Ethical and Environmental Analysis

Audio Lossless compression in an FPGA (ALF)

Team 6Ken Pesyna

David EslingerAJ Hartnett

Curt Schieler

ALF

• ALF = Audio compression Losslessly on an FPGA

• Implements FLAC audio compression (which includes Rice Encoding) on an FPGA

• Recording, Compression, Decompression, and Playback capabilities

IEEE Code of Ethics

• “to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment”

Manufacturing Stage

• Environmental Impact– Airborne particulates, waste rinsewater– Waste streams: copper, lead, arsenic, etc.

• How to address– Design the board to be compact– Use RoHS-compliant parts

“Normal Use” Stage

• Environmental Impact– Power consumption

• How to address– Design a more power-efficient circuit– Provide recommendation in user manual to turn

device off when not in use

Deathbed Stage

• Challenges– Proper disposal– User awareness of proper disposal method

• How to address– Include information about PCB and LCD recycling

channels in user manual– PCB recycling: recover lead, tin, nickel, copper– LCD recycling: incinerate to form glass substrates