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Assignment Brief: ELEC2302 Project Outline

ModuleIoT and Edge Computing (ELEC2303)
AssessmentProject Outline
Weighting20%
Deadline16:00 hrs on 13/01/2026

Task Overview

Your task is to produce a professional-grade engineering project outline. You will be implementing the same project in the latter half of the module. This document will serve as the formal plan and technical foundation for your module project.

The proposal must be grounded in the principles of Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge Computing. You are required to select one of the provided project concepts and develop a detailed plan that demonstrates a clear understanding of system design and validation, preparing you for the practical implementation phase.

Your report has to be written like a technical research paper.

Assessment Overview and Marking Criteria

Your proposal will be assessed on its technical depth, clarity, and the quality of your planning. The final mark is broken down as follows:

Project Assessment Rubric

Criteria
0%-20%
20%-40%
40%-60%
60%-70%
>70%
Minimal or no relevant sources cited. Little understanding of prior work.
Some relevant references used, but lacks synthesis or context.
Clear summary of related works; demonstrates understanding of the field and highlights the project's relevance.
Good synthesis of literature showing how the proposed work builds upon or differs from prior studies.
Excellent critical review integrating academic and technical sources, identifying clear research gaps that justify the project.
Poor articulation of the project scope, with unclear aims and objectives. Incomplete coverage of resource requirements.
Sufficient description of the project scope and wider area, with aim(s) articulated sufficiently and objectives supporting the aims. Fair coverage of resource requirements.
A good articulation of the project scope, aims and objectives, with aim(s) articulated with respect to the wider project area and objectives supporting the aim. Detailed resource requirements.
A very good articulation of the project scope, aims and objectives, providing clear evidence supporting the need for the project, aim(s) articulated well with respect to the wider project area and meaningful objectives supporting the aim. Detailed coverage of resource requirements including dataset availability (if applicable).
An excellent articulation of the scope, aims and objectives, providing solid evidence supporting the need for the project and accessible to a non-specialist, with aim(s) articulated with respect to the wider project area and meaningful objectives supporting the aim. Detailed resource requirements including dataset availability (if applicable).
The architecture diagram is missing, unclear, or non-existent. The components (sensors, edge, cloud) and their interactions are not identified. Communication technologies are not stated or are entirely inappropriate.
A basic block diagram is present, but it lacks detail. Key components (e.g., MCU/sensor) are named, but interfaces or data flow are vague. Communication technology (e.g., Wi-Fi) is stated but not justified or defined.
A clear, segmented architecture diagram is provided, distinguishing between sensor/edge and cloud layers. Major interfaces and data flow paths are correctly identified (as applicable). Communication protocols (e.g., MQTT, BLE) are stated with minimal justification.
A robust, multi-layered architecture is presented with a clear distinction between IoT/Edge devices, gateway, and cloud components (as applicable). All interfaces, data formats, and communication technologies are explicitly defined and justified based on project requirements (e.g., latency, power).
An excellent, comprehensive architecture is presented, optimizing the split of computation between edge and cloud (as applicable). The design clearly articulates the chosen technologies (e.g., TinyML, LoRa, specific protocols) with deep technical justification.
No plan for checking the system. Success is not defined. No mention of testing the sensor or core function.
A very brief test list (e.g., "turn it on"). The checks are general and don't clearly link to the project's main goals or objectives.
A good list of tests is provided to check if each major part works (e.g., "check the sensor reads data," "check the Wi-Fi connects"). The plan shows how to measure if the project is successful.
A clear, step-by-step test plan is provided for the full system. The plan includes checks for reliability (e.g., testing for 1 hour) and accuracy (e.g., checking the TinyML model's correct answer rate).
An excellent, detailed test plan that not only checks everything works but also tests the limits of the system (e.g., "what happens if the network goes down?"). Includes a plan to measure all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like speed and battery life.

💡 Tip: Click on a criteria row to expand/collapse detailed descriptions. Click on individual cells when expanded to highlight them.

Core Proposal Sections and Requirements

Your proposal should follow IEEE Transaction Style. You should aim at writing 1500-2000 words, i.e. maximum of four pages. For example, see this document(Click this Link). Your document should contain following sections:

Abstract

An effective abstract for a review paper should summarize the scope, purpose, and significance of the review in a clear and concise way. Begin by introducing the topic and its importance, then briefly describe the key areas, trends, or themes covered in the review. Highlight the method of selection or criteria used for including studies, and conclude with the main insights, implications, or future directions that emerge from the review. Keep it focused, objective, and free of citations, typically within 150–250 words. In particular, for a research paper its summary of the scope, what has been done or will be done, its significance and key findings (if any).

Tip

Think of it as a snapshot of your paper—someone should understand the topic, coverage, and key conclusions just by reading the abstract.

1. Introduction

The Introduction sets the stage for your review paper. It should:

  • Introduce the topic: Clearly define the subject area and its relevance in the current research or application landscape.
  • Provide background: Summarize essential concepts, historical developments, and key terminology to help readers understand the context. In your case motivations should also be stated clearly.
  • Identify gaps or challenges: Highlight why project is needed by pointing out limitations, unresolved issues, or emerging trends in existing research.
  • State objectives and scope: Explain what the study aims to achieve, the boundaries of the topic covered, and the criteria used to select literature.
  • Engage the reader: Emphasize the significance and potential impact of understanding this topic, motivating the reader to continue through the paper.

Tip

Keep the introduction concise, focused, and logically structured, usually 3-4 paragraphs.

Within introduction, use following sub-headings to guide you:

  • Motivation: What warrants the study and background?
  • Contribution: What will be your key contribution. This could be your problem statement. This can be further broken down into: Problem Statement: A single, concise sentence defining the overall goal of your project. ** Key Contributions (/Objectives)**: A bulleted list of 3-5 specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives that break down the project aim into actionable steps.
  • Organisation: How is the rest of the document organised (Use IEEE format as guide).

2. Problem Defintion

Within this section provide concise problem statement. Clearly explain:

  • Edge Processing: Clearly explain which computational tasks (e.g., data filtering, sensor fusion, ML model inference) will occur on the device and justify why this edge-based approach is superior to a cloud-only model (e.g., for reasons of latency, bandwidth, privacy, or reliability).

  • IoT System: Describe the sensor integration and the communication technology (e.g., Wi-Fi, LoRa, BLE) you plan to use, explaining how data will be transmitted.

  • Deliverables: List the tangible outcomes you will produce by the end of the project (e.g., a functional hardware prototype, documented source code, a performance analysis report, demonstration, etc.).

3. System Architecture

You must include a high-quality block diagram. This diagram should clearly illustrate the different layers of your system:

  • Sensing Layer (Sensors, actuators)
  • Edge Layer (Microcontroller, Gateway)
  • Communication Layer (Protocols, e.g., MQTT)
  • Application Layer (Cloud service, user dashboard – if applicable)

Technology Justification

Specify the generic hardware (e.g., "ESP32-class MCU") and software (e.g., "TensorFlow Lite Micro framework") you will use. Provide a brief but strong justification for each choice, linking it to your project’s technical requirements. There are many places ML can be implemented. You need to think carefully where does it make sense to implement. On device, or on the gateway or in the cloud.

4. Theoretical background

Any theoretical background of ML model or techniques you are planning to use. Explanation of ML model selection. Hyper-parameter tunning etc. This will be different for different projects, so use your best judgement. At this stage, this should not exceed 2-3 paragraphs.

5. Project Testing and Validation

Develop and state a detailed test plan that not only checks everything works but also tests the limits of the system. Provide indicators of benchmarking against existing solutions in terms of accuracy, latency, reliability, etc.

6. Project plan

This should include a Gantt Chart and written description of how deliverables are tied to milestones and when will they be delivered.

7. Social and Ethical Aspects

In this section, just describe social and ethical aspects of the project refering to United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.

Formatting and Submission

Required Tool: LaTeX and Overleaf

To ensure a professional standard, this proposal must be written in LaTeX using the Overleaf online platform.

Template: You are required to use the official IEEE Transactions Template. This can be found by searching for "IEEE" in the Overleaf template gallery when you create your new project.

Why LaTeX? This tool is the standard for technical and academic publications in engineering. It produces exceptionally high-quality documents and simplifies the management of figures, tables, equations, and references.

Getting Started with LaTeX (for Beginners)

  • Sign Up: Create a free account at www.overleaf.com.
  • Find the Template: Click "New Project" → "Template Gallery" and search for "IEEE Transactions". Select the official template.
  • Edit Your Content: Open the main.tex file. Your content goes between \begin{document} and \end{document}.
    • Use \section{Your Title} for main headings.
    • Use \subsection{Your Sub-Title} for subheadings.
    • Simply type your paragraph text. LaTeX handles the rest.
  • Compile: Click the "Recompile" button to see your formatted PDF output.

Useful IEEE LaTeX Resources

  1. How to write an IEEE research paper in LaTeX Link 1

  2. How To Use: IEEE LaTeX Template | Starter Files, Software Link 2

  3. [Research Training] Add BibTex to IEEE Official Conference Template in Overleaf & Some BibTex Errors Link 3

  4. How to cite in IEEE Conference Template on Overleaf Link 4