ESP Biography

Everyone loves listening to music, but few understand the exciting technology that makes it all possible. I will explain the recording and playback process - from microphones to CD players, amplifiers, and speakers. We'll see what the frequency content of music looks like, and how the frequency response of loudspeakers affects the sound you hear. If you're interested in building your own equipment (perhaps speakers, a headphone amplifier, or a graphic equalizer), we can envision some projects to build at home. Please bring your favorite music for the demonstrations!

What's really happening when you adjust the equalizer settings on an MP3 player? Audio signals, like any other information stream, can be manipulated by circuits and computer programs in many different ways. The theory of signals and systems (which explains these manipulations) is pervasive in electronics, graphics and video, and even neuroscience. We will look specifically at linear systems - the simplest and most common type of signal processing - and experience how different systems can be used to alter sounds. Prerequisite: Algebra and trigonometry.

You may be surprised at how much math goes into designing a robot. Any real device needs to be designed with its physical behavior in mind: for example, cars of different sizes and shapes need different chassis, engines and suspension characteristics. Robots are usually complicated structures with many degrees of freedom (they can move in many directions). In order make a robot walk, roll or fly in a controlled manner, the designers must first understand its mechanical behavior. This behavior is represented as a system of equations that can be derived using simple physics. In this class we will derive the kinematics and dynamics of simple structures that are employed in robots, and discuss the limitations that physical constraints place on our machines. Prerequisite: Familiarity with mechanics (from a high school physics class) and trigonometric functions.

Many practical inventions take simple, existing devices and change their behavior in subtle yet useful ways. A Segway scooter uses motors to balance a person on a seemingly unstable platform while propelling them at up to 20 mph. Sensors and audio equipment depend on highly nonlinear electronic devices such as transistors, but can amplify small signals with startling accuracy. Modern fighter planes are so sensitive to the movements of their control surfaces that they would be impossible to fly manually. All of these problems have been solved by the careful application of feedback. In this class we will investigate the effects of feedback and the mathematical theory that allows us to reliably design control systems. Prerequisite: Linear Systems class, or understanding of what a transfer function (i.e. H(s) = (s + 1) / (s + 0.1)) is.