Independent Study Projects

2025-2026 ICS4U-E Independent Study Projects (ISPs)

Independent Study Projects. Please read our overview on why ACES pursue Independent Study Projects so vigorously.

Grade	Contribution to Final Mark
10	30%
11	40%
12	50%

For the bulk of your formal education you have been, and will continue to be, required to consume curriculum chosen for you by someone else. Hopefully you will put this knowledge and skill to good use in your future. However, jumping through someone else's hoops no longer secures future success. For that, you must put yourself in the driver's seat while in secondary school to both cultivate and demonstrate your own unique initiative, motivation, and passion. RSGC ACES program is explicitly built and tailored for you to foster these greater goals. Yes, there is much to learn but there are so many great projects to be undertaken and noble problems to be identified and solved that offer stimulating contexts within which to develop and refine your interests it will quickly seem more than worth the risk, effort, and cost.

To my mind, the characteristics of a great project include such aspects as imagination, creativity, a degree of risk and, sometimes, even simplicity, to name a few. Check out the flashlight circuit 'board' this guy made out of little more that a piece of paper and a pencil? Simple, but inspiring. Consider a problem that needs a solution. Boyan Slat did at age 17 when he was in high school; four years later he is

cleaning up the world's oceans. (Update: January 9, 2019) So, dig in, think, dream, research, and explore possible project pursuits. Be discerning: don't accept the first thing that comes along. You'll be expected to maintain the progress of your ISP on your web page to enable everyone to follow your efforts so have your phone handy to at all times to capture the images of your journey. Be conscious of the fact that a multi-page summary of your project will appear in your DER after Presentation Day for more permanent record of your efforts. You may wish to take into account the ISP Evaluation document that will be applied on your Presentation Day.

Also, don't underestimate the value of an enterprise/entrepreneurial aspect to your project that could see a number of units of your project in the hands of future ACES, for sale in the Dragon's Lair or beyond, reaching an even a broader audience.

The 7 Ps of a Successful ISP...

Preparation > Proposal > Prototyping > Preview > Production > Presentation > Publication

2025-2026 Independent Study Projects

ACE	ISP.Long (25%) Tuesday October 14	ISP.Medium (25%) Saturday January 29
Proposals	ISP.Long Proposal	ISP.Medium Proposal
Andrew, N.	ACES Battery Station DESCRIPTION A dual bay smart charging and testing station designed for both AA and 9 V batteries. The station features a 16×2 LCD display that shows real-time voltage readings, charge levels, and battery status. Two vertical LED bars visually represent each battery’s health, ranging from red (low) to green (fully charged). Both bays charge safely using dedicated smart charger modules, while an ATmega328P microcontroller continuously monitors battery voltage, charging progress, and the overall system. Everything is housed in a custom 3D printed case with a clean layout. MCU 328p DESIGN Front panel and enclosure designed in Fusion 360 and 3D-printed. Parts mapped out in EasyEDA for a custom PCB Mounting holes and air vents made in Fusion 360 for clean assembly. COMMUNICATION I2C for the LCD Display Digital I/O for LED bars. Analog inputs for voltage Serial Connection for debugging MECHANICAL N/A	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Darou-Santos, J.	TILIXI DESCRIPTION A microcomputer built around the ESP32-S3 running a custom lightweight Unix-inspired OS. The hardware consists of a TFT display, external keyboard and an SD card. The OS itself will include a GUI tiling manager (meaning the project wont all be TTY), simple filesystem, and the ability to execute CLI commands such as change directory, make directory, concatenate, grep, etc. The system is designed as a self-contained, low-resource “desktop” within the constraints of a microcontroller. MCU ESP32-S3 DESIGN Fusion 360 for the case design, EasyEDA for PCB design and JLCPCB to manufacture the PCB. COMMUNICATION SPI for TFT display and external flash/SD cards. Serial for programming/debugging via USB MECHANICAL N/A	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Hooper, E.	Sun Aligned Power Station (SAPS Board) DESCRIPTION This project will involve creating a machine that can automatically follow the sun using LDRs and servo motors, the solar panel will follow the sun to maximize its output no matter the time of day and will let its power flow down through the bottom of the turntable that allows the whole thing to rotate using another servo. The output of the solar panel will be handled by the PCB inside of the box and its power will be saved to later be used to charge desired parts. The project will be power efficient and not use any batteries to run that it did not charge itself. MCU STM32F411 DESIGN will be using Fusion360 to desing (sic) casing for the project to allow for clean operation. will be using EasyEDA and JLCPCB to create the SAPS board to manage power. COMMUNICATION Don’t think will be using any, potentially a 1306 OLED using I2C screen to show status of charging and batter remaining power. MECHANICAL 3 Servos, 1 to rotate the machine on the y-axis and 2 to rotate the solar on the x-axis to follow the sun	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Lamarre, T.	Wire Cutter DESCRIPTION This wire cutter will use two stepper motors to roll out a precise distance of wire through an extruder. A solenoid motor will then cause a pair of wire cutters to close, cutting a precise and specific length of wire. The wire length will be adjustable through a button interface. MCU 328p DESIGN Fusion 360 will be used for a 3D printer style design, where the wire stool will rest on top, with the wire leading into an extruder. Only difference is the extruder will push the wire horizontally to the surface to set up a potential wire stripper. On that same horizontal place, the wire cutter system will be placed. The components for the display will be put together on a PCB. COMMUNICATION Serial communication will be used for communication with the motors and buttons, and I2C will be used for communication with the LCD interface. MECHANICAL Wheels will be attached to stepper motors to precisely roll out wire within the extruder, and a solenoid motor will be used to close the wire cutters.	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Lowry, T.	ACES Alarm Clock DESCRIPTION The ACES alarm clock would use a crystal to keep time and charlieplexed seven segment displays to show the time. The clock should be as space efficient as possible and able to be battery powered or adapter powered. The time setting and alarm setting will be done with two buttons, one to add and one to subtract, that will rapidly increase when held down. Additionally, there will be LEDs that gradually light up as the alarm time approaches to gradually wake the user up. There will be another button to set the different brightness levels of the LEDs. Finally, there will be a button that will enable the setting of the alarm and act as a snooze button. MCU 328p DESIGN Fusion360, EasyEDA, JLCPCB COMMUNICATION ? MECHANICAL ?	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Malcolm, E.	Foamboard RC Plane DESCRIPTION This project involves designing and building a small RC airplane from foamboard. The plane will be controlled using a FlySky FS-i6X 10CH 2.4 GHz AFHDS 2A transmitter and FS-iA10B receiver, a reliable standard RC system. The receiver will directly drive servos for control surfaces (elevator, aileron) and an ESC for the brushless motor. 3D-printed mounts will secure the motor, servos, and control horns, keeping the plane lightweight and stable. MCU None provided DESIGN Airframe designed in Fusion 360, built from foamboard 3D-printed parts: motor mount, servo brackets, control horns PCB for plane receiver to neatly connect nRF24L01, BEC, and servos. COMMUNICATION FlySky FS-i6X 10CH 2.4 GHz AFHDS2A RC Transmitter → FS-iA10B Receiver PWM outputs from receiver to servos and ESC. MECHANICAL Brushless DC motor with propeller Electronic Speed Controller for motor 3 9g servos: elevator and aileron control Foamboard airframe, reinforced with tape or lightweight spars 3D-printed parts for mounting and control linkage	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Mulcahy, K.	ACES Remote Controlled Boat (ACESRCB) DESCRIPTION This Project will incorporate design software and hardware to create a radio-controlled boat. This boat will be powered by a DC motor regulated by a MOSFET. The project is designed to challenge my design, hardware, and software skills. The main challenge will be design and being able to keep water outside of my electrical components. The controller will be connected via radio to the boat and use variable resistors to control speed and direction. MCU 328p DESIGN I will use Fusion 360 to create my encasement and design my boat. I will also use it to create a user-friendly controller. EasyEDA and JLCPCB will be used to create my controller and motor control PCB they will use surface mount components and be small and well thought out. The boat will have a front water tight are for the electronics and a shaft from the motor to the back with the propeller. COMMUNICATION I will use radio communication to control the boat from a controller and this will all be done on an atmega328P. This is to allow long distance complete control over the boat. MECHANICAL This project will utilize a DC motor as the driving force of the boat and a servo to control the direction of the propeller. These will be controlled by an atmega328P and powered by a 9V battery.	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Odoemelam, D.	The Custom Mechanical Keyboard DESCRIPTION The Custom Mechanical Keyboard is a fully functional USB keyboard designed and programmed from scratch, focusing on the design and software components of engineering. It is a 65-form factor keyboard including a full alphanumeric layout, modifier keys (Shift, Alt, Ctrl, and Caps Lock), arrow keys and other function keys (Escape, Enter, Tab, and Backspace). The keyboard will be powered through a USB connection to a computer, functioning as a Human Interface Device (HID). The keyboard will use 5-pin PCB-mount mechanical switches arranged in a matrix with diodes (the diodes are to prevent ghosting and ensure overall accuracy). There will also be stabilizers for larger keys (space bar, enter, etc.). I will be using the ATmega Pro Micro (ATmega32U4) as the MCU to code my own matrix and keymap. MCU ATmega Pro Micro/32U4 DESIGN KiCad/EasyEDA – Design the keyboard’s PCB Fusion 360 – Design the keyboard’s keycaps, plate and case KeyboardLayoutEditor – Initial Design for my Keyboard + PCB Layout COMMUNICATION USB (Human Interface Device (HID)) MECHANICAL The buttons themselves	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Shen, A.	Auto Card Dealer DESCRIPTION The Auto Card Dealer deals out poker cards for games like poker, president, and much more. It uses a stepper motor to rotate the output a specific degree every time for a number of people, which is shown on 7-segment displays, and can be changed using a potentiometer. After each turn, two rollers connected to a hobby motor deals out one card. A battery is used since the rotating will cause a power cord to get tangled. MCU 328p DESIGN The PCB will be designed in EasyEDA and made by JLCPCB. Most of the parts, if not all, will be surface mount. The case will be made in Fusion360. COMMUNICATION N/A MECHANICAL For the stepper motor, a NEMA 23 motor will be used with a DM542T driver since the motor needs to be strong to turn the output of the cards. A 24 V battery pack will be used with it. The hobby motor will just be the one in the kit.	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Willis, N.	The Pocket Arcade Cartridge Engine (ACE) DESCRIPTION The Pocket ACE will consist of a main PCB (might be two, to account for height differences in parts), which will house the inputs, GLCD display, and MCU, as well as several cartridge PCBs, which will have pads along the edge similar to a modern RAM chip or SD card. The cartridges will each house an SPI NOR flash IC. The main board will have an onboard edge pin connector which the cartridges will be swappable in and out of. On startup, the MCU’s custom-written bootloader will check for an inserted cartridge, and if there is one, read the first 32 KB of its flash memory where the program will be stored, and execute self-program memory (SPM) to program its own flash page by page. The program will then be run. The rest of the cartridge memory will be used to store asset tables if necessary (sprite tables, sounds, etc.) although the simple games which this project targets may not utilize this section of memory. MCU 328p DESIGN This project will include a main PCB (maybe two to account for height differences in parts) and several identical cartridge PCBs, which will connect to the main PCB through an edge pin connector and edge pins. All 3D modelling (for both main device and cartridges) will be done in fusion, and PCB design on EasyEDA Pro. PCBs will be ordered through JLCPCB. COMMUNICATION The cartridges, which will house SPI NOR flash ICs, will communicate with the MCU through SPI communication. MECHANICAL N/A	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL
Xie, W.	ACES Video Game Controller DESCRIPTION This project is a custom wired video game controller that can be used to play video games on MacBooks. The controller will be connected to the MacBook via a Micro to USB-C cable, which allows the controller to send data to the MacBook and draw power from the MacBook at the same time. When the controller and the MacBook are connected, an LED indicator will light up, indicating that the controller is powered. Momentary push buttons and joysticks will be used as the inputs of the controller, and the MCU for this project, which is a surface mount ATmega32U4, will read the states of all inputs continuously and create USB HID (Human Interface Device) reports based on these states. The macOS will receive these reports from the ATmega32U4 every few milliseconds and interpret them as gamepad input events, which are then sent to the game and the game will react based on its rules. Each button will have its own custom 3D-printed button cap to show its identity (A, B, X, Y, L1, R1, etc.). MCU ATmega32u4 DESIGN There will be 2 PCBs for this project, and both of them will be designed in EasyEDA. The main PCB will be in the shape of the controller and all parts other than the joysticks and buttons will be surface mount. The second PCB will be perpendicular to the main PCB to accommodate the bumpers and triggers (L1, R1, L2, and R2). The housing of the controller and the custom button caps will be designed in Fusion 360 and 3D printed. COMMUNICATION USB HID. MECHANICAL Momentary push buttons and joysticks.	?? DESCRIPTION MCU DESIGN COMMUNICATION MECHANICAL