ECE Final-Year Project Ideas — Rated Honestly

/*
 * Sensor node skeleton - ESP32, duty-cycled for a real power budget.
 *
 * Prints one CSV line per wake so logger.py can record it, then deep-sleeps.
 * The transmit path and the sensor are yours to implement.
 */

#include <Arduino.h>

#define SLEEP_SECONDS   300      // 5 min. Your duty cycle drives battery life -
                                 // justify this number in your report.
#define uS_PER_S        1000000ULL

RTC_DATA_ATTR int bootCount = 0; // survives deep sleep, so wakes are countable

float readSensor() {
  // TODO: read your actual sensor (BME280, capacitive soil probe, CT clamp...).
  // Return a calibrated value, not a raw ADC count - calibration against a
  // known reference is a viva question you should be able to answer with data.
  return NAN;
}

bool transmit(float value) {
  // TODO: send via LoRa / WiFi / BLE.
  // Return false on failure and let the caller log it: packet loss over
  // distance is one of the few genuinely publishable numbers in this project.
  return false;
}

float batteryVolts() {
  // TODO: measure the battery through a divider on an ADC pin.
  // Without this you cannot plot voltage against time, which IS the result.
  return NAN;
}

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  delay(50);
  bootCount++;

  float v   = readSensor();
  float vbat = batteryVolts();
  unsigned long t0 = millis();
  bool ok = transmit(v);
  unsigned long txMs = millis() - t0;

  // CSV: boot,uptime_ms,value,vbat,tx_ok,tx_ms  -> consumed by logger.py
  Serial.print(bootCount);   Serial.print(',');
  Serial.print(millis());    Serial.print(',');
  Serial.print(v, 3);        Serial.print(',');
  Serial.print(vbat, 3);     Serial.print(',');
  Serial.print(ok ? 1 : 0);  Serial.print(',');
  Serial.println(txMs);
  Serial.flush();

  esp_sleep_enable_timer_wakeup(SLEEP_SECONDS * uS_PER_S);
  esp_deep_sleep_start();          // execution restarts at setup() on wake
}

void loop() {
  // never reached: deep sleep restarts the sketch from setup()
}

Nothing here reads your sensor or transmits your data — those TODOs are your project. What it removes is the excuse for a USB-powered demo with no power budget, which is the single most common reason these projects underwhelm in viva.