [12], Louisiana [13], Vermont [14] and Washington [15] and
at the university level in University of Washington’s Access to Space course for non-majors in
earth and space sciences. In these programs, the typical application is to tether a CricketSat to a
balloon for atmospheric measurements of temperature.
Data from these types of programs
demonstrate the thermal profiles of the atmospheric as shown in Fig. 2. This sensor tracks NOAA
predicts through the tropopause (45,000-60,000 ft) but not beyond due to loss of communication
and later due to radiation heating of the black epoxy structure in the upper atmosphere.
Temperature Correlation
100
80
Temperature (F)
60
40
20
0
-20
-40
-60
-80
-100
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
Altitude (Feet)
NOAA
ExtTemp1
ExtTemp2
Fig. 2: Balloon flight data with CricketSat sensor data in comparison with NOAA predicts
B. Evolution of the Design at UVM
In adapting the CricketSat design for educational programs at UVM, there were two main
objectives.
First, the circuit needed to be easy to fabricate and test, robust to common
fabrication errors, while still remaining low cost (~$10). It was important to keep in mind that
those assembling the printed circuit boards (PCB) could be novices and thus the board needed
to withstand less than refined soldering techniques. As such, the PCB (Fig. 3) was designed with
detailed labeling, strain relief for battery and antenna leads, thermal relief and a solder mask. In
addition a fully-illustrated assembly procedure was developed to ensure ease of fabrication and
explanation of operation. Second, the circuit needed to be adaptable to a variety of applications
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beyond temperature sensing. For example, humidity, pressure and solar radiation are all
parameters of interest in the ballooning programs. Thus an enlarged prototype development
area was included on PCB for sensors and/or other components.
Prototype
Development
Area
555
Timer
IC
Timing
Capacitor
5-Volt
Regulator
IC
On/Off
Switch
Dipole
Antenna
9-Volt
Battery
Leads
RF
Transmitter
Module
Test
Points
Thermistor
Flashing
LED
Timing
Resistor
Fig. 3: UVM CricketSat Wireless Temperature Sensor (rev. F, 2005)
To receive data from the CricketSat, one may either utilize an off the shelf receiver (e.g.,
Kenwood THD-7A) or a low-cost, easily fabricated circuit (given in the Appendix). The received
information will be contained either in the pulse period (for pulse mode designs) or in the
frequency of the demodulated tone (for tone mode designs). Regardless, the data is audible and
thus it is easy to verify that a circuit is indeed transmitting. The receiver output can subsequently
be connected to an oscilloscope for accurate measurement of pulse or tone periodicity or simply
to a multimeter capable of measuring frequency (Hz). A system block diagram is provided in Fig.
4.
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Fig. 4. CricketSat wireless sensor and receiver system
C. CricketSat Outreach Activities at UVM
The evolution of the CricketSat board used at UVM (now on Rev. F), was driven by the use of
the circuit in the aforementioned summer high school program. This program, sponsored UVM’s
Hughes Endeavor for Life Science Excellence (HELiX), partners university researchers, high
school teachers and their underrepresented students in a year-long association that begins with
a week-long summer workshop in which students build, launch and analyze data from their own
CricketSat balloon flight. Flights have been tracked to distances of 85 km. From 2003 to 2005,
four teachers and eleven students have participated in this program. One team’s work received
first place in the 2005 Massachusetts state science fair and also shared first place with a second
CricketSat project team at the 2005 UVM HELiX symposium. In short, the CricketSat platform
has been shown by UVM and others to be an effective wireless sensor platform for entry level
atmospheric studies. The goal of this work however is to show that it is also suitable for a wide
variety of other applications.
III. INTEGRATION OF CRICKETSAT PROJECTS INTO A FIRST YEAR DESIGN COURSE
Over the last decade, first year design courses have become nearly ubiquitous in engineering
curriculum as evident by the existence of ASEE’s Freshman Programs Division. These programs
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are seen as critical in developing student appreciation of and skills in problem solving, decision
making, communications and teamwork.
Engineering student experience in working on
interdisciplinary teams is not only desirable from a prospective employer’s view but because this
has been demonstrated to improve student learning [16, 17, 18, 19, 20]. ABET recognizes the
important role of such experience in Criterion 3d: students will demonstrate the ability to work in
interdisciplinary teams [21].
At UVM, the use of the CricketSat as a platform for an interdisciplinary design projects for first
year students was seen as a way to leverage and extend the experience gained during the
HELiX summer programs. Our objective was to enable students to design working systems for
concepts which they themselves conceive. This approach is unique among first year design
courses where typically students are typically given a problem statement to address (e.g., modify
a radio controlled (RC) vehicle to perform a predefined task). As to be detailed shortly, at UVM
students themselves must not only come up with a problem statement, but also justify the
importance of the application before project design activities can begin.
The course, EE/ME 001: First-year Design Experience, is a requirement for both EE and ME
majors and is taken in their second semester [22]. To date the course has been offered twice,
Spring 2004 and 2005, to 61 and 68 students, respectively. To put the CricketSat-based project
in context, the course has both a weekly lecture (single section) and a weekly lab (sections
limited to 20 students). The lecture is similar to other first year seminar courses in that practicing
engineers give talks, etc. However, at UVM, wireless sensor networks serve as the common
theme for the majority of these presentations wherein practicing electrical and mechanical
engineers give talks on topics such as MEMS sensor design, applications for wireless sensor
networks, embedded system design, rapid prototyping, and wireless communications.
The first half of the semester’s lab activities (Table 1 – Column 1) are spent developing basic
skills such as soldering and machine shop use and revisiting skills such as data analysis, CAD
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and teamwork. These initial activities are designed to prepare students for the course project
and are performed in groups randomly assigned by the instructor, thereby allowing students to
work with as many different classmates as possible. Prior to building the CricketSat, students
first breadboard the timing circuit (right side of Fig. 1) and verify that indeed the LED pulse rate is
temperature-dependent. The following week, students fabricate and test the full circuit and then
calibrate it (pulses per minute vs. degree Fahrenheit). Students utilize laptops at each station to
view a PowerPoint based procedure embedded with detailed photos for assembly instructions
along with text and simulation links that describe the functionality of each component.
For testing, the low-cost receiver design described in the Appendix is utilized.
When the
CricketSat is unpowered, the receiver output is noise; when powered, the students hear the
pulsed tones. If their timing circuit is not working and only the carrier is active, students will hear
neither noise nor pulses. As such, the testing of the circuit motivates discussion of amplitude
modulation in context of what has been built.
Table 1. Laboratory Activities
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Activity
Lab kit orientation
ME shop exercise and soldering
Product dissection
Data analysis activity
(Excel/PowerPoint)
E-week design competition
CAD exercise
555-timer bread boarding
Week
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Activity
Basic CricketSat fabrication
Project brainstorming
Project design
Project prototyping and design
review
Project fabrication
Project test and calibration
Project presentations and
demonstration
In Week 9, students self-select teams of 3-4 for their final project (70% prefer this to having
teams assigned).
Teams are asked to conceive of a system that satisfies the following
constraints. First, the system must serve an application where wireless sensing is an enabler.
Second, the system must require modification of their constructed CricketSat or fabrication of a
new circuit. Finally, the system must require the design and fabrication of a mechanical structure
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(e.g., an enclosure for the circuitry). No other direction is provided and the student groups are
sent off to brainstorm and then come back to present their concept.
The remaining six weeks of the semester are spent bringing their project from concept to a
working design.
The first step is for students to clearly enumerate both the electrical and
mechanical constraints that their system must work under. Clearly identifying constraints enables
them to subsequently design a set of specifications for their project and to assign tasks for the
team members. These constraints, specifications and proposed solutions are presented in a
preliminary design review held midway through the project.
Teams then fabricate and test
subsystems, integrate the full design and prepare documentation. The project concludes with a
final presentation, demonstration and an open house where students can view other designs.
IV. RESULTS
A. Example Projects
To date, students have developed 33 CricketSat-based designs (15 in 2004 and 18 in 2005).
Their concepts can be roughly grouped into three categories (1) multiple-parameter wireless
sensors, (2) wireless sensor-actuator systems and (3) ‘other’. The authors wish to clearly note
that students have rarely designed their new circuitry without assistance. Students are primarily
conducting a systems design where electrical and mechanical components must work together.
Thus all teams must clearly specify what their circuitry must accomplish at the systems level.
They are then referred to new or existing designs that meet their needs.
Students first
breadboard their new circuitry. The invariable debugging is used as an opportunity to discuss the
functionality of the circuitry and the use of test equipment. Clearly, each individual project is
going to have unique problems but the key point is that these are problems for which students
have taken ownership through themselves defining the project.
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1) Multiple parameter wireless sensor
As noted, the basic CricketSat circuit is a single parameter (temperature) sensor. A common
student concept is for students to want to send multiple parameters, for example, wind speed
and direction (Fig. 5), wind speed and temperature (for wind-chill), or temperature and humidity
(for heat-index).
Fig. 5: Example dual parameter project: wind speed (top arrow) enabled with a DC motor,
direction (middle arrow) measured using 360º no-stop potentiometer and dual CricketSat
boards (bottom arrow).
Given that all CricketSats broadcast at 434 MHz, students cannot simply build two separate
wireless sensors.
However, students can build one sensor to operate in pulse mode in
conjunction with other designed to operate in tone mode. That is, the output of one CricketSat
can be used to enable the operation of the second CricketSat. One method of accomplishing
this is by taking the first board’s output (U1 – pin 3) and connecting it to the second board (U1 –
pin 7) such that it inhibits the timer oscillation. Specifically, when the output pulse is low the
capacitor (C1) on the second board is held in a discharged state. Thus the measurement of one
parameter would be contained in the periodicity of tone burst while the second parameter
measurement is contained in the tone occurring during the burst. Students calibrate the circuits
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separately and are able to view joint operation using an oscilloscope at the output of a receiver.
In working with students on their designs, common multiple access techniques such as FDMA
and TDMA (frequency and time domain, respectively) are informally introduced as well as other
wireless related concepts (e.g., antennas and modulation/demodulation). Student designs for
more than two parameters have also been developed where the selection between sensors is
accomplished using a power sequencing circuit.
2) Wireless sensor-actuator systems
A second category of systems are those where the wireless sensor triggers circuitry at the
receiver to perform some sort of actuation. Examples include turning on a remote lamp or alarm
when a door is opened (Fig. 6), and turning on a fan when a room’s heat-index is too high. In
each of these cases, minor modifications are required of the CricketSat transmitter (e.g.,
replacing the thermistor with a potentiometer that rotates with beam deflection) but at the receiver
the tone related to the desired event must be decoded. To enable this, the low-cost receiver
circuit presented in the Appendix was adapted to drive a tone decoder module whose output
either drives a latched or non-latched output device (e.g., relay for switching 120V AC for a
lamp).
Fig. 6: Wireless alarm system with wireless door sensor (left) and portable receiver (right).
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3) Other
Several of our student concepts have not fallen into either of the above categories but further
demonstrate the flexibility of the CricketSat platform. Wireless-enabled projects have included a
musical synthesizer, a harmful sound-level measurement system (Fig. 7), a parking lot car
counting system, a snow load warning system, a speedometer for a skateboard, and a strain
gauge measurement system for mountain bike frames. In more ambitious designs, students
have programmed their own microcontroller or LabView application to process the received
signal.
Fig. 7: Wireless harmful sound-level detector (note custom PCB board designed by
students and enclosure clips for battery and board)
B. Mechanical aspect to projects
Perhaps a scenario unique to UVM, there are approximately twice as many ME majors as EE
majors. As such, many of the teams formed had no EE students on them. However, this is not
viewed as a shortcoming since our goal is to have all students work both on mechanical and
electrical aspects of the project. To further engage students who have declared a ME major, a
component of the project is to design a mechanical structure and/or enclosure that interfaces
with the circuitry. To accomplish this, students either worked in the machine shop or fabricated
their systems using a Dimension 3-D printer. This rapid prototype machine enables students to
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create custom working parts out of ABS from their 3-D CAD (e.g., Solid Works) files. ABS is an
ideal material for these project enclosures (as shown in Figs. 5-7) in that it is durable and can be
painted and machined.
C. Assessment
1) Project assessment criteria
The project is one of four equally-weighted components for the overall course grade. The other
three components are lecture attendance, quizzes on lecture material, and lab assignment
scores. The project itself is assessed on multiple criteria as presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Project Assessment Criteria (2005)
Criteria
Weight
Mean
Score
85.2
86.7
82.8
Standard
Deviation
5.7
10.5
27.0*
Oral Presentations
28.5%
Written Portfolio
28.5%
Peer Evaluation of
14.5%
Participation
Project Quality
28.5%
85.1
10.7
*students not submitting evaluations received zero credit in this
category, hence the large standard deviation.
First, the three oral presentations conducted by the groups (brainstorming concept, design
review, final presentation) are evaluated using input from the instructor, TAs and all students in
the lab section. A final component of the oral presentation grade was participation in an open
house where projects from all lab sections are displayed and discussed.
Second, students
create a six-section written portfolio consisting of a title page, problem statement, design
constraints with decision matrix, design operation with block diagram, schematics/mechanical
drawings/bill of materials, and test procedure/calibration results. After the first week of the
project, students submit the first two sections and each subsequent week they update earlier
sections based on instructor comments and added the next section. As such, all but one of the
portfolio sections go through at least one revision by the final submittal. Third, students are
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required to submit weekly peer evaluations of the group collaboration, rating themselves and
their teammates on score of 1 (no participation) to 4 (active and reliable). Fourth, overall project
quality in terms of completeness of both electrical and mechanical design is assessed by the
instructor and the TAs, all of whom work closely with the teams. Each team is assigned a base
quality score of 80% and those teams whose performance is superior receive additional points;
those whose systems are non-functional have points deducted. In 2005, 17 of the 18 projects
were presented in working order.
2) Project evaluation by students
Through an online survey, students were asked the open-end questions as to what was the
best part of the course project. In 2005, the majority of the students (62%) responded to the
effect of “coming up with their own concept and making it a working design.” This result bolsters
our approach of having students pose and justify the problems themselves. Other common
responses were working in teams (10%), and utilizing rapid prototyping technology (10%). Many
of the MEs noted the course as being too electrical and this also was reflected in the responses
for the worst part of the project (33%).
Students also felt more time was needed to complete
their projects (30%). Paying for extra parts (8%), written portfolio and oral presentations (10%)
and coordinating teams (7%) were also seen as being the worst part of the project.
Aside from the online course surveys, students were asked as a group to reflect on the lessons
learned through conducting this project. Most groups noted that the biggest lesson learned was
that good communications are needed to have a successful collaboration. These sentiments can
be summarized in the following student response.
While working on this project we learned that to work with a team everyone needs to be
coordinated to complete the project. Both the electrical and physical components need to be
planned out together so that they work/fit together when the prototype is created. Lack of
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planning will result in wasted time and money.
3) Student assessment of course
In terms of the course as a whole, survey data have been taken in which the key results are
reported below.
Table 3. Key Results from Course Surveys
Survey Question
ME major
EE major
Students having a good idea after taking the
course of what engineering entails and what
practicing engineers do
Students more or much more enthused
about their choice of studying engineering
after taking the course
Course was too electrical in focus
Were wireless sensors a good choice for an
interdisciplinary theme?
Do you plan to pursue an engineering major
in your sophomore year?
SP 2004
~50%
~23%
36%
(an additional 52%
already had a good
idea)
56%
(20% less enthused,
24% same level)
67% (ME
respondents)
25% (EE
respondents)
53% Yes
9% No
38% Neutral
84% Yes
SP 2005
66%
21%
51%
(an additional 44%
already had a good
idea)
70%
(10% less enthused,
20% same level)
70% (ME
respondents)
14% (EE
respondents)
70% Yes
10% No
20% Neutral
90% Yes
In addition, in 2005, 89% of the students rated the overall course experience as a Good (45%)
or Excellent (45%).
Clearly, further improvement is need on what is perceived to be a too
electrically oriented course.
To address this shortcoming students have suggested radio
controlled (RC) vehicles as a platform and this is a theme utilized at other universities. However,
the authors view the strength of the CricketSat platform is that it is a system enabler not a system
definer. For example, students have already put CricketSats on a RC vehicle for a temperature
mapping application. To address the needs of ME students, more mechanical activities (e.g.,
rapid prototyping) will be conducted earlier in the semester so that students have an enhance
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skill set come project time.
Prior to this design-based course, UVM’s introduction to engineering class was a seminar
course. From 2001-2003, engineering freshman retention at UVM was less than 60%. While
long term retention data is not yet available, the vast majority of students taking this course in
2004 and 2005 intend at a significantly higher rate to pursue engineering after their first year.
Furthermore, in comparison to prior years, current second year students are displaying more
confidence and proficiency in building, testing and analyzing circuits in their laboratory courses.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Herein, utilization of a low-cost, wireless sensor circuit in a cross-listed design course for EE
and ME first year students was presented. This circuit has enabled interdisciplinary projects
most appreciated by the fact that students were able to take their own concept and bring it to
reality. In order for the course to be sustainable at UVM and to enable broader dissemination, an
online library has been developed (www.uvm.edu/~cricksat).
Here one will find schematics,
board layout files, parts lists, auxiliary circuit designs and more details in regards to the
CricketSat related activities at UVM.
APPENDICES
A. Bill of Materials for CricketSat
Table A1. Bill of Materials for UVM CricketSat (Fig. 3)
Item # Ref #
Part Description
Additional Information
Dimpled end to center of
board
2
$0.40
Orient same as outline on
board
2
$0.56
1*
$4.50
Positive lead is longer
2
$0.20
Black band is negative (-)
2
$0.06
1
U1
555 Timer Integrated Circuit (IC)
2
U2
5-Volt Regulator IC
3
U3
Radio Transmitter Module
Metal can towards antenna
4
D1
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
5
D2
Protection Diode (1N4148)
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6
R1
10k Ohm Thermistor
Temperature sensitive
resistor
2
$0.80
7
R2
3.3k Ohm Resistor, 1/4W, 5%
Orange-Orange-Red-Gold
2
$0.04
8
R3
680 Ohm Resistor, 1/4W, 5%
Blue-Gray-Brown-Gold
2
$0.04
9
R4
100 Ohm Resistor, 1/4W, 5%
Brown-Black-Brown-Gold
2
$0.04
10
C1C3
47 Micro-Farad Electrolytic
Capacitor
Positive lead is longer
6
$0.24
11
C4C6
0.1 Micro-Farad Capacitor
Non-polarized
6
$0.36
12
B1
9-Volt Battery
Smooth: +
Knurled: -
2
$1.84
13
9-Volt Snap Connector
Red Wire: +
Black Wire: -
2
$0.76
14
Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
Component side is lettered
2
$4.86
15
7-inch Antenna Wires
2*
$0.45
16
8-pin DIP IC Socket
2
$0.12
*
Only one transmitter and antenna set
provided
Two-Kit Volume Discount Price $15.27
B. CricketSat Receiver Design and Bill of Materials
Table A1. Bill of Materials for low-cost 433 MHz receiver (Fig. A1)
Item #
Ref #
Part Description
1
U1
TL75L05 5-Volt Regulator
2
U2
434 MHz Receiver Module
3
U3
LM386 Operational Amplifier
4
D1
1N5818 Diode
5
D2, D3
Red Light Emitting Diode (LED)
6
R1, R2
470 Ohm Resistor
7
R3
180K Ohm Resistor
8
R4
10K Ohm Potentiometer
9
R5
10 Ohm Resistor
10
C1, C3, C4, C5 0.1 Micro Farad Capacitor
11
C2
10 Micro Farad Capacitor
12
C6
220 Micro Farad Capacitor
13
J1
External DC Power Jack
14
J2
Headphone/Meter Jack
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15
S1
Power Switch
16
B1
9-Volt Battery
17
434 MHz Whip Antenna
18
9-Volt Battery Snap
Figure A1. Low-cost 433 MHz receiver for CricketSat projects
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at UVM for grant
funds to initiate the First Year Design Experience course, Hughes Endeavor for Life Science
Excellence (HELiX) program at UVM for sponsorship of K-12 summer programs, and Vermont
NSF-EPSCoR grant EPS0236976 for funding the co-author.
REFERENCES
[1] Weller, T., Flikkema, P., Dunleavy, L., Gordon, H., and Henning, R., “Educating tomorrow’s RF/microwave
engineer: A new undergraduate laboratory uniting circuit and system concepts,” IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp.,
Baltimore, MD, June 1998.
[2] Furse, C., Woodward, R., and Jensen, M., “Laboratory project in wireless FSK receiver design,” IEEE Trans.
Ed., Vol. 47, No. 1, February 2004, pp. 18-25.
[3] National Science Foundation, Program Solicitation: Sensor and Sensor Networks (NSF 04-522).
[4] National Science Foundation, Program Solicitation: Networks of Sensor Systems (NSF 05-505).
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