Week 14
System Integration
Week Highlights
Final project integration week focused on bringing together all subsystems into a cohesive MirrorAge system, completing documentation, and preparing for final presentation.
Table of Contents
Project Overview
Development
Documentation
Week 14 System Integration
Final integration week focused on bringing all subsystems together, completing hardware fabrication, firmware integration, and documentation for the MirrorAge system presentation.
Week 14 Day-by-Day System Integration Plan
Theme of the Week
The act of bringing something to a conclusion or ending in a decisive manner. The ability to efficiently finish tasks and projects with a goal-oriented mindset.
Wednesday
- Publish system integration plan on website
- Update weekly assignment sections on final project page (weeks 10-13)
- Link final project design files
- Update reflections and learnings
- Update picture of prism holder
- Add final pictures to Slack canvases
- Create schematic between boards (wired and wireless) — updated system diagram on PPT-like page
- Start CAD model of system
- Place final order
- Boards: Combine OLED screen/accelerometer with pulse oximeter board in a new board (maybe upgrade to small TFT as minor)
- Boards: Speaker board with realtime amplifier and TFT (on the load cell fixed board)
- Band: Mold design
- Cases: 3D print mountable cases for the boards
- Integrate designs into final CAD
- Document design
- Finish CAD model of system
Thursday
- Milling boards
- Print mold and cast band
- Print cases
- Solder components on milled boards
- Connect boards with wired (and wireless connection codes)
- Mirror on screen (easy way with the film)
- Document fabrication
Friday
- Board level codes
- Server level codes
- Document codes
- Finish anything else
Saturday
- Demo integrated system
- Test integrated system
- Document testing and evaluation
- Review and complete documentation (list of questions)
- Make the video by collaging documentation
Sunday
- Fill up any gaps
- Prepare demo on tensegrity table
- Finalize 1-slide
- Work on minors
- If done, work on if there's time
Monday Morning
- Transport demo on tensegrity table
- Fill up any gaps
- Work on minors
Specific Tasks to Complete This Week
- CAD model of system
- Speaker board with realtime amplifier
- Combine screen/accelerometer with pulse oximeter board in a new board
- Mold and cast band
- Design and fabricate casing (print)
- Schematic between boards (wired and wireless) — updated system diagram on PPT-like page
- Serial connection between pulse oximeter and tiny blinking heart for BPM (BPM from IR, SpO2 from delta)
- Combine multiple boards on the same WiFi (switching tabs is easy way, board hosting the webpage querying and update or Python-based server somewhere where everything posting data, Raspberry Pi)
- Put+program everything together according to the above (with WiFi for now)
- Mirror on screen (easy way with the film)
- Document evaluations and costs (plus the rest of the list here: project presentation requirements)
- Summary slide and one-minute video for documentation
- Conception
- Construction
- Operation
- Program microphone/speaker
- Fix reaction time delay code
- Program LoRa connection
- Fix OLED plus WiFi issue
- Upgrade to TFT (SPI is very straightforward, design board with either SPI or OLED connection)
- Fix heart engraving to center
- Engrave K9 glass mirror if it arrives
- RD and IRD isolation slit (maybe wick and then cut)
- Do the calibration curve for the load cell
- Finish cardboard laser cutter origami big mirror frame
- Moving base of mirror
- Raspberry Pi Zero (or server host, do some research)
- Aim for 2.5 minutes because Neil will ask questions
- Generally no slides except for 1 open summary slide (have backup slides in case questions come up!)
Related: See the Development Timeline on the final project page for the overall project schedule.
Day 1: Design Integration
Initial system integration work focused on subsystem validation, CAD model consolidation, and design backbone acquisition for band integration.
Subsystem Validation
Conducted comprehensive testing of all subsystems to ensure proper functionality. Identified and resoldered any defective joints, verifying that each subsystem operates correctly before proceeding with full system integration.
CAD Model Consolidation
Exported CAD models of all PCBs in the final design and imported them into a unified CAD assembly. This consolidated model provides a complete view of the system's mechanical integration and spatial relationships.
Band Design Backbone
Acquired CAD design files for Apple Watch form factor integration, enabling compatibility with existing band designs and standardized watch components. This provides a proven mechanical foundation for the wearable subsystem.
Next Steps
Resuming the daily schedule tomorrow with parallel work streams prioritized according to the critical path. Tasks that cannot be completed during scheduled days will be shifted to buffer days on Saturday and Sunday to maintain project momentum.
Critical Path Analysis
Project management view of the integration schedule, showing task dependencies, critical milestones, and current progress status.
Critical Path Tasks
- CAD model consolidation and system integration design
- PCB design: combine OLED/accelerometer with pulse oximeter
- PCB design: speaker board with realtime amplifier and TFT
- Band mold design
- 3D printable cases for board mounting
- System schematic documentation (wired and wireless)
- Website documentation updates
- PCB milling and component soldering
- Band mold printing and casting
- 3D printing of board cases
- Mirror film application to screen
- Board-level firmware integration
- WiFi network coordination between boards
- Server-level code development
- Serial communication: pulse oximeter to heart display (BPM/SpO2)
- System wiring and wireless connection setup
- Integrated system testing and validation
- System evaluation and cost documentation
- One-minute video production (conception, construction, operation)
- Summary slide preparation
- Final documentation review and completion
Current Status
Subsystem testing and validation, CAD model consolidation, design backbone acquisition for band integration
PCB design consolidation, system schematic documentation, website updates
PCB fabrication, band molding, firmware integration, system testing, final documentation
Buffer Days (Saturday & Sunday)
Tasks that cannot be completed during scheduled weekdays will be shifted to Saturday and Sunday buffer days. This ensures the critical path remains on schedule while allowing flexibility for unexpected delays or additional refinement work.
Data Integration Methods to Spirally Develop
Progressive development approach for integrating sensor data streams from multiple subsystems, starting with simple serial communication and evolving to wireless network-based architectures.
Method 1: Serial Communication (Easiest)
Direct serial communication through USB cable from computer to microcontroller, using PySerial to stream data. This provides the simplest initial integration path for rapid prototyping and debugging.
- USB cable connection from computer to ESP32-S3 microcontroller
- PySerial library for Python-based data streaming
- Arduino Serial functions for microcontroller-side communication
Method 2: WiFi Client Architecture (Second Easiest)
Configure all microcontrollers as WiFi clients that stream data to a flash web server. This enables wireless communication while maintaining a centralized data aggregation point.
- All ESP32-S3 boards configured as WiFi clients on the same network
- Central web server (initially laptop-hosted) receives data streams
- WiFiClient::write() functions for data transmission
Method 3: MQTT Protocol (Advanced)
Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) provides a lightweight, publish-subscribe messaging protocol ideal for IoT device communication. This approach enables decentralized data exchange between all MirrorAge subsystems, allowing each board to publish sensor data and subscribe to relevant topics for coordinated system behavior.
Initial development and testing will use a laptop-hosted MQTT broker. In a later development spiral, the server will be migrated to a dedicated Raspberry Pi Zero or Raspberry Pi 5 for standalone operation and improved system portability. Paho MQTT library has been successfully tested for ESP32-S3 implementation.
Resources and Documentation
Integration Strategy
Each subsystem board (pulse oximeter, OLED/accelerometer, speaker/amplifier, load cell) will publish sensor data to dedicated MQTT topics. A central interface or server component will subscribe to these topics, aggregate the data, and coordinate system-wide responses. This architecture enables:
- Decoupled communication between subsystems
- Real-time data streaming from multiple sensors
- Scalable architecture for adding new sensor modules
- Flexible server deployment (laptop → Raspberry Pi migration path)
Reflections & Learnings
Reflections and key learnings from the final project integration week.
Key Points
- System integration requires careful coordination of mechanical, electrical, and software subsystems
- Comprehensive planning and day-by-day scheduling are essential for managing complex integration tasks
- Modular design enables incremental testing and validation of individual components before full system assembly
- Documentation throughout the integration process supports debugging and future improvements
- Final integration week demands focus, organization, and the ability to adapt to unexpected challenges
Contributions
Acknowledgments for contributions and collaborations during the final project week.
Ethical AI Use
Documentation of AI-assisted tasks and tools used during the final project integration week.
📋 General Guidelines: See General Commands for Cursor on the homepage for standard guidelines and commands used consistently throughout documentation development.
Cursor · Project Plan & Weekly Schedule
Comprehensive Cursor AI assistance for outlining the project plan and weekly schedule, including documentation structure, content organization, systematic updates across all week pages and the final project page, media integration, and summary generation workflows.
