by Jonathan Stark

Work on the IR Doohickey was completed in one all-nighter by Brian Swetland (who took it upon himself to not only rewrite the majority of the code for the IR Doohickey, but also to create a complete HC11 development environment for the PC!). The IR Doohickey is a "smart" remote control that can learn infrared commands from any remote control device. Any computer with a serial port can then be used to transmit these commands to devices later, allowing your computer to act as an infrared remote control system such as your TV or VCR.

Several SigArch members have been working hard on a new version of the LED Nametag. The original version of this device was shown last year, but the weight of the nametag was stretching shirts a little more than we liked. This year's version uses a lighter-weight Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) which replaces several of the bulkier components on last year's nametag. The nametag will display messages and even images on a 25x35 array of LEDs.

The Cylindrical Display had a spectacular showing last year until it melted down. A small group of devoted SigArchers are resurrecting the project, and working on improving the display's output. When completed, the Cylindrical Display (now dubbed "The Can") will display color images around the circumference of a spinning industrial fan. Future software revisions may even allow animation of full color images on the display.

SigArch has also been working on a Networked Camera project. NetCam, as it has been named, will one day allow a user to broadcast live video over the Internet by simply jacking a camera into the ethernet connection. Portions of the network unit will be on display at EOH this year.

The ever-popular SigArch Scrolling Sign will also be shown, outside of the ACM office, 1225 DCL. This sign accepts e-mail messages from people all over the world and displays them for UIUC students to see.

Finally, we hope to have the ACM Pop Machine, a networked Dr. Pepper Machine, available for students and passersby to take advantage of. The latest revisions to the ACM Pop Machine allow users not only to query the inventory, but also to use their student IDs as debit cards simply by swiping it through a card reader connected to the machine.

All of these projects and many more will be on display during Engineering Open House, March 1-2, in the main hall of the Digital Computer Laboratory, 1304 West Springfield. Hope to see you all there!