Working on my senior design project has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my ECET program. The project focuses on creating the Tremorometer, a device designed to help people who experience hand tremors by measuring their shaking levels accurately and clearly. Designing this system—which uses conductive rings, real-time sensing, an Arduino Mega, a Nextion HMI, and a DS3231 RTC—required problem solving, testing, and a lot of troubleshooting. One thing that made the process smoother was using AI as a support tool. It didn’t replace my engineering work, but it helped me think through problems faster and stay organized while building a real device from scratch.
AI in Code Troubleshooting and Optimization
One of the biggest ways AI helped was with my microcontroller code. Writing interrupt-based touch detection, managing timers, and connecting the Nextion display required careful logic. When I got stuck, I used AI to:
- Break down my code line-by-line
- Explain why a bug was happening
- Suggest more efficient ways to write certain functions
- Help me compare polling vs. interrupt behavior
It was still my responsibility to test everything on the real hardware, but AI helped me understand the logic and avoid wasting hours staring at the same error.
AI in Explaining Technical Concepts
Senior design required clear communication—not just building. I had to explain how each part of my system worked, from sensor rings to time measurements. AI helped me take complex engineering concepts and translate them into simpler explanations that made sense to people outside ECET.
This helped a lot when preparing:
- Project summaries
- Diagrams
- Progress reports
- My poster draft
- My written documentation
AI acted like a writing assistant that made sure my explanations were clear and professional.
AI in Testing Ideas Before Building
Before I physically wired something or changed a major part of the code, I used AI to “think through” the idea first. For example:
- If I wanted to switch logic from polling to interrupts, I asked AI what issues I should expect.
- If I needed to adjust sensor timing, I asked about the impact on debounce or false triggers.
- If I wasn’t sure about using a certain resistor value or pull-down setup, I asked why one method might be more stable.
This helped me avoid mistakes and understand the engineering reasoning behind decisions.
AI for Documentation and Professional Communication
Engineering isn’t just hardware; it’s also communication. AI helped me:
- Format my technical documents
- Keep a clean, consistent tone
- Make my explanations match professional engineering writing
- Check flow and organization
These skills matter in ECET careers because engineers need to communicate clearly with teams, managers, and clients.
AI as a Learning Companion, Not a Replacement
AI didn’t build my Tremorometer. It didn’t wire the sensors, re-flash the Arduino, fix my timing issues, or design the test stages. But it did support me when:
- I needed a clearer explanation
- I wanted a second opinion
- I needed help turning engineering terms into readable text
- I was trying to debug something faster
It made me more confident in my decisions and helped me reach solutions without guessing.
AI became a tool—just like an oscilloscope, a multimeter, or a simulation program. It didn’t do the project for me, but it helped me work smarter.
Conclusion
AI played a supportive role during my senior design project, helping me troubleshoot code, organize my writing, test ideas before implementing them, and communicate my work professionally. The project still required hands-on engineering, but AI helped me move faster, understand problems better, and stay focused. This experience showed me how AI is becoming an important tool in modern ECET work, giving future engineers an advantage when solving real technical problems.
Reflection
Using AI during this project helped me organize my ideas and explain technical concepts more clearly. I used AI to shape my outline, improve transitions, and keep my writing professional. I revised everything to match my own tone and added examples from my ECET senior design project. AI supported my problem solving, but I still made all engineering decisions and testing myself. It helped me communicate my work in a more polished way and showed me how AI can be used ethically in engineering documentation.