Ravi Shah

I designed and developed a K-Line sequential shift indicator for manual transmission vehicles, with a custom PCB and full plug-and-play functionality as tested on my Mazda Miata.

Skills & Tools: Circuit Design/Analysis, PCB Design (KiCad), Soldering, Autodesk Fusion CAD, Embedded Development (C++), Technical Documentation, BOM Management

Objectives/Features:

• Displays engine RPM using a set of seven LEDs
• Has three distinct LED colors to show progression from low to high RPM (green -> blue -> red)
• Begins illuminating LEDs at the lower end of shift range (3.5k) and fully illuminates by the higher end (6k), with equal steps in between
• Mounts to the dashboard without significantly obstructing the driver's view of the road
• Doesn't require any modifications to wiring/electronics of the car (plug-and-play)

Takeaways:

• Learned how to use KiCad through online documentation to produce electrical schematics and PCB designs
• Learned how to connect and operate a Saleae logic analyzer to debug portions of the electrical circuit and Arduino code
• Developed firmware for Arduino to communicate with automotive LIN bus transceiver and drive LED series
• Learned how to optimize 3D models for more efficient printing
• Gained experience in prototyping and iteration through the design process, going from an idea to preliminary designs to a fabricated/tested final product
• Described product and process using technical language and IEEE formatting in a technical writeup