Lathrum thesis

Building a Mobile Device that Leverages the Power of a Desktop Computer

ASU Barrett Undergraduate Thesis 2022

READ THE PAPER HERE

(Alternatively, see it on asu.edu)

Watch a timelapse of the paper here: https://youtu.be/VJ2HCxnmA_Y

Abstract

With the recent focus of attention towards remote work and mobile computing, the possibility of taking a powerful workstation wherever needed is enticing. However, even emerging laptops today struggle to compete with desktops in terms of cost, maintenance, and future upgrades. The price point of a powerful laptop is considerably higher compared to an equally powerful desktop computer, and most laptops are manufactured in a way that makes upgrading parts of the machine difficult or impossible, forcing a complete purchase in the event of failure or a component needing an upgrade.

In the case where someone already owns a desktop computer and must be mobile, instead of needing to purchase a second device at full price, it may be possible to develop a low-cost computer that has just enough power to connect to the existing desktop and run all processing there, using the mobile device only as a user interface.

This thesis will explore the development of a custom PCB that utilizes a Raspberry Pi Computer Module 4, as well as the development of a fork of the Open Source project Moonlight to stream a host machine's screen to a remote client. This implementation will be compared against other existing remote desktop solutions to analyze it's performance and quality.

Information

This repository contains all the files and resources used to produce my Honors Thesis.

Folders are self-explanatory.