My name is Çagdas Kayra Akman. I am a senior student in Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department of Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.

This page contains some projects, homeworks or summaries I prepared during different courses I have taken:

Technical works

Computer-Aided Transcription Tool:
M.S. Thesis (January 2007)

Projects:

Connected-Word Speech Recognition with HTK:
The term project for EE 473 Introduction to Digital Signal processing course prepared together with Can Işın. (Fall 2003)
At the beginning, the goal of the project was to develop an isolated-word speech recpgnition application based on hidden markov models. However, the theoretical background this task required led us to using Hidden Markov Toolkit (HTK). We followed Chapter 3 of the HTK Book, but modified the application described there into a word-based application with a different scenario in which three-digit numbers or a sequence of individual digits uttered in Turkish are recognized. Instead of discrete HMM, another model with continuous probability distributions is used as described in HTK Book. These differences can be noted by comparing the project proposal and the project report.
The necessary files to run the application can be downloaded below. Since only my speech samples are used in the training process, the recognizer is inherently speaker-dependent. However the performance of the recognizer may be somehow satisfactory for persons with low-pitched voices. 1000 speech samples are used to train the hidden markov models.

Project proposal [pdf]
Project report [pdf]
Readme file [txt]
Necessary files to run the application [zip]

Communication over Serial Port:
EE 497 Java Programming course term project. (Fall 2003)
Users are granted acces or access is denied upon reading the recorded data on magnetic card strips with a magnatic card reader cpnnected to the serial port of a PC. Users are registered to the system after the magnetic card with recorded data "099" is read. Removal from the system is accomplished witha magnetic card with recorded data "100". Any card can be used as registration or removal card by including its content into the code.
It is stated in the proposal that, as an optional task, communication over network may be added to the program. However this function is not available for the time being.

Project proposal [pdf]
Project report [pdf]
Project presentation [ppt]
Java codes [zip]
Javadoc [zip]

Digital Thermometer:
EE 438 Design with Integrated Circuits term project prepared with Dilek Tekbaş. (Spring 2004)
The signal from LM35 Temperature Sensor drives an ICL 7107 ADC, which drives 7-segment displays showing the room temperature. The same signal from the sensor drives two Schmitt-Trigger circuits for 20 and 40 Centigrade degrees with plus and minus 2 degrees threshold voltages. These circuits function as a window detector or the specified temperature range. Different LED's are turned on when temperature limits are reached.

Project report [pdf]
Note: The circuit schematic has a minor error. The LED's are driven eith pull-up resistors, not with resistors in series with comparators as shown in the schematic.

Analog-Digital Interface Circuit for a Line-Following Robot:
EE 598 Advanced Digital Design course term project. (Spring 2004)
Adigital version of an analog circuit I designed to provide digital input signals for teh microcontroller of a line-following robot using VHDL. The project has been developed using Quartus II.
The analog interfaqce circuit amplifies the difference of signals from CNY70 optpcouplers and provides teh TTL logic voltage levels with a 7414 hex inverter with built-in Scmit-Terigger action.

Project report [pdf]
VHDL code and Quartus II Vector Waveform File [zip]

Speech-Enabled .NET Framework Application for CIMS:
EE 492 Term Project prepared with Murat Semerci as a requirement for the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Spring 2004)

Abstract: In this project, an Interactive Voice Response system, speech-enabled voice-only version of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department's Course Information Management System (CIMS), is developed. Microsoft's Speech Application SDK Beta 4 integrating into ASP.NET class library and Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE is used in the project. User inputs are taken via a speech recognizer and information is conveyed to the user via a text-to-speech engine. Users can access the Grades, Announcements and Assignments pages of CIMS in the voice-only version.

Project report [pdf]
Project presentation [ppt]

Laboratory reports:

EE 327 Electrical Circuits Laboratory Reports:
Even-numbered reports are prepared by my lab partner Onur Derin. I put here both of our reports on computer simulation assignment(Lab 10-11) because Onur simulated circuits using SPICE and he gave the netlists of those circuits. I simulated the same circuits using Multisim 2001 Textbook edition and included the schematics of the circuits:

2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10-11, 10-11(Onur)

Non-technical works:

Education in Turkey:
Tha paper I wrote when I was in the English preparatory class. Usage of language and the content are quite weak, but because it is the first paper I have written in the university, it deserves to be here. [pdf]

Sociology of Education:
Chapter summaries had to be written in the ED 104 Social Fundamentals of Education course. [Jeanne H. Ballatine, The Sociology of Education,(New Jersey,Prentice Hall, 1989)]. Some are in English:
Ch.1 Sociology of Education & Ch2. Conflicting Functions and Processes
Ch.7 Hidden Cirriculum
Ch.8 Educational System and Environment

Some links:
Bogazici University
Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department