"Monic" is an open source calculator and STEM educational device.
It is named after my niece Monica and the mathematical term for a polynomial with a leading coefficient of 1.
I teach mathematics and physics and have an interest in calculators, computer arithmetic and embedded systems. I was inspired to build "monic" for the following reasons:
- to illustrate applications of mathematics through cross-curricula STEM classroom activities incorporating programming, electronics, and engineering, which help instil in students an interest in mathematics and learning.
- to aid the teaching and learning of mathematical concepts through computer-aided assessment tasks on the calculator. These help students develop their understanding of fundamental concepts and provide teachers and students with feedback on progress.
- to collaborate with teachers, students and the wider community to develop new applications and activities and enhance the teaching and learning of STEM subjects.
"Monic" features a 320x480 colour display and an 8 row, 6 column keypad. A parallel interface is used for the display in order to reduce execution times for complex plots such as that of the Mandelbrot set:
Due to the number of pins required for the display I used an Arduino UNO to scan the keypad and send the number of the key pressed to the i.MX RT1010, which performs the necessary calculations and updates the display.
"Monic" features a scientific calculator and its own programming language, with a C editor and translator (and other functions) in progress
The following video demonstrates some of its features:
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