Sketch-Based Circuit Design and Analysis
Overview
Students and professionals alike either use sheets of paper or a large whiteboard when it comes time to design digital logic circuits. These interfaces work well for drafting and design work, as they allow the user think freely - jotting down ideas, erasing them, and wrestling with the logic at hand until the problem is solved. But what the paper and pen and whiteboard and marker cannot offer the user are advanced tools for simulating and debugging their logic circuits - right there as they're working on it!
CircuitBoard is an application targeted for users of Tablet PCs that allows the user to draw digital logic circuits that will be detected automatically using sketch recognition techniques. The user is provided a clean interface for simulating and debugging this circuit, to ensure it's correctness and finalize their design. CircuitBoard aims to combine the utility of modern CAD environments for logic design with the simplicity and expressiveness of a paper-based interface.
CircuitBoard is written in Java 1.6 and requires the Java Runtime Environment to function. CircuitBoard is thusly cross-platform and should work on any system. While the system is designed to be used with a stylus, a mouse can also be used to draw.
Download
Version 1.15 released February 5th, 2009
Download JRE 1.6 if not already installed.
Slides from the Presentation at IUI 2009 (OpenOffice)
Usage Tips
- Be sure to train the program to your style of drawing logic circuits. In CircuitBoard, Options->Train... will let the computer more accurately detect what you draw.
- If you're using a tablet, try using the eraser on the back of the stylus to erase mistakes.
- If something isn't working, send us an email! Perhaps we can fix it.
People and Credits
- Shane Zamora
M.S. Student, Computer Science @ UC Santa Barbara - [Email] - Eyrun Eyjolfsdottir
M.S. Student, Computer Science @ UC Santa Barbara - [Email]
