Introduction
The clock is one of the oldest inventions in human history and has been used for centuries as in instrument for measuring time. There are many ways to implement this ancient technology by simple and practical methods. However, simplicity and practicality were not among the goals of this project. Instead, the project is intended to demonstrate an interesting application of available technology, and to create a visually appealing display in the form of a clock. Thus, the final product is more of a novelty item than a practical time-keeping device.
The design consists of two main components: an analog clock created from an old hard drive and some LEDs, and an LCD touchscreen which acts both as a synchronized digital clock and a controller for setting the time.
High Level Design
Rationale and Source of Ideas
There are several reasons why we choose to design the hard drive clock and LCD touchscreen controller for our final project. First, the idea fit well within our budget constraints since the LCD was sampled from www.microtipsusa.com and the hard drive was from an old computer on its way to the junkyard. In addition, the LCD and touchscreen drivers could have many useful applications beyond this project and could easily be incorporated into future work.
The idea of turning an old hard drive into a clock was motivated from a website by Alan Parekh. We wanted to expand and improve upon his concept and it seemed like it would be an interesting example of something the LCD touchscreen could control, as well as a clever way to re-use some old computer hardware.
Link to Project: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/e...oject/index.htm
The clock is one of the oldest inventions in human history and has been used for centuries as in instrument for measuring time. There are many ways to implement this ancient technology by simple and practical methods. However, simplicity and practicality were not among the goals of this project. Instead, the project is intended to demonstrate an interesting application of available technology, and to create a visually appealing display in the form of a clock. Thus, the final product is more of a novelty item than a practical time-keeping device.
The design consists of two main components: an analog clock created from an old hard drive and some LEDs, and an LCD touchscreen which acts both as a synchronized digital clock and a controller for setting the time.
High Level Design
Rationale and Source of Ideas
There are several reasons why we choose to design the hard drive clock and LCD touchscreen controller for our final project. First, the idea fit well within our budget constraints since the LCD was sampled from www.microtipsusa.com and the hard drive was from an old computer on its way to the junkyard. In addition, the LCD and touchscreen drivers could have many useful applications beyond this project and could easily be incorporated into future work.
The idea of turning an old hard drive into a clock was motivated from a website by Alan Parekh. We wanted to expand and improve upon his concept and it seemed like it would be an interesting example of something the LCD touchscreen could control, as well as a clever way to re-use some old computer hardware.
Link to Project: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/e...oject/index.htm