Iqra's journey on a CABLE BUNDLE MODEL
In the dynamic realm of engineering and technology, where sparks of creativity electrify the atmosphere, opportunities to showcase talent and innovation are as precious as electromagnetically compatible electronics. One such riveting platform that recently riveted the gears of budding engineers was the EMC 2023 Student Hardware Competition. Held at the intersection of creativity and technological prowess, in Grand Rapids – Michigan, United States. the event provided a stage for participants to unveil their ground-breaking projects and vie for recognition. I am delighted to share my experience as a participant, where my team and I achieved the remarkable feat of securing the third prize.
From the inception of the competition, my team and I were powered up by a shared enthusiasm for making a tangible impact through our project. The idea was conceived from team's guardian Angel, from his thesis "On Low Frequency Conducted EMI: Interference Mitigation with Focus on the DC Switching Harmonic in the Time and Frequency Domains”. Angel’s insights played a crucial role in creating the wings for our project to soar.
The EMC 2023 Student Hardware Competition
The EMC 2023 Student Hardware Competition was organized by The Education Committee (EdCom) of the IEEE EMC Society during the 2023 IEEE International Symposium On Electromagnetic Compatibility & Signal/Power Integrity. The event aims to bring forth unique projects pushing the boundaries of hardware innovation demonstrating fundamental concepts of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). The event aimed to foster collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving skills among students, challenging them to design and build hardware solutions that addressed real-world problems.
All submittals were to be judged by a team comprised of several EMC Society EdCom members based on technical design (35%), creativity (35%), and educational merit (30%).
Our Journey
From the inception of the competition, my team and I were powered up by a shared enthusiasm for making a tangible impact through our project. The journey was a circuitous route characterized by ohm-azingly long hours of brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and refining our creation. Our project, a joint venture of Etopia (check out linkedin) and ETUT students, aimed to untangle the crosstalk problem in the cable bundle model—a real twist in the wire, you could say.
The collaborative spirit within our team, coupled with our diverse skill sets, proved to be our greatest resistor—oops, I mean asset. Each member brought a unique perspective, contributing to the holistic development of our project. The road to EMC 2023 was not without its challenges, but overcoming obstacles only strengthened our resolve to deliver an exceptional solution.
Cable Bundle Model
The hardware demonstration aims to address the adverse effect on nearby communication system’s interference when DC-DC power converters interact with it. It can also demonstrate the effects of mitigation techniques such as Spread Spectrum Modulation to highlight an important drawback of this well-know technique. The set-up is based on a cable bundle model generating crosstalk between a communication link (victim) and a switched mode power supply (source) as similar used in DC microgrids. The communication channel is based on a stream of transmitted/received bits while the DC converter is analysed the frequency domain, hence a double assessment is carried out. The Bit-Error-Rate tester is employed to measure the communication channel quality. These systems are coupled together with a cable bundle to observe the conducted effect of the noise generated from the converter. The final aim of this test is to demonstrate an interesting framework to further analyse conducted emissions in the low frequency band.
Link to the video:
The EMC 2023 Experience
Participating in the EMC 2023 Student Hardware Competition was not just a competition but a transformative journey that pushed the boundaries of our knowledge and skills. It showcased the immense potential within the world of hardware innovation and the power of collaborative efforts. As we proudly took home the third prize, it served as a reminder that with passion, perseverance, and a commitment to innovation, the possibilities are limitless.
We believe that opportunities and experiences like this will allow students to gain awareness and access EMC, sparking their curiosity and helping them reach their career goals. This collaborative partnership with other projects showcases our mutual goals of engaging and educating students in EMC design, and we look forward to seeing the creativity and solutions the teams will create.