1. Principal’s Scholars Program Engineering Activity Day:
Build Your Own Optical Communication System

2. What is Communication?
The transmission of data from “sender” to “receiver”

3. What About Information?
How much information is stored in servers by Youtube, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Yahoo, Facebook, etc?
Youtube: 100 hours of video uploaded every minute
Facebook: 1.19 billion monthly active users, all uploading pictures of cats, and other important stuff.
Google owns ~2% of world’s servers, probably over 1,000,000 servers
As we develop faster methods to generate more data: higher quality cameras/video, portable sensors, etc., the amount of data generated will only grow exponentially
In 2011, over 1.8 Zettabytes was created
1ZB=1,800,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
1ZB~18,000,000,000=18 billion hard-drives worth of data!
All of this data requires faster/smaller processors, faster communication networks and…

4. Building a Communication System
Why Communication?
Communication is important
Science & Technology
Business
Arts & Literature
Understand the world around us
Programming
Optics/Lasers
Circuits
Materials Science
Cryptography
Fun!

5. What makes a good communication system?
Speed
Reliability
Security
Capacity
Reach
Cost
Ease of operation
Portability
Coverage

6. What goes into a communication system?
Source
Detector
Medium
Language/Code

7. Outline of Activity Design communication system and business plan
Develop your own language!
Set up/test system and language
Operate system with real data!
Steal other team’s message?
Wrap-up
From LSA, Inc webpage

8. Goals Create a code to send and receive messages fast/accurate
cheap hardware
secure

9. Light Sources
Voltage
Source

10. Communication Set-Up
Poster Board
LEDs 1 2 3 4 5
Transmission Slots

11. Example A B C D 4 E 5 F 6 G 7 H 8 I 9 J 10 K 11 L 12 M 13 N 14 O 15 P16 Q 17 R 18 S 19 T 20 U 21 V 22 W 23 X 24 Y 25 Z 26
end of letter
space

12. Example A 1 B 2 C 3 D 4 E 5 F 6 G 7 H 8
end of letter
space

13. Example A 1 B 2 C 3 D 4 E 5 F 6 G 7 H 8
end of letter
space C A B

14. Example A B C D 4 E 5 F 6 G 7 H 8 I 9 J 10 K 11 L 12 M 13 N 14 O 15 P 16 Q 17 R 18 S 19 T 20 U 21 V 22 W 23 X 24 Y 25 Z 26
end of letter
space

15. How can we improve our code?
Is it fast?
xylophone = 144 flashes!
Almost 2.5 minutes to send 1 word!
Is it secure?
Is it easy to use?
Is it easy to make mistakes?
Is the hardware cheap?

16. The Game Develop language/code Lay out business plan
How many/what type light sources?
How many channels/slots?
How much research?
Practice communication
Communication contest
Determine profit/loss
Prizes!!

17. Research is four things: brains with which to think,
Research Costs
Research is four things: brains with which to think,
eyes with which to see, machines with which to measure and, fourth, money.
Invest money in research first!!
Receive card from banker (like “Chance” in Monopoly
5 possible outcomes
Cheaper light sources (diodes cost less)
Better detectors (time subtracted from your actual time)
Cheaper transmission slots
Royalties (receive money)
Nothing
Degree of the return depends on the investment

18. Light Source/Slot Costs
You are charged for each light source you buy
Two types of sources
Single LED source
4 different colors
You are charged for each “slot” in the posterboard
Single Color LEDs 1
$100 2
$190 3
$270
Each additional
$70
Transmission Slots 1
$60 2
$110 3
$150 4
$180 5
$200
Two Color Source 1
$220 2
$390

19. Set-Up Costs There are limited LEDs
First come first served (as long as you have the $$)
You can trade/sell your LED sources or research rewards with other teams….

20. Speed and accuracy
You are rewarded for how fast you send, receive and decode a message.
You are penalized for transmission errors

21. Secure transmission
If any team can intercept your message, they get any money you would have received.
Encrypting and decrypting takes time!

22. Optical Communication Challenge
10:00-10:15: Introduction 10:15-10:30: Determining business strategy (business name, investment in research, infrastructure, and consultants). Decisions required by 10:45 a.m. 10:30-11:15 Develop business plan and technical plan (code), practice sending data 11:15-11:45 Competition, results 10:45-End Wrap-up session

23. Accuracy and Time Team: Accuracy: Team: Accuracacy: Team: Time:
Team: Profit: