Cursor AI assisted with updating the Week 11 recitation notes section with comprehensive system integration content, including usability principles, failure modes, testing strategies, and assignment details.
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update 'Recitation Notes' in week 11 with a refined version of these notes with a link to the Slack message https://mit-htmaa.slack.com/archives/C09AAU3RY9H/p1763679791771779
week11 recitation how to integrate (almost) any system
plugin for KiCad FabLib (couldn’t catch the /kicad-fablib gitlab link)
visit fablab.aalto.fi
system disintegration
how systems fail
design
PCs vs Macs (box vs designed products)
how to design (almost) anything class
user experience
how to make (almost) anything usable
Dr. Jan Borchers’s session
hci.rwth-aachen.de/fabusability
computer science, design, psychology
usability
designing stuff that works great for people
project
startup
fabfame
outline — paying attention to your user pays off
golden rules
simplicity — keep it simple, avoid feature creep,
user — people look at price tag and number of bullets on feature list
task — reduce complexity of the system to fit the task
context — take into account context
visibility and feedback — immediately see how many options and how to get to them
current state
available features
how to access
gestalt laws
how do we perceive units/groups?
distance/proximity
shapes
similarity
natural mapping
physical arrangement with physical movement e.g. up and down as top and bottom buttons, a slider, rotational dials
additive dimensions, e.g. power, heat, light, water level, volume level
haptic feedback (operate without looking) e.g. car safety while driving physical buttons versus touch screen
user’s language
avoid modes
principle of least surprise
dialogue, not monologue
tolerate errors
constructive feedback
visual design
nice color schemes e.g. color.adobe.com
process tips
design is iterative and agile
observe and ask first, then start solving
design: search the solution space
prototype: implementations for feedback
analyze: observe and ask constructive interaction
analyze: retrospective testing
iterate to expand and focus solution
design thinking
literature e.g. the design of everyday things (intro to human computer interaction)
hci.rwth-aachen.de/fabusability
packaging
route wiring appropriately and mount circuit boards in a box, don’t just throw them in! e.g. gianfranco paluto on fab academy
mechanism alignment and surface finish
testing
prevent defects (QA) and detect defects (QC) — shake and drop, power cycling, environmental testing, random inputs
failure modes — details and links on class system integration page for today’s recitation: https://academy.cba.mit.edu/classes/system_integration/index.html
mechanical
static vs dynamic failure! e.g. tacoma narrows bridge
wiring
ground mecca necessary where all grounds meet, can’t just daisy chain power and ground otherwise devices get different grounds
components
power
robust against wrong connections
software
buffer overflow is a serious vulnerability
security through obscurity
scaling
O(?)
phase transitions in complexity
manufacturing
collaboration
fail fast!!!
feed-forward vs feedback development
murphy’s law (rocket test engineer) — anything that can go wrong, will go wrong means you have to anticipate how it’ll fail and prevent
repair
drop/shake
modularity — debug module at a time
widlarize — bob widlar, smash it with a hammer (as a broken system)
lifecycle
right to repair
disassembly
end-of-life
assignment: design and document the system integration for your final project
what are the modules? hardware and software
CAD for how everything comes together
architecture for modularity for how all hardware coming together
architecture for how all software comes together
good example system integration assignment: https://archive.fabacademy.org/archives/2016/fablabtorino/students/440/project/P02/B2/electronics.html
AssistantUnknown
Reviewing week11.html to locate the "Recitation Notes" section.
Updating the "Recitation Notes" section with the refined notes and a link to the Slack message.
This week focuses on connecting devices through wired and wireless networks. We'll explore communication protocols, network addressing, and how to build networked systems with local input and output devices.
Understanding wired and wireless communication protocols
Learning network addressing and bus architectures
Implementing networked nodes with input and output devices
This Week's Goals
Network Protocols Learn about ESP-NOW, Wi-Fi, I²C, SPI, UART, and other communication protocols
Network Addressing Understand MAC addresses, IP addresses, and bus addressing schemes
Networked Systems Design, build, and connect wired or wireless nodes with local I/O devices
Assignments
Group Assignment Send a message between two projects
Individual Assignment Design, build, and connect wired or wireless node(s) with network or bus addresses and local input &/or output device(s)
Tools & Materials
ESP32-S3 Microcontroller Boards
Wi-Fi Access Point
OLED Displays (SSD1306)
Camera Modules
Touch Sensors
Training Documentation
Training materials and documentation for networking and communications protocols.
Recitation Notes: How to Integrate (Almost) Any System
Understanding failure modes is critical for robust system design. See the class system integration page for detailed failure mode documentation and links.
Design: PCs vs Macs (Box vs Designed Products)
The contrast between functional boxes (PCs) and designed products (Macs) illustrates the importance of user experience design. This connects to "How to Design (Almost) Anything" and "How to Make (Almost) Anything Usable" classes.
Dr. Jan Borchers's Session: Usability
hci.rwth-aachen.de/fabusability — Computer science, design, and psychology intersect in usability research. Usability focuses on designing systems that work great for people, whether in projects, startups, or products like FabFame.
Golden Rules of Usability
Simplicity — Keep it simple, avoid feature creep. Consider user (price tag and feature list), task (reduce complexity to fit the task), and context.
Visibility and Feedback — Immediately see current state, available features, and how to access them.
Gestalt Laws — How we perceive units/groups through distance/proximity, shapes, and similarity.
Natural Mapping — Physical arrangement matches physical movement (e.g., up/down buttons, sliders, rotational dials). Additive dimensions (power, heat, light, water level, volume). Haptic feedback enables operation without looking (e.g., car safety: physical buttons vs touch screen).
User's Language — Use terminology familiar to users.
Avoid Modes — Prevent mode confusion.
Principle of Least Surprise — Systems should behave as users expect.
Dialogue, Not Monologue — Interactive, responsive systems.
Tolerate Errors — Provide constructive feedback and error recovery.
Visual Design — Use nice color schemes (e.g., color.adobe.com).
Process Tips
Design is iterative and agile
Observe and ask first, then start solving
Design: Search the solution space
Prototype: Implementations for feedback
Analyze: Observe and ask for constructive interaction
Analyze: Retrospective testing
Iterate to expand and focus solution
Literature: The Design of Everyday Things (intro to human computer interaction). See hci.rwth-aachen.de/fabusability for more resources.
Packaging
Route wiring appropriately and mount circuit boards in a box—don't just throw them in! See examples from Gianfranco Paluto on Fab Academy. Consider mechanism alignment and surface finish.
Testing
Prevent defects (QA) and detect defects (QC). Methods include shake and drop tests, power cycling, environmental testing, and random inputs.
Mechanical — Static vs dynamic failure (e.g., Tacoma Narrows Bridge)
Wiring — Ground mecca necessary where all grounds meet. Can't just daisy chain power and ground; otherwise devices get different grounds.
Components — Component-level failures
Power — Robust against wrong connections
Software — Buffer overflow is a serious vulnerability. Security through obscurity is insufficient.
Scaling — O(?) complexity, phase transitions in complexity
Manufacturing — Production-related failures
Collaboration — Team and communication failures
Fail Fast!!! — Feed-forward vs feedback development. Murphy's Law (rocket test engineer): "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." This means you have to anticipate how it'll fail and prevent it.
Repair
Drop/Shake — Test robustness
Modularity — Debug module at a time
Widlarize — Bob Widlar's approach: smash it with a hammer (as a broken system) to understand failure modes
Lifecycle
Right to Repair — Design for repairability
Disassembly — Consider how systems come apart
End-of-Life — Plan for system retirement and recycling
Assignment: System Integration for Final Project
Design and document the system integration for your final project:
What are the modules? (Hardware and software)
CAD for how everything comes together
Architecture for modularity: how all hardware comes together
Networking and communications enable devices to exchange data through wired and wireless connections. Understanding different protocols helps select the right communication method for each application.
Wired Communication
UART/USART — Asynchronous serial communication (RS-232, RS-422, RS-485)
I²C/TWI — Two-wire interface with SCL/SDA, requires pull-up resistors
SPI — Serial Peripheral Interface with MISO/MOSI/CS/SCK lines
USB — Universal Serial Bus for device communication
Ethernet — Wired network communication
Wireless Communication
ESP-NOW — Low-power peer-to-peer communication for ESP32 devices
Design, build, and connect wired or wireless node(s) with network or bus addresses and local input &/or output device(s). This assignment demonstrates two networked systems: an ESP-NOW multiplayer game and a Wi-Fi camera streaming system with edge AI processing.
Networked System 1: CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong (ESP-NOW)
A collaborative multiplayer game featuring geometric shape interactions, synchronized gameplay between two ESP32-S3 devices using ESP-NOW wireless communication. The system uses MAC address-based player identification and real-time state synchronization for coordinated gameplay. See Week 2 documentation and design files for complete details.
Design & Build
The system consists of two XIAO ESP32-S3 development boards, each with an SSD1306 OLED display (128x64) and capacitive touch sensors. The boards communicate wirelessly using ESP-NOW protocol, enabling low-latency peer-to-peer communication without requiring a Wi-Fi access point.
Network Type & Protocol
Network Type: Wireless peer-to-peer (ESP-NOW) Protocol: ESP-NOW (Espressif's proprietary low-power wireless communication protocol) Addressing Scheme: MAC address-based device identification
Input & Output Devices
Input Devices: Capacitive touch sensors (6 touch pads per device) for player controls (left, right, jump)
Output Devices: SSD1306 OLED display (128x64, I²C address 0x3C) for game rendering and player state visualization
Shape Song Swing Along educational content integration and gameplay
Circle and square shape interaction gameplay mechanics
Connections
Each ESP32-S3 board connects to an OLED display via I²C (SDA pin 5, SCL pin 6) and reads touch sensor inputs from GPIO pins. The ESP-NOW communication is handled entirely through the ESP32-S3's built-in Wi-Fi radio, requiring no external hardware connections.
Networked System 2: Camera Livestream & Edge AI (Wi-Fi)
A Wi-Fi-enabled camera system using ESP32-S3's built-in camera and HTTP server capabilities to stream JPEG frames over Wi-Fi using MJPEG (Motion JPEG) protocol. The system also includes edge AI face detection using a FOMO (Faster Objects, More Objects) model from Edge Impulse for real-time person tracking. See Week 10 documentation and design files for complete details.
Design & Build
The system uses a XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense development board with an integrated camera module. The camera captures frames at QQVGA (160x120) or QVGA resolution, processes them through an Edge AI inference pipeline, and streams the results over Wi-Fi via HTTP multipart response. The system can also display camera output and inference results on an OLED display connected via I²C.
Network Type & Protocol
Network Type: Wireless local area network (Wi-Fi) Protocol: HTTP over Wi-Fi (802.11), MJPEG streaming Addressing Scheme: IP address (DHCP-assigned) and MAC address (hardware identifier)
Input & Output Devices
Input Devices: Camera module (integrated on XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense) for image capture, button for capture trigger
Output Devices: OLED display (SSD1306, 128x64, I²C address 0x3C) for displaying camera frames and inference results, Wi-Fi HTTP server for remote streaming
Wi-Fi livestream interfaceCamera feed accessible over Wi-Fi for remote monitoring and control during operation.
Wi-Fi livestream testInitial Wi-Fi livestream test demonstrating remote camera access and feed quality.MIT Wi-Fi livestreamLivestream working on MIT network, confirming network compatibility and stability.Edge AI face detectionReal-time face detection running on-device using edge AI models for person tracking and interaction.
Connections
The camera module is integrated directly on the XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense board, connected via parallel data bus (Y2-Y9), control signals (XCLK, PCLK, VSYNC, HREF), and I²C interface (SIOD, SIOC). The OLED display connects via I²C (SDA pin 5, SCL pin 6) with pull-up resistors. Wi-Fi connection is established through the ESP32-S3's built-in Wi-Fi radio.
Download Design Files
camera_stream.zip — Complete camera stream project (includes .ino and .h files)
Complete network addressing information for all connected devices, including MAC addresses (hardware identifiers) and IP addresses (network identifiers) for Wi-Fi-connected devices.
ESP-NOW Network (CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong)
Device
Component
MAC Address
Network Type
Input Device
Output Device
Player 1
XIAO ESP32-S3
D8:3B:DA:75:05:AC
ESP-NOW (P2P)
Touch sensors (6 pads)
OLED (SSD1306, 0x3C)
Player 2
XIAO ESP32-S3
D8:3B:DA:75:E1:9C
ESP-NOW (P2P)
Touch sensors (6 pads)
OLED (SSD1306, 0x3C)
Wi-Fi Network (Camera Livestream System)
Device
Component
MAC Address
IP Address
Network Type
Input Device
Output Device
Camera Node
XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense
[Device MAC]
192.168.x.x (DHCP)
Wi-Fi (802.11)
Camera module, Button
OLED (SSD1306, 0x3C), HTTP Server
Client Device
Web Browser
[Client MAC]
192.168.x.x (DHCP)
Wi-Fi (802.11)
N/A
Display (receives MJPEG stream)
Note: MAC addresses are hardware identifiers unique to each ESP32-S3 device. IP addresses are assigned dynamically via DHCP when connecting to a Wi-Fi network. For ESP-NOW communication, only MAC addresses are used (no IP addresses required). The camera system's IP address is printed to the Serial Monitor upon Wi-Fi connection establishment.
Group Assignment: Send a Message Between Two Projects
Send a message between two projects. This assignment demonstrates inter-project communication using wired or wireless networking protocols.
Assignment Description
Send a message between two projects. This assignment demonstrates inter-project communication using wired or wireless networking protocols. The CircleSquareCamera Augmented Reality system extends the ESP-NOW multiplayer game from Week 2 by integrating camera boards that receive game state updates and overlay player positions on live camera feeds.
An augmented reality system that combines the ESP-NOW multiplayer game CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong (documented in Week 2 and Week 11 individual assignment) with camera subsystems from the final project. The system enables game boards to send player state updates via ESP-NOW to camera boards, which overlay game characters (square and circle) on live camera feeds displayed on OLED screens. Camera code development spans Week 7, Week 8, Final Project, and Week 12 (placeholder link).
CircleSquareCamera AR demonstrationCamera boards receive ESP-NOW packets from game boards and overlay player positions (square and circle) on live camera feeds using Floyd–Steinberg dithering for OLED display.
Magic School Bus quoteSpecial thanks to Quentin for this quote featured on the back of the HTMAA XIAO board. Source
Development Note: Initial implementation attempted to send camera data from camera boards to game boards. After two hours of troubleshooting communication issues, the architecture was reversed: the final system sends game state packets from game boards to camera boards via ESP-NOW. This approach proved more efficient for real-time AR overlay visualization, as game state is lightweight compared to camera frame data.
Design & Build
The system consists of two networked subsystems: game boards (XIAO ESP32-S3 with touch sensors and OLED displays) and camera boards (XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense with integrated cameras and OLED displays). Game boards run the CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong multiplayer game, processing touch input, updating player physics, and broadcasting player state packets via ESP-NOW to both the other game board and all camera boards. Camera boards receive these packets, capture camera frames, process them through Floyd–Steinberg dithering for OLED display, and overlay game character positions (square for Player 1, circle for Player 2) on the live feed.
Network Type & Protocol
Network Type: Wireless peer-to-peer (ESP-NOW) Protocol: ESP-NOW (Espressif's proprietary low-power wireless communication protocol) Addressing Scheme: MAC address-based device identification for game boards and camera boards Communication Pattern: One-to-many broadcast from game boards to peer game board and all camera boards
Input & Output Devices
Game Boards:
Input: Capacitive touch sensors (6 touch pads per device) for player controls (left, right, jump)
Output: SSD1306 OLED display (128x64, I²C address 0x3C) for game rendering
Camera Boards:
Input: Camera module (integrated on XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense) for image capture, ESP-NOW packets for game state
Output: SSD1306 OLED display (128x64, I²C address 0x3C) for displaying dithered camera feed with AR overlay
Connections
Game Boards: Each ESP32-S3 board connects to an OLED display via I²C (SDA pin 5, SCL pin 6) and reads touch sensor inputs from GPIO pins. ESP-NOW communication is handled through the ESP32-S3's built-in Wi-Fi radio, requiring no external hardware connections.
Camera Boards: The camera module is integrated directly on the XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense board, connected via parallel data bus (Y2-Y9), control signals (XCLK, PCLK, VSYNC, HREF), and I²C interface (SIOD, SIOC). The OLED display connects via I²C (SDA pin 5, SCL pin 6) with pull-up resistors. ESP-NOW reception uses the ESP32-S3's built-in Wi-Fi radio in receive-only mode.
Network Address Tables
Complete network addressing information for all devices in the CircleSquareCamera AR system, including MAC addresses (hardware identifiers) for ESP-NOW communication.
ESP-NOW Network (CircleSquareCamera AR System)
Device
Component
MAC Address
Network Type
Input Device
Output Device
P1
XIAO ESP32-S3
D8:3B:DA:75:05:AC
ESP-NOW (P2P)
Touch sensors (6 pads)
OLED (SSD1306, 0x3C)
P2
XIAO ESP32-S3
D8:3B:DA:75:E1:9C
ESP-NOW (P2P)
Touch sensors (6 pads)
OLED (SSD1306, 0x3C)
Camera A
XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense
B8:F8:62:F9:E2:C0
ESP-NOW (Receive)
Camera module, ESP-NOW packets
OLED (SSD1306, 0x3C)
Camera B
XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense
B8:F8:62:F9:D6:38
ESP-NOW (Receive)
Camera module, ESP-NOW packets
OLED (SSD1306, 0x3C)
Note: MAC addresses are hardware identifiers unique to each ESP32-S3 device. Game boards broadcast player state packets to both the peer game board and all camera boards. Camera boards operate in receive-only mode, processing incoming ESP-NOW packets to identify player positions and overlay them on camera feeds.
Download Design Files
Complete Arduino code for game boards and camera boards, including ESP-NOW communication, camera feed processing, and AR overlay implementation.
Complete design files for networked systems including ESP-NOW multiplayer game and Wi-Fi camera streaming implementations with Arduino firmware and configuration files.
ESP-NOW Multiplayer Game (CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong)
Arduino code for ESP-NOW wireless multiplayer game with MAC address-based player identification and synchronized game state management.
Key Features:
ESP-NOW wireless peer-to-peer communication
MAC address-based player identification (D8:3B:DA:75:05:AC and D8:3B:DA:75:E1:9C)
Arduino code for ESP32-S3 camera livestreaming over Wi-Fi using MJPEG protocol and Edge AI face detection using FOMO models from Edge Impulse.
Camera Livestream Pseudocode:
SETUP:
1. Initialize Serial communication (115200 baud)
2. Configure camera pins (from camera_pins.h)
3. Create camera_config_t structure
4. Initialize camera with esp_camera_init()
5. Connect to Wi-Fi network
6. Start HTTP server with stream handler
STREAM_HANDLER:
1. Set HTTP response type to "multipart/x-mixed-replace"
2. Enter loop: capture frame, send via HTTP, repeat
Arduino code for capturing camera frames and streaming them to an OLED display using Floyd–Steinberg dithering for high-quality monochrome rendering. This code demonstrates real-time image processing and display optimization for low-resolution OLED screens.
How the Code Works (Pseudocode):
SETUP:
1. Initialize Serial communication (115200 baud)
2. Initialize I²C bus for OLED display
3. Initialize OLED display (128x64, I²C address 0x3C)
4. Configure camera pins using camera_pins.h definitions
5. Initialize camera with QQVGA resolution (160x120)
6. Set pixel format to GRAYSCALE
7. Display initialization status on OLED
LOOP:
1. Capture camera frame using esp_camera_fb_get()
2. Process frame through showDitheredPreview():
a. Downsample camera frame (160x120) to OLED resolution (128x64)
b. Average pixel values in each downsampled region
c. Store results in gray_buffer array
d. Normalize brightness values to full range
e. Apply Floyd–Steinberg dithering algorithm
f. Render dithered result to OLED display
3. Return camera frame buffer using esp_camera_fb_return()
4. Repeat continuously for live preview
DITHERING ALGORITHM (Floyd–Steinberg):
For each pixel from top-left to bottom-right:
1. Quantize current pixel (0 or 255)
2. Calculate quantization error
3. Distribute error to neighboring pixels:
- Right: 7/16 of error
- Bottom-left: 3/16 of error
- Bottom: 5/16 of error
- Bottom-right: 1/16 of error
Key Features:
Real-time camera frame capture at QQVGA resolution (160x120)
Grayscale image processing for efficient monochrome display
Floyd–Steinberg dithering algorithm for high-quality visual output
Automatic brightness normalization for optimal contrast
Continuous live preview stream to OLED display
Optimized downsampling from camera resolution to OLED resolution (128x64)
What You Need to Know:
This code provides a foundation for displaying camera feeds on OLED displays. The Floyd–Steinberg dithering algorithm distributes quantization errors across neighboring pixels, creating smooth gradients and improved visual quality compared to simple thresholding. The code uses grayscale format for efficient processing, and the downsampling step averages multiple camera pixels into each OLED pixel to maintain image clarity.
This implementation serves as a building block for the CircleSquareCamera AR system, where camera feeds are combined with game state overlays. See Ethical AI Use section for ChatGPT co-development transcript.
Group Assignment: CircleSquareCamera Augmented Reality System
Complete Arduino code for the CircleSquareCamera AR system, including game board code that broadcasts player states via ESP-NOW, and camera board code that receives game packets and overlays player positions on live camera feeds.
Camera Board Code (CircleSquareCamera.ino)
Camera board receives ESP-NOW packets from game boards, captures camera frames, processes them through dithering, and overlays game character positions (square for P1, circle for P2) on the live feed displayed on OLED.
How the Code Works (Pseudocode):
SETUP:
1. Initialize Serial, I²C, OLED display
2. Initialize ESP-NOW in receive-only mode
3. Register ESP-NOW receive callback
4. Initialize camera (QQVGA, GRAYSCALE)
5. Determine camera ID from MAC address (A or B)
6. Display camera ready status
ESPNOW_RECEIVE_CALLBACK:
1. Check if packet is correct size (NetPacket)
2. Extract player state from packet
3. Identify player (P1 or P2) based on sender MAC address
4. Store player state in p1 or p2 variable
5. Set gotP1 or gotP2 flag
LOOP:
1. Capture camera frame (esp_camera_fb_get)
2. Process frame through makeFrame():
a. Downsample camera (160x120) to 64x32
b. Normalize brightness
c. Apply Floyd–Steinberg dithering
d. Rotate 180° for correct orientation
3. Draw camera feed to OLED (2x2 pixel blocks)
4. Overlay game characters if received:
- Draw square at p1.x, p1.y for Player 1
- Draw circle at p2.x, p2.y for Player 2
5. Display frame on OLED
6. Return camera frame buffer
Key Features:
ESP-NOW receive-only mode for game state packets
MAC address-based player identification (P1: 0xAC, P2: 0x9C)
Game Board Code (TwoSquares_XiaoESP32S3_Touch_ReadySplash_MACFix_Camera.ino)
Extended version of the CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong game that broadcasts player state packets to both peer game boards and camera boards via ESP-NOW. This enables real-time AR visualization of gameplay on camera displays.
How the Code Works (Pseudocode):
SETUP:
1. Initialize Serial, OLED display
2. Set WiFi mode to STA
3. Read self MAC address
4. Initialize ESP-NOW
5. Identify player role (P1 or P2) from MAC address
6. Add peers: peer game board + Camera A + Camera B
7. Register ESP-NOW send/receive callbacks
8. Initialize touch sensors (warm-up readings)
9. Reset player states (left/right positioning)
LOOP:
1. Update touch sensor readings
2. Process player input (left, right, jump)
3. Update player physics (movement, gravity, collision)
4. Create NetPacket with player state and ready flag
5. Broadcast packet to all peers:
- Other game board (peerMac)
- Camera A (camA_MAC)
- Camera B (camB_MAC)
6. Render game state to OLED:
- Draw ground line
- Draw own character (square if P1, circle if P2)
- Draw other player character
- Display "Waiting Player" if other not ready
7. Delay for frame timing (30ms)
Key Features:
ESP-NOW one-to-many broadcast to game boards and camera boards
MAC address-based player identification (P1: D8:3B:DA:75:05:AC, P2: D8:3B:DA:75:E1:9C)
Touch-based input controls with threshold detection
Ready state synchronization for coordinated gameplay start
Game state rendering with square/circle character representation
What You Need to Know:
This code extends the original CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong game by adding camera board peers to the ESP-NOW network. The game broadcasts player state packets (position, velocity, onGround flag) to enable AR overlay on camera displays. The camera boards use these packets to draw game characters at the correct positions relative to the camera feed, creating an augmented reality experience. Player identification is done via MAC address comparison, with P1 using square representation and P2 using circle representation. See Ethical AI Use section for ChatGPT co-development transcript.
Key insights and learnings from working with networking and communications protocols.
Contributions
Acknowledgements and team roles for networking and communications work.
ESP-NOW Multiplayer Game
Developed CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong multiplayer game with ESP-NOW wireless communication during Week 2. See Week 2 documentation for details.
Wi-Fi Camera Streaming System
Developed camera livestreaming and Edge AI face detection system during Week 10. See Week 10 documentation for details.
Ethical AI Use
Transparent documentation of AI assistance used in this week's networking and communications work.
AI-Assisted Camera Integration Game Update
Used ChatGPT for collaborative development of the CircleSquareCamera augmented reality system, integrating ESP-NOW communication between game boards and camera boards. The AI assisted with ESP-NOW packet structure design, camera feed dithering algorithms, AR overlay implementation, and real-time synchronization of player states with camera displays. This extends the original CircleSquareShapeSongSwingalong multiplayer game from Week 2 with augmented reality visualization.
Cursor AI assisted with comprehensive updates to Week 11 documentation, including ethical AI use section updates, design files documentation with pseudocode and key features, group assignment CircleSquareCamera AR section development, network address tables, and overall page organization. The AI helped refine technical content, create professional code documentation, add media captions and descriptions, and organize information for optimal readability and aesthetic presentation.
The AI was used to:
Update ethical AI use section with ChatGPT co-development transcript references
Create comprehensive design files documentation with pseudocode, key features, and "what you need to know" sections
Develop group assignment CircleSquareCamera AR subsection with detailed technical explanations
Add network address tables for CircleSquareCamera AR system with all device MAC addresses
Implement download links for all code files (zip archives and individual files)
Add professional captions and descriptions to all images and videos
Refine and organize content for professional presentation while preserving technical accuracy
AI-Assisted Week 11 Page Creation and Assignment Documentation
Cursor AI assisted with creating the complete Week 11 documentation page, including networking protocols overview, group assignment CircleSquareCamera AR documentation, individual assignment sections summarizing ESP-NOW multiplayer game and Wi-Fi camera streaming systems, network address tables, and all formatting and styling. The AI helped refine and organize content from Week 2 and Week 10 into professional, succinct networking documentation while preserving key technical details.
The AI was used to:
Create week11.html from the week8.html template structure
Populate networking and communications resources from the MIT Academy class page
Summarize and integrate content from Week 2 (ESP-NOW multiplayer game) and Week 10 (Wi-Fi camera streaming)
Create network address tables with MAC and IP addresses for both networked systems
Format and style all sections for professional presentation
Embed images, videos, and design file download links
Updated the "Recitation Notes" section in week11.html with a refined version of your notes. The update includes:
1. Link to Slack message at the top
2. Organized sections:
- Announcements (LoRa radios, KiCad FabLib, fablab.aalto.fi)
- System Disintegration: How Systems Fail
- Design: PCs vs Macs
- Dr. Jan Borchers's Session on Usability
- Golden Rules of Usability (10 principles)
- Process Tips (design thinking workflow)
- Packaging guidelines
- Testing methods
- Failure Modes (mechanical, wiring, components, power, software, scaling, manufacturing, collaboration)
- Repair strategies
- Lifecycle considerations
- Assignment details with example link
The content is formatted with headings, bullet points, and links to external resources, matching the style of the rest of the page. No linting errors were found.
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For the complete technical details and full conversation transcript:
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