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ZOO Team Progress Report





ZOO Team Progress Report

Project Partner: Columbian Park Zoo

March 4, 2004





Maryam Afaf Abdul Karim
abdulkar@purdue.edu

Sarah
Adams
adamsss@purdue.edu

Chad
Chiang
chiang3@purdue.edu

Joelle
Fleck
fleckj@purdue.edu

Jake
Griffin
jegriffi@purdue.edu

Matthew
Kwan
kwanm@purdue.edu

Aik-Xung
Lee
lee86@purdue.edu

Sean
Liao
liaos@purdue.edu

Frank
Lin
linfm@purdue.edu

Mike
Mendel
mmendel@purdue.edu

Majed
Nasr
nasr@purdue.edu

Julie
Percifield
jpercifi@purdue.edu

Rachel
Smith
smith249@purdue.edu

Megan
White
meganawhite@yahoo.com



2
Executive Summary
The Zoo Teams project partner is the Columbian Park Zoo, located in Lafayette,
IN. The zoo is home to over one hundred and twenty animals, representing forty-nine
different species. The mission of the Columbian Park Zoo is not only to care for these
animals, but also to inspire an appreciation of the worlds wildlife through educational
programs. The zoo will be closed for the next three years in order to undergo
renovations; therefore they will be focusing on school outreach programs. The objective
of our team is to provide portable tools for the zoo staff to use in these outreach
programs. These tools will help educate students (in the K-3
rd
grades) about animals and
their habitats. This semester our team is working on four different projects: Animal
Operation, Animal Simon, Zookeeper Game, and a puppet stage.

The Animal Operation Game seeks to educate children about various animals and
the geographic location of their habitats, and also to teach them what sound each animal
makes. The game is contained in a wooden briefcase. A sheet of acrylic covers a world
map. Animal shaped holes are cut into the acrylic, and animal pieces are placed in their
corresponding holes. The object of the game is to remove as many animal pieces from
the holes with the tweezers as possible without touching the side of the holes. If the
tweezers make contact with the edge of the hole, the animal sound of the animal that is
being removed is played and the childs turn is over. Thus far this semester maintenance
on the timer circuit and sound circuit was performed, additional acrylic was obtained, and
research has been done on PCB, prototyping board, and power supply components.
Thorough documentation on the timer circuit has been started. Multiple tasks will be
completed before the end of the semester: a multiple voltage power supply operating on
rechargeable batteries will be built, all circuits will be relocated to PCB or prototyping
board, game case modifications will be made, new tweezers and a flat map will be
purchased, and educational material about the animals will be placed in the lid of the
game. The projected is expected to be finished by the end of the semester.
The purpose of the Zookeeper game is to teach children about the tasks and
responsibilities of a zookeeper. The game is modeled after the original The Game of
LIFE. Players will assume the role of a zookeeper. Four to six players will be able to
play; the goal of the game is to be the first person to reach the end of the path. The game
will have six seven-segment displays for the spinner and a PDA for the event generator.
Feedback has been obtained from the project partner about the basic concept for the
game, the events that will occur during the game, and the usage of the spinner and PDA.
Prototypes have been completed for the game board layout, the spinner, and the event
generator. This semester we plan to build the spinner and enclosure, purchase and
program the PDA, print the game board layout, purchase the game pieces, and assemble
the game and test it.
The Animal Simon game is designed to test childrens memory and motor skills
while teaching them what sounds different animals make. An animal sound will play and
the child will press the corresponding animals button. The number of animal sounds in
the sequence increases each time the child presses the correct button. In the beginning of
the Spring 2004 semester, the team met with the project partner for updates and
clarification of some issues, especially regarding the power supply for the project. At the
same time, a semester plan was created, listing the different tasks that needed to be
completed for the semester. These tasks were divided amongst the different members.
3
The microcontroller was programmed, the structure of the game box was designed and
sent to the womens prison, and some parts of the circuits were built. Each of these tasks
was assigned to a person who will take charge of it. From there, progress was made with
team members as well as other outside sources. This semester a great deal has been
accomplished regarding the development of a prototype. The team has sent off a plan to
the womens prison to be built. The program has been written and is now being
debugged. The circuit layout has also been applied to orCad for better simulation as well
as documentation. The Soundwave board used in sound generation is also being tested
for functionality this semester. The team has decided to research and use a battery
solution for the power supply of this project. Upon research of the battery solution it is
apparent that rechargeable batteries should be used for monetary reasons. This has
resulted in some obligatory research into rechargeable battery use as well as circuit
design for the supply. The following tasks remain to be completed this semester: safety
testing, final touches, game case designing and delivery.
The purpose of the puppet stage is to allow children a creative outlet that
familiarizes them with animals, the sounds the animals make, and the habitats the animals
live in. The approach taken for the puppet stage began with extensive brainstorming.
After completing our brainstorming phase, we began researching our ideas to determine
whether or not they were feasible. We built a mock stage using cardboard to better
visualize our final product that will be created using wood. Thus far this semester, we
have completed a mock stage, downloaded pictures that will be used for the background
layouts, downloaded most of the sounds for the soundboard, and researched the technical
components that will be used. After completing our backgrounds and selecting the
sounds, we will get our ideas approved by the project partner and then begin our design.
We will have to finalize our background layouts of the puppet stage on Adobe PhotoShop
and the stage itself has to be designed in AUTOCAD. The layout of the stage will then be
sent to the Womens Prison in Indianapolis for creation. The design of the soundboard
and lighting will begin once the sounds are approved. Hopefully the project will be
completed by the end of the following semester.

4
Table of Contents

Executive Summary..2
Project Tasks.5


Introduction5

Description of Project Tasks.. 5

Projected Schedule.15

Project Planning16

Overall Project ScheduleAttached Separately


Team Continuity Plan16


Project Road Blocks...17


Expected Semester Outcomes18
Team Organization..19
References. 20

Team Organization & Responsibilities Appendix 23
Technical Appendix..27

5
Project Tasks
Introduction
Our EPICS partner, the Colombian Park Zoo, needs projects to use with their
outreach and education programs. These projects need to be simple in design and
function. This is because of the age group that is going to be using them, students in K-
3
rd
grades. It is also necessary that anything developed be portable; therefore, it needs to
be small and lightweight. In order to accommodate the zoos function, the following
projects are being created by the Zoo Team: Animal Operation, Animal Simon,
Zookeeper Game, and a puppet stage.
This report consists of a description of the project tasks, an overall project
schedule, a team continuity plan, the project roadblocks, the expected semester outcomes,
and a team organizational chart. There is a list of resources and a technical appendix at
the end of this document that provides a detailed description of the projects.

Description of Project Tasks
1. Animal Operation
The layout resembles the classic board game Operation, but consists of a world
map and animal pieces instead of a human body and body part pieces. Each animal is
located on the world map in its respective native region. The students will attempt to
deftly rem