A low-cost microcontroller-based system to monitor crop temperature and water status

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A prototype microcontroller-based system was developed to automate the measurement and recording of soil-moisture status and canopy-, air-, and soil-temperature levels in cropped fields. Measurements of these conditions within the cropping system are often used to assess plant stress, and can assis...

A microcontroller-based implantable nerve stimulator used for rats.

PubMed

Sha, Hong; Zheng, Zheng; Wang, Yan; Ren, Chaoshi

2005-01-01

A microcontroller-based stimulator that can be flexible programmed after it has been implanted into a rat was studied. Programmability enables implanted stimulators to generate customized, complex protocols for experiments. After implantation, a coded light pulse train that contains information of specific identification will unlock a certain stimulator. If a command that changing the parameters is received, the microcontroller will update its flash memory after it affirms the commands. The whole size of it is only 1.6 cubic centimeters, and it can work for a month. The devices have been successfully used in animal behavior experiments, especially on rats.

Physical Test Prototypes Based on Microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paramitha, S. T.

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to produce a prototype of a physical test-based microcontroller. The research method uses the research and development of the Borg and gall. The procedure starts from the study; research and information collecting, planning, develop preliminary form of product, preliminary field testing, main product revision, playing field testing, operational product revision, field operational testing, final product revision, dissemination and implementation. Validation of the product, obtained through expert evaluation; test products of small scale and large scale; effectiveness test; evaluation of respondents. The results showed that the eligibility assessment of prototype products based physical tests microcontroller. Based on the ratings of seven experts showed that 87% included in the category of “very good” and 13% included in the category of “good”. While the effectiveness of the test results showed that 1). The results of the experimental group to test sit-ups increase by 40% and the control group by 15%. 2). The results of the experimental group to test push-ups increased by 30% and the control group by 10%. 3). The results of the experimental group to test the Back-ups increased by 25% and the control group by 10%. With a significant value of 0.002 less than 0.05, product means a physical test prototype microcontroller based, proven effective in improving the results of physical tests. Conclusions and recommendations; Product physical microcontroller-based assays, can be used to measure the physical tests of pushups, sit ups, and back-ups.

Control of dental prosthesis system with microcontroller.

PubMed

Kapidere, M; Müldür, S; Güler, I

2000-04-01

In this study, a microcontroller-based electronic circuit was designed and implemented for dental prosthesis curing system. Heater, compressor and valve were controlled by 8-bit PIC16C64 microcontroller which is programmed using MPASM package. The temperature and time were controlled automatically by preset values which were inputted from keyboard while the pressure was kept constant. Calibration was controlled and the working range was tested. The test results showed that the system provided a good performance.

Two-dimensional heat flow apparatus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDougall, Patrick; Ayars, Eric

2014-06-01

We have created an apparatus to quantitatively measure two-dimensional heat flow in a metal plate using a grid of temperature sensors read by a microcontroller. Real-time temperature data are collected from the microcontroller by a computer for comparison with a computational model of the heat equation. The microcontroller-based sensor array allows previously unavailable levels of precision at very low cost, and the combination of measurement and modeling makes for an excellent apparatus for the advanced undergraduate laboratory course.

Optimal Power Flow Pursuit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dall'Anese, Emiliano; Simonetto, Andrea

This paper considers distribution networks featuring inverter-interfaced distributed energy resources, and develops distributed feedback controllers that continuously drive the inverter output powers to solutions of AC optimal power flow (OPF) problems. Particularly, the controllers update the power setpoints based on voltage measurements as well as given (time-varying) OPF targets, and entail elementary operations implementable onto low-cost microcontrollers that accompany power-electronics interfaces of gateways and inverters. The design of the control framework is based on suitable linear approximations of the AC power-flow equations as well as Lagrangian regularization methods. Convergence and OPF-target tracking capabilities of the controllers are analytically established. Overall,more » the proposed method allows to bypass traditional hierarchical setups where feedback control and optimization operate at distinct time scales, and to enable real-time optimization of distribution systems.« less

Microcontroller-based wireless recorder for biomedical signals.

PubMed

Chien, C-N; Hsu, H-W; Jang, J-K; Rau, C-L; Jaw, F-S

2005-01-01

A portable multichannel system is described for the recording of biomedical signals wirelessly. Instead of using the conversional time-division analog-modulation method, the technique of digital multiplexing was applied to increase the number of signal channels to 4. Detailed design considerations and functional allocation of the system is discussed. The frontend unit was modularly designed to condition the input signal in an optimal manner. Then, the microcontroller handled the tasks of data conversion, wireless transmission, as well as providing the ability of simple preprocessing such as waveform averaging or rectification. The low-power nature of this microcontroller affords the benefit of battery operation and hence, patient isolation of the system. Finally, a single-chip receiver, which compatible with the RF transmitter of the microcontroller, was used to implement a compact interface with the host computer. An application of this portable recorder for low-back pain studies is shown. This device can simultaneously record one ECG and two surface EMG wirelessly, thus, is helpful in relieving patients' anxiety devising clinical measurement. Such an approach, microcontroller-based wireless measurement, could be an important trend for biomedical instrumentation and we help that this paper could be useful for other colleagues.

A PIC microcontroller-based system for real-life interfacing of external peripherals with a mobile robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, N. Nirmal; Chatterjee, Amitava; Rakshit, Anjan

2010-02-01

The present article describes the development of a peripheral interface controller (PIC) microcontroller-based system for interfacing external add-on peripherals with a real mobile robot, for real life applications. This system serves as an important building block of a complete integrated vision-based mobile robot system, integrated indigenously in our laboratory. The system is composed of the KOALA mobile robot in conjunction with a personal computer (PC) and a two-camera-based vision system where the PIC microcontroller is used to drive servo motors, in interrupt-driven mode, to control additional degrees of freedom of the vision system. The performance of the developed system is tested by checking it under the control of several user-specified commands, issued from the PC end.

Sensor Systems Based on FPGAs and Their Applications: A Survey

PubMed Central

de la Piedra, Antonio; Braeken, An; Touhafi, Abdellah

2012-01-01

In this manuscript, we present a survey of designs and implementations of research sensor nodes that rely on FPGAs, either based upon standalone platforms or as a combination of microcontroller and FPGA. Several current challenges in sensor networks are distinguished and linked to the features of modern FPGAs. As it turns out, low-power optimized FPGAs are able to enhance the computation of several types of algorithms in terms of speed and power consumption in comparison to microcontrollers of commercial sensor nodes. We show that architectures based on the combination of microcontrollers and FPGA can play a key role in the future of sensor networks, in fields where processing capabilities such as strong cryptography, self-testing and data compression, among others, are paramount.

Efforts toward an autonomous wheelchair - biomed 2011.

PubMed

Barrett, Steven; Streeter, Robert

2011-01-01

An autonomous wheelchair is in development to provide mobility to those with significant physical challenges. The overall goal of the project is to develop a wheelchair that is fully autonomous with the ability to navigate about an environment and negotiate obstacles. As a starting point for the project, we have reversed engineered the joystick control system of an off-the-shelf commercially available wheelchair. The joystick control has been replaced with a microcontroller based system. The microcontroller has the capability to interface with a number of subsystems currently under development including wheel odometers, obstacle avoidance sensors, and ultrasonic-based wall sensors. This paper will discuss the microcontroller based system and provide a detailed system description. Results of this study may be adapted to commercial or military robot control.

RTOS kernel in portable electrocardiograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Centeno, C. A.; Voos, J. A.; Riva, G. G.; Zerbini, C.; Gonzalez, E. A.

2011-12-01

This paper presents the use of a Real Time Operating System (RTOS) on a portable electrocardiograph based on a microcontroller platform. All medical device digital functions are performed by the microcontroller. The electrocardiograph CPU is based on the 18F4550 microcontroller, in which an uCOS-II RTOS can be embedded. The decision associated with the kernel use is based on its benefits, the license for educational use and its intrinsic time control and peripherals management. The feasibility of its use on the electrocardiograph is evaluated based on the minimum memory requirements due to the kernel structure. The kernel's own tools were used for time estimation and evaluation of resources used by each process. After this feasibility analysis, the migration from cyclic code to a structure based on separate processes or tasks able to synchronize events is used; resulting in an electrocardiograph running on one Central Processing Unit (CPU) based on RTOS.

Investigating Cell-Material Interactions of Magnetospirillum magneticum as an Approach for Probing Submerged Surface Structural Integrity

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

developed a microscope- based , offset Helmholtz coil system with a custom-designed microcontroller. We have developed a microfabrication approach for...implemented an experimental model system using ferromagnetic beads. We have applied direct and frequency based magnetic fields for controlling magnetotactic...fields. Expanded Accomplishments We have developed a microscope- based , offset Helmholtz coil system with a custom- designed microcontroller. To be

Low-Cost Undergraduate Control Systems Experiments Using Microcontroller-Based Control of a DC Motor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunasekaran, M.; Potluri, R.

2012-01-01

This paper presents low-cost experiments for a control systems laboratory module that is worth one and a third credits. The experiments are organized around the microcontroller-based control of a permanent magnet dc motor. The experimental setups were built in-house. Except for the operating system, the software used is primarily freeware or free…

An embedded Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP implemented on a microcontroller for food classification.

PubMed

Garcia-Breijo, Eduardo; Garrigues, Jose; Sanchez, Luis Gil; Laguarda-Miro, Nicolas

2013-08-13

In the present study, a portable system based on a microcontroller has been developed to classify different kinds of honeys. In order to do this classification, a Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP network (SFA) implemented in a microcontroller has been used. Due to memory limits when working with microcontrollers, it is necessary to optimize the use of both program and data memory. Thus, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for MATLAB® has been developed in order to optimize the necessary parameters to programme the SFA in a microcontroller. The measures have been carried out by potentiometric techniques using a multielectrode made of seven different metals. Next, the neural network has been trained on a PC by means of the GUI in Matlab using the data obtained in the experimental phase. The microcontroller has been programmed with the obtained parameters and then, new samples have been analysed using the portable system in order to test the model. Results are very promising, as an 87.5% recognition rate has been achieved in the training phase, which suggests that this kind of procedures can be successfully used not only for honey classification, but also for many other kinds of food.

An Embedded Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP Implemented on a Microcontroller for Food Classification

PubMed Central

Garcia-Breijo, Eduardo; Garrigues, Jose; Sanchez, Luis Gil; Laguarda-Miro, Nicolas

2013-01-01

In the present study, a portable system based on a microcontroller has been developed to classify different kinds of honeys. In order to do this classification, a Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP network (SFA) implemented in a microcontroller has been used. Due to memory limits when working with microcontrollers, it is necessary to optimize the use of both program and data memory. Thus, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for MATLAB® has been developed in order to optimize the necessary parameters to programme the SFA in a microcontroller. The measures have been carried out by potentiometric techniques using a multielectrode made of seven different metals. Next, the neural network has been trained on a PC by means of the GUI in Matlab using the data obtained in the experimental phase. The microcontroller has been programmed with the obtained parameters and then, new samples have been analysed using the portable system in order to test the model. Results are very promising, as an 87.5% recognition rate has been achieved in the training phase, which suggests that this kind of procedures can be successfully used not only for honey classification, but also for many other kinds of food. PMID:23945736

Rapid feedback control and stabilization of an optical tweezers with a budget microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nino, Daniel; Wang, Haowei; Milstein, Joshua N.

2014-09-01

Laboratories ranging the scientific disciplines employ feedback control to regulate variables within their experiments, from the flow of liquids within a microfluidic device to the temperature within a cell incubator. We have built an inexpensive, yet fast and rapidly deployed, feedback control system that is straightforward and flexible to implement from a commercially available Arduino Due microcontroller. This is in comparison with the complex, time-consuming and often expensive electronics that are commonly implemented. As an example of its utility, we apply our feedback controller to the task of stabilizing the main trapping laser of an optical tweezers. The feedback controller, which is inexpensive yet fast and rapidly deployed, was implemented from hacking an open source Arduino Due microcontroller. Our microcontroller based feedback system can stabilize the laser intensity to a few tenths of a per cent at 200 kHz, which is an order of magnitude better than the laser's base specifications, illustrating the utility of these devices.

[Design of modulating intermediate frequency electrotherapy system based on microcontroller unit].

PubMed

Yu, Xuefei; Liu, Xianfeng; Peng, Daming

2010-12-01

This article is devoted to the design of a system for modulating intermediate frequency electrotherapy waveform output. Prescriptions with different output waveform combinations were produced using microcontroller unit (MCU). The rich output waveforms effectively improve tolerance of human adaptability and achieve a therapeutic effect.

Application of neural based estimation algorithm for gait phases of above knee prosthesis.

PubMed

Tileylioğlu, E; Yilmaz, A

2015-01-01

In this study, two gait phase estimation methods which utilize a rule based quantization and an artificial neural network model respectively are developed and applied for the microcontroller based semi-active knee prosthesis in order to respond user demands and adapt environmental conditions. In this context, an experimental environment in which gait data collected synchronously from both inertial and image based measurement systems has been set up. The inertial measurement system that incorporates MEM accelerometers and gyroscopes is used to perform direct motion measurement through the microcontroller, while the image based measurement system is employed for producing the verification data and assessing the success of the prosthesis. Embedded algorithms dynamically normalize the input data prior to gait phase estimation. The real time analyses of two methods revealed that embedded ANN based approach performs slightly better in comparison with the rule based algorithm and has advantage of being easily-scalable, thus able to accommodate additional input parameters considering the microcontroller constraints.

Voltage control in Z-source inverter using low cost microcontroller for undergraduate approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulkifli, Shamsul Aizam; Sewang, Mohd Rizal; Salimin, Suriana; Shah, Noor Mazliza Badrul

2017-09-01

This paper is focussing on controlling the output voltage of Z-Source Inverter (ZSI) using a low cost microcontroller with MATLAB-Simulink that has been used for interfacing the voltage control at the output of ZSI. The key advantage of this system is the ability of a low cost microcontroller to process the voltage control blocks based on the mathematical equations created in MATLAB-Simulink. The Proportional Integral (PI) control equations are been applied and then, been downloaded to the microcontroller for observing the changes on the voltage output regarding to the changes on the reference on the PI. The system has been simulated in MATLAB and been verified with the hardware setup. As the results, the Raspberry Pi and Arduino that have been used in this work are able to respond well when there is a change of ZSI output. It proofed that, by applying/introducing this method to student in undergraduate level, it will help the student to understand more on the process of the power converter combine with a control feedback function that can be applied at low cost microcontroller.

A microcontroller-based microwave free-space measurement system for permittivity determination of lossy liquid materials.

PubMed

Hasar, U C

2009-05-01

A microcontroller-based noncontact and nondestructive microwave free-space measurement system for real-time and dynamic determination of complex permittivity of lossy liquid materials has been proposed. The system is comprised of two main sections--microwave and electronic. While the microwave section provides for measuring only the amplitudes of reflection coefficients, the electronic section processes these data and determines the complex permittivity using a general purpose microcontroller. The proposed method eliminates elaborate liquid sample holder preparation and only requires microwave components to perform reflection measurements from one side of the holder. In addition, it explicitly determines the permittivity of lossy liquid samples from reflection measurements at different frequencies without any knowledge on sample thickness. In order to reduce systematic errors in the system, we propose a simple calibration technique, which employs simple and readily available standards. The measurement system can be a good candidate for industrial-based applications.

Development of a Microcontroller-based Battery Charge Controller for an Off-grid Photovoltaic System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rina, Z. S.; Amin, N. A. M.; Hashim, M. S. M.; Majid, M. S. A.; Rojan, M. A.; Zaman, I.

2017-08-01

A development of a microcontroller-based charge controller for a 12V battery has been explained in this paper. The system is designed based on a novel algorithm to couple existing solar photovoltaic (PV) charging and main grid supply charging power source. One of the main purposes of the hybrid charge controller is to supply a continuous charging power source to the battery. Furthermore, the hybrid charge controller was developed to shorten the battery charging time taken. The algorithm is programmed in an Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller that monitors the battery voltage and generates appropriate commands for the charging power source selection. The solar energy is utilized whenever the solar irradiation is high. The main grid supply will be only consumed whenever the solar irradiation is low. This system ensures continuous charging power supply and faster charging of the battery.

Microcontroller-based servo for two-crystal X-ray monochromators.

PubMed

Siddons, D P

1998-05-01

Microcontrollers have become increasingly easy to incorporate into instruments as the architectures and support tools have developed. The PIC series is particularly easy to use, and this paper describes a controller used to stabilize the output of a two-crystal X-ray monochromator at a given offset from its peak intensity position, as such monochromators are generally used.

A microcontroller-based lock-in amplifier for sub-milliohm resistance measurements.

PubMed

Bengtsson, Lars E

2012-07-01

This paper presents a novel approach to the design of a digital ohmmeter with a resolution of <60 μΩ based on a general-purpose microcontroller and a high-impedance instrumentation amplifier only. The design uses two digital I/O-pins to alternate the current through the sample resistor and combined with a proper firmware routine, the design is a lock-in detector that discriminates any signal that is out of phase/frequency with the reference signal. This makes it possible to selectively detect the μV drop across sample resistors down to 55.6 μΩ using only the current that can be supplied by the digital output pins of a microcontroller. This is achieved without the need for an external reference signal generator and does not rely on the computing processing power of a digital signal processor.

Low cost, microcontroller based heating device for multi-wavelength differential scanning fluorimetry.

PubMed

Hoeser, Jo; Gnandt, Emmanuel; Friedrich, Thorsten

2018-01-23

Differential scanning fluorimetry is a popular method to estimate the stability of a protein in distinct buffer conditions by determining its 'melting point'. The method requires a temperature controlled fluorescence spectrometer or a RT-PCR machine. Here, we introduce a low-budget version of a microcontroller based heating device implemented into a 96-well plate reader that is connected to a standard fluorescence spectrometer. We demonstrate its potential to determine the 'melting point' of soluble and membranous proteins at various buffer conditions.

Interdisciplinary education in optics and photonics based on microcontrollers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dreßler, Paul; Wielage, Heinz-Hermann; Haiss, Ulrich; Vauderwange, Oliver; Curticapean, Dan

2014-07-01

Not only is the number of new devices constantly increasing, but so is their application complexity and power. Most of their applications are in optics, photonics, acoustic and mobile devices. Working speed and functionality is achieved in most of media devices by strategic use of digital signal processors and microcontrollers of the new generation. Considering all these premises of media development dynamics, the authors present how to integrate microcontrollers and digital signal processors in the curricula of media technology lectures by using adequate content. This also includes interdisciplinary content that consists of using the acquired knowledge in media software. These entries offer a deeper understanding of photonics, acoustics and media engineering.

AVR Microcontroller-based automated technique for analysis of DC motors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, P.; Chatterji, S.

2014-01-01

This paper provides essential information on the development of a 'dc motor test and analysis control card' using AVR series ATMega32 microcontroller. This card can be interfaced to PC and calculates parameters like motor losses, efficiency and plot characteristics for dc motors. Presently, there are different tests and methods available to evaluate motor parameters, but a single and universal user-friendly automated set-up has been discussed in this paper. It has been accomplished by designing a data acquisition and SCR bridge firing hardware based on AVR ATMega32 microcontroller. This hardware has the capability to drive the phase-controlled rectifiers and acquire real-time values of current, voltage, temperature and speed of motor. Various analyses feasible with the designed hardware are of immense importance for dc motor manufacturers and quality-sensitive users. Authors, through this paper aim to provide details of this AVR-based hardware which can be used for dc motor parameter analysis and also for motor control applications.

Automated hydroponics nutrition plants systems using arduino uno microcontroller based on android

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sihombing, P.; Karina, N. A.; Tarigan, J. T.; Syarif, M. I.

2018-03-01

Technological developments today make the combination of science is very common, including in Computer Science and Agriculture to make both of science need each other. This paper aims to develop a control tool for the flow of nutrients of hydroponic plants automatically using Arduino microcontroller and controlled by smartphone. We use an Arduino Uno microcontroller to automatically control the flow of nutrient solution with logic if else. The microcontroller can also send data of fluid level (solution) and temperature around the plant to smartphone android of the owner of the hydroponics plant. The height of the nutrient solution (water) is detected by the Ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 and the temperature is detected by the temperature sensor LM35. Data from the sensor will forward into Arduino Uno and displayed in liquid crystal display (LCD) then via wireless fidelity (WIFI) ESP8266 module will transmit the height of the nutrient solution and the temperature around of the plants to Android smartphone.

Development open source microcontroller based temperature data logger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, M. H.; Che Ghani, S. A.; Zaulkafilai, Z.; Tajuddin, S. N.

2017-10-01

This article discusses the development stages in designing, prototyping, testing and deploying a portable open source microcontroller based temperature data logger for use in rough industrial environment. The 5V powered prototype of data logger is equipped with open source Arduino microcontroller for integrating multiple thermocouple sensors with their module, secure digital (SD) card storage, liquid crystal display (LCD), real time clock and electronic enclosure made of acrylic. The program for the function of the datalogger is programmed so that 8 readings from the thermocouples can be acquired within 3 s interval and displayed on the LCD simultaneously. The recorded temperature readings at four different points on both hydrodistillation show similar profile pattern and highest yield of extracted oil was achieved on hydrodistillation 2 at 0.004%. From the obtained results, this study achieved the objective of developing an inexpensive, portable and robust eight channels temperature measuring module with capabilities to monitor and store real time data.

Microcontroller-based real-time QRS detection.

PubMed

Sun, Y; Suppappola, S; Wrublewski, T A

1992-01-01

The authors describe the design of a system for real-time detection of QRS complexes in the electrocardiogram based on a single-chip microcontroller (Motorola 68HC811). A systematic analysis of the instrumentation requirements for QRS detection and of the various design techniques is also given. Detection algorithms using different nonlinear transforms for the enhancement of QRS complexes are evaluated by using the ECG database of the American Heart Association. The results show that the nonlinear transform involving multiplication of three adjacent, sign-consistent differences in the time domain gives a good performance and a quick response. When implemented with an appropriate sampling rate, this algorithm is also capable of rejecting pacemaker spikes. The eight-bit single-chip microcontroller provides sufficient throughput and shows a satisfactory performance. Implementation of multiple detection algorithms in the same system improves flexibility and reliability. The low chip count in the design also favors maintainability and cost-effectiveness.

Approaching the design of a failsafe turbine monitor with simple microcontroller blocks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zapolin, R.E.

1995-12-31

The proper approach to early instrumentation design for tasks like failsafe turbine monitoring permits meeting requirements without resorting to traditional complex special-purpose electronics. Instead a small network of basic microcontroller building blocks can split the effort with each block optimized for its portion of the overall system. This paper discusses approaching design by partitioning intricate system specifications to permit each block to be optimized to the safety level appropriate for its portion of the overall task while retaining and production and reliability advantages of having common simple modules. It illustrates that approach with a modular microcontroller-based speed monitor which metmore » user needs for the latest in power plant monitoring equipment.« less

A Distributed Synchronization and Timing System on the EAST Tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Jiarong; Wu, Yichun; Shu, Yantai

2008-08-01

A key requirement for the EAST distributed control system (EASTDCS) is time synchronization to an accuracy of <1 mus. In 2006 a Distributed Synchronization and Timing System (DSTS) was set up, which is based on the ATmega128 AVR microcontroller and the Nut/OS embedded Real Time Operating System (RTOS). The DSTS provides the control and the data acquisition systems with reference clocks (0.01 Hz 10 MHz) and delayed trigger times ( 1 mus 4294 s). These are produced by a Core Module Unit (CMU) connected by optical fibres to many Local Synchronized Node Units (LSNU). The fibres provide immunity from electrical noise and are of equal length to match clock and trigger delays between systems. This paper describes the architecture of the DSTS on the EAST tokamak and provides an overview of the characteristics of the main and local units.

Design of microcontroller-based EMG and the analysis of EMG signals.

PubMed

Güler, Nihal Fatma; Hardalaç, Firat

2002-04-01

In this work, a microcontroller-based EMG designed and tested on 40 patients. When the patients are in rest, the fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis was applied to EMG signals recorded from right leg peroneal region. The histograms are constructed from the results of the FFT analysis. The analysis results shows that the amplitude of fibrillation potential of the muscle fiber of 30 patients measured from peroneal region is low and the duration is short. This is the reason why the motor nerves degenerated and 10 patients were found to be healthy.

ATAMM enhancement and multiprocessing performance evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoughton, John W.

1994-01-01

The algorithm to architecture mapping model (ATAAM) is a Petri net based model which provides a strategy for periodic execution of a class of real-time algorithms on multicomputer dataflow architecture. The execution of large-grained, decision-free algorithms on homogeneous processing elements is studied. The ATAAM provides an analytical basis for calculating performance bounds on throughput characteristics. Extension of the ATAMM as a strategy for cyclo-static scheduling provides for a truly distributed ATAMM multicomputer operating system. An ATAAM testbed consisting of a centralized graph manager and three processors is described using embedded firmware on 68HC11 microcontrollers.

Design of low-cost general purpose microcontroller based neuromuscular stimulator.

PubMed

Koçer, S; Rahmi Canal, M; Güler, I

2000-04-01

In this study, a general purpose, low-cost, programmable, portable and high performance stimulator is designed and implemented. For this purpose, a microcontroller is used in the design of the stimulator. The duty cycle and amplitude of the designed system can be controlled using a keyboard. The performance test of the system has shown that the results are reliable. The overall system can be used as the neuromuscular stimulator under safe conditions.

Built-In Diagnostics (BID) Of Equipment/Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Granieri, Michael N.; Giordano, John P.; Nolan, Mary E.

1995-01-01

Diagnostician(TM)-on-Chip (DOC) technology identifies faults and commands systems reconfiguration. Smart microcontrollers operating in conjunction with other system-control circuits, command self-correcting system/equipment actions in real time. DOC microcontroller generates commands for associated built-in test equipment to stimulate unit of equipment diagnosed, collects and processes response data obtained by built-in test equipment, and performs diagnostic reasoning on response data, using diagnostic knowledge base derived from design data.

Space qualification of an automotive microcontroller for the DREAMS-P/H pressure and humidity instrument on board the ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli lander

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikkanen, T.; Schmidt, W.; Harri, A.-M.; Genzer, M.; Hieta, M.; Haukka, H.; Kemppinen, O.

2015-10-01

Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has developed a novel kind of pressure and humidity instrument for the Schiaparelli Mars lander, which is a part of the ExoMars 2016 mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) [1]. The DREAMS-P pressure instrument and DREAMS-H humidity instrument are part of the DREAMS science package on board the lander. DREAMS-P (seen in Fig. 1 and DREAMS-H were evolved from earlier planetary pressure and humidity instrument designs by FMI with a completely redesigned control and data unit. Instead of using the conventional approach of utilizing a space grade processor component, a commercial off the shelf microcontroller was selected for handling the pressure and humidity measurements. The new controller is based on the Freescale MC9S12XEP100 16-bit automotive microcontroller. Coordinated by FMI, a batch of these microcontroller units (MCUs) went through a custom qualification process in order to accept the component for spaceflight on board a Mars lander.

Design of microcontroller based system for automation of streak camera.

PubMed

Joshi, M J; Upadhyay, J; Deshpande, P P; Sharma, M L; Navathe, C P

2010-08-01

A microcontroller based system has been developed for automation of the S-20 optical streak camera, which is used as a diagnostic tool to measure ultrafast light phenomenon. An 8 bit MCS family microcontroller is employed to generate all control signals for the streak camera. All biasing voltages required for various electrodes of the tubes are generated using dc-to-dc converters. A high voltage ramp signal is generated through a step generator unit followed by an integrator circuit and is applied to the camera's deflecting plates. The slope of the ramp can be changed by varying values of the capacitor and inductor. A programmable digital delay generator has been developed for synchronization of ramp signal with the optical signal. An independent hardwired interlock circuit has been developed for machine safety. A LABVIEW based graphical user interface has been developed which enables the user to program the settings of the camera and capture the image. The image is displayed with intensity profiles along horizontal and vertical axes. The streak camera was calibrated using nanosecond and femtosecond lasers.

Design of microcontroller based system for automation of streak camera

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joshi, M. J.; Upadhyay, J.; Deshpande, P. P.

2010-08-15

A microcontroller based system has been developed for automation of the S-20 optical streak camera, which is used as a diagnostic tool to measure ultrafast light phenomenon. An 8 bit MCS family microcontroller is employed to generate all control signals for the streak camera. All biasing voltages required for various electrodes of the tubes are generated using dc-to-dc converters. A high voltage ramp signal is generated through a step generator unit followed by an integrator circuit and is applied to the camera's deflecting plates. The slope of the ramp can be changed by varying values of the capacitor and inductor.more » A programmable digital delay generator has been developed for synchronization of ramp signal with the optical signal. An independent hardwired interlock circuit has been developed for machine safety. A LABVIEW based graphical user interface has been developed which enables the user to program the settings of the camera and capture the image. The image is displayed with intensity profiles along horizontal and vertical axes. The streak camera was calibrated using nanosecond and femtosecond lasers.« less

ETHERNET BASED EMBEDDED SYSTEM FOR FEL DIAGNOSTICS AND CONTROLS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jianxun Yan; Daniel Sexton; Steven Moore

2006-10-24

An Ethernet based embedded system has been developed to upgrade the Beam Viewer and Beam Position Monitor (BPM) systems within the free-electron laser (FEL) project at Jefferson Lab. The embedded microcontroller was mounted on the front-end I/O cards with software packages such as Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) and Real Time Executive for Multiprocessor System (RTEMS) running as an Input/Output Controller (IOC). By cross compiling with the EPICS, the RTEMS kernel, IOC device supports, and databases all of these can be downloaded into the microcontroller. The first version of the BPM electronics based on the embedded controller wasmore » built and is currently running in our FEL system. The new version of BPM that will use a Single Board IOC (SBIOC), which integrates with an Field Programming Gate Array (FPGA) and a ColdFire embedded microcontroller, is presently under development. The new system has the features of a low cost IOC, an open source real-time operating system, plug&play-like ease of installation and flexibility, and provides a much more localized solution.« less

[Bioimpedance means of skin condition monitoring during therapeutic and cosmetic procedures].

PubMed

Alekseenko, V A; Kus'min, A A; Filist, S A

2008-01-01

Engineering and technological problems of bioimpedance skin surface mapping are considered. A typical design of a device based on a PIC 16F microcontroller is suggested. It includes a keyboard, LCD indicator, probing current generator with programmed frequency tuning, and units for probing current monitoring and bioimpedance measurement. The electrode matrix of the device is constructed using nanotechnology. A microcontroller-controlled multiplexor provides scanning of interelectrode impedance, which makes it possible to obtain the impedance image of the skin surface under the electrode matrix. The microcontroller controls the probing signal generator frequency and allows layer-by-layer images of skin under the electrode matrix to be obtained. This makes it possible to use reconstruction tomography methods for analysis and monitoring of the skin condition during therapeutic and cosmetic procedures.

The CAN Microcluster: Parallel Processing over the Controller Area Network

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuban, Paul A.; Ragade, Rammohan K.

2005-01-01

Most electrical engineering and computer science undergraduate programs include at least one course on microcontrollers and assembly language programming. Some departments offer legacy courses in C programming, but few include C programming from an embedded systems perspective, where it is still regularly used. Distributed computing and parallel…

Microcontroller-based locking in optics experiments.

PubMed

Huang, K; Le Jeannic, H; Ruaudel, J; Morin, O; Laurat, J

2014-12-01

Optics experiments critically require the stable and accurate locking of relative phases between light beams or the stabilization of Fabry-Perot cavity lengths. Here, we present a simple and inexpensive technique based on a stand-alone microcontroller unit to perform such tasks. Easily programmed in C language, this reconfigurable digital locking system also enables automatic relocking and sequential functioning. Different algorithms are detailed and applied to fringe locking and to low- and high-finesse optical cavity stabilization, without the need of external modulations or error signals. This technique can readily replace a number of analog locking systems advantageously in a variety of optical experiments.

An Architectural Framework for Describing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-09-01

having one of two possible values, described as 0 or 1. Boundary A logical segregation of related components in a system. The segregation may be based ...Depending on the sophistication of the microcontroller in the RTU, it can be configured to act as a relay station for other RTUs which cannot...communicate directly with a master station, or the microcontroller can communicate on a peer-to-peer basis with other RTUs. RTUs are generally remotely

Implementing a Microcontroller Watchdog with a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straka, Bartholomew

2013-01-01

Reliability is crucial to safety. Redundancy of important system components greatly enhances reliability and hence safety. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are useful for monitoring systems and handling the logic necessary to keep them running with minimal interruption when individual components fail. A complete microcontroller watchdog with logic for failure handling can be implemented in a hardware description language (HDL.). HDL-based designs are vendor-independent and can be used on many FPGAs with low overhead.

Walking robot: A design project for undergraduate students

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The objective of the University of Maryland walking robot project was to design, analyze, assemble, and test an intelligent, mobile, and terrain-adaptive system. The robot incorporates existing technologies in novel ways. The legs emulate the walking path of a human by an innovative modification of a crank-and-rocker mechanism. The body consists of two tripod frames connected by a turning mechanism. The two sets of three legs are mounted so as to allow the robot to walk with stability in its own footsteps. The computer uses a modular hardware design and distributed processing. Dual-port RAM is used to allow communication between a supervisory personal computer and seven microcontrollers. The microcontrollers provide low-level control for the motors and relieve the processing burden on the PC.

Mongoose ASIC microcontroller programming guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Brian S.

1993-09-01

The 'Mongoose' ASIC microcontroller is a radiation-hard implementation of the R3000 microprocessor. This document describes the internals of the microcontroller in a level of detail necessary for someone implementing a software design.

Microcontrollers in the Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Ron

1989-01-01

Described is the use of automated control using microcomputers. Covers the development of the microcontroller and describes advantages and characteristics of several brands of chips. Provides several recent applications of microcontrollers in laboratory automation. (MVL)

Mongoose ASIC microcontroller programming guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Brian S.

1993-01-01

The 'Mongoose' ASIC microcontroller is a radiation-hard implementation of the R3000 microprocessor. This document describes the internals of the microcontroller in a level of detail necessary for someone implementing a software design.

An inexpensive Arduino-based LED stimulator system for vision research.

PubMed

Teikari, Petteri; Najjar, Raymond P; Malkki, Hemi; Knoblauch, Kenneth; Dumortier, Dominique; Gronfier, Claude; Cooper, Howard M

2012-11-15

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are being used increasingly as light sources in life sciences applications such as in vision research, fluorescence microscopy and in brain-computer interfacing. Here we present an inexpensive but effective visual stimulator based on light emitting diodes (LEDs) and open-source Arduino microcontroller prototyping platform. The main design goal of our system was to use off-the-shelf and open-source components as much as possible, and to reduce design complexity allowing use of the system to end-users without advanced electronics skills. The main core of the system is a USB-connected Arduino microcontroller platform designed initially with a specific emphasis on the ease-of-use creating interactive physical computing environments. The pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal of Arduino was used to drive LEDs allowing linear light intensity control. The visual stimulator was demonstrated in applications such as murine pupillometry, rodent models for cognitive research, and heterochromatic flicker photometry in human psychophysics. These examples illustrate some of the possible applications that can be easily implemented and that are advantageous for students, educational purposes and universities with limited resources. The LED stimulator system was developed as an open-source project. Software interface was developed using Python with simplified examples provided for Matlab and LabVIEW. Source code and hardware information are distributed under the GNU General Public Licence (GPL, version 3). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Continuous operation of an ultra-low-power microcontroller using glucose as the sole energy source.

PubMed

Lee, Inyoung; Sode, Takashi; Loew, Noya; Tsugawa, Wakako; Lowe, Christopher Robin; Sode, Koji

2017-07-15

An ultimate goal for those engaged in research to develop implantable medical devices is to develop mechatronic implantable artificial organs such as artificial pancreas. Such devices would comprise at least a sensor module, an actuator module, and a controller module. For the development of optimal mechatronic implantable artificial organs, these modules should be self-powered and autonomously operated. In this study, we aimed to develop a microcontroller using the BioCapacitor principle. A direct electron transfer type glucose dehydrogenase was immobilized onto mesoporous carbon, and then deposited on the surface of a miniaturized Au electrode (7mm 2 ) to prepare a miniaturized enzyme anode. The enzyme fuel cell was connected with a 100 μF capacitor and a power boost converter as a charge pump. The voltage of the enzyme fuel cell was increased in a stepwise manner by the charge pump from 330mV to 3.1V, and the generated electricity was charged into a 100μF capacitor. The charge pump circuit was connected to an ultra-low-power microcontroller. Thus prepared BioCapacitor based circuit was able to operate an ultra-low-power microcontroller continuously, by running a program for 17h that turned on an LED every 60s. Our success in operating a microcontroller using glucose as the sole energy source indicated the probability of realizing implantable self-powered autonomously operated artificial organs, such as artificial pancreas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microcontroller-based locking in optics experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, K.; State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062; Le Jeannic, H.

2014-12-15

Optics experiments critically require the stable and accurate locking of relative phases between light beams or the stabilization of Fabry-Perot cavity lengths. Here, we present a simple and inexpensive technique based on a stand-alone microcontroller unit to perform such tasks. Easily programmed in C language, this reconfigurable digital locking system also enables automatic relocking and sequential functioning. Different algorithms are detailed and applied to fringe locking and to low- and high-finesse optical cavity stabilization, without the need of external modulations or error signals. This technique can readily replace a number of analog locking systems advantageously in a variety of opticalmore » experiments.« less

A flexible microcontroller-based data acquisition device.

PubMed

Hercog, Darko; Gergič, Bojan

2014-06-02

This paper presents a low-cost microcontroller-based data acquisition device. The key component of the presented solution is a configurable microcontroller-based device with an integrated USB transceiver and a 12-bit analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). The presented embedded DAQ device contains a preloaded program (firmware) that enables easy acquisition and generation of analogue and digital signals and data transfer between the device and the application running on a PC via USB bus. This device has been developed as a USB human interface device (HID). This USB class is natively supported by most of the operating systems and therefore any installation of additional USB drivers is unnecessary. The input/output peripheral of the presented device is not static but rather flexible, and could be easily configured to customised needs without changing the firmware. When using the developed configuration utility, a majority of chip pins can be configured as analogue input, digital input/output, PWM output or one of the SPI lines. In addition, LabVIEW drivers have been developed for this device. When using the developed drivers, data acquisition and signal processing algorithms as well as graphical user interface (GUI), can easily be developed using a well-known, industry proven, block oriented LabVIEW programming environment.

A Lab Assembled Microcontroller-Based Sensor Module for Continuous Oxygen Measurement in Portable Hypoxia Chambers

PubMed Central

Mathupala, Saroj P.; Kiousis, Sam; Szerlip, Nicholas J.

2016-01-01

Background Hypoxia-based cell culture experiments are routine and essential components of in vitro cancer research. Most laboratories use low-cost portable modular chambers to achieve hypoxic conditions for cell cultures, where the sealed chambers are purged with a gas mixture of preset O2 concentration. Studies are conducted under the assumption that hypoxia remains unaltered throughout the 48 to 72 hour duration of such experiments. Since these chambers lack any sensor or detection system to monitor gas-phase O2, the cell-based data tend to be non-uniform due to the ad hoc nature of the experimental setup. Methodology With the availability of low-cost open-source microcontroller-based electronic project kits, it is now possible for researchers to program these with easy-to-use software, link them to sensors, and place them in basic scientific apparatus to monitor and record experimental parameters. We report here the design and construction of a small-footprint kit for continuous measurement and recording of O2 concentration in modular hypoxia chambers. The low-cost assembly (US$135) consists of an Arduino-based microcontroller, data-logging freeware, and a factory pre-calibrated miniature O2 sensor. A small, intuitive software program was written by the authors to control the data input and output. The basic nature of the kit will enable any student in biology with minimal experience in hobby-electronics to assemble the system and edit the program parameters to suit individual experimental conditions. Results/Conclusions We show the kit’s utility and stability of data output via a series of hypoxia experiments. The studies also demonstrated the critical need to monitor and adjust gas-phase O2 concentration during hypoxia-based experiments to prevent experimental errors or failure due to partial loss of hypoxia. Thus, incorporating the sensor-microcontroller module to a portable hypoxia chamber provides a researcher a capability that was previously available only to labs with access to sophisticated (and expensive) cell culture incubators. PMID:26862760

A Lab Assembled Microcontroller-Based Sensor Module for Continuous Oxygen Measurement in Portable Hypoxia Chambers.

PubMed

Mathupala, Saroj P; Kiousis, Sam; Szerlip, Nicholas J

2016-01-01

Hypoxia-based cell culture experiments are routine and essential components of in vitro cancer research. Most laboratories use low-cost portable modular chambers to achieve hypoxic conditions for cell cultures, where the sealed chambers are purged with a gas mixture of preset O2 concentration. Studies are conducted under the assumption that hypoxia remains unaltered throughout the 48 to 72 hour duration of such experiments. Since these chambers lack any sensor or detection system to monitor gas-phase O2, the cell-based data tend to be non-uniform due to the ad hoc nature of the experimental setup. With the availability of low-cost open-source microcontroller-based electronic project kits, it is now possible for researchers to program these with easy-to-use software, link them to sensors, and place them in basic scientific apparatus to monitor and record experimental parameters. We report here the design and construction of a small-footprint kit for continuous measurement and recording of O2 concentration in modular hypoxia chambers. The low-cost assembly (US$135) consists of an Arduino-based microcontroller, data-logging freeware, and a factory pre-calibrated miniature O2 sensor. A small, intuitive software program was written by the authors to control the data input and output. The basic nature of the kit will enable any student in biology with minimal experience in hobby-electronics to assemble the system and edit the program parameters to suit individual experimental conditions. We show the kit's utility and stability of data output via a series of hypoxia experiments. The studies also demonstrated the critical need to monitor and adjust gas-phase O2 concentration during hypoxia-based experiments to prevent experimental errors or failure due to partial loss of hypoxia. Thus, incorporating the sensor-microcontroller module to a portable hypoxia chamber provides a researcher a capability that was previously available only to labs with access to sophisticated (and expensive) cell culture incubators.

Development of microcontroller-based acquisition and processing unit for fiber optic vibration sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryadi; Puranto, P.; Adinanta, H.; Waluyo, T. B.; Priambodo, P. S.

2017-04-01

Microcontroller based acquisition and processing unit (MAPU) has been developed to measure vibration signal from fiber optic vibration sensor. The MAPU utilizes a 32-bit ARM microcontroller to perform acquisition and processing of the input signal. The input signal is acquired with 12 bit ADC and processed using FFT method to extract frequency information. Stability of MAPU is characterized by supplying a constant input signal at 500 Hz for 29 hours and shows a stable operation. To characterize the frequency response, input signal is swapped from 20 to 1000 Hz with 20 Hz interval. The characterization result shows that MAPU can detect input signal from 20 to 1000 Hz with minimum signal of 4 mV RMS. The experiment has been set that utilizes the MAPU with singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber optic sensor to detect vibration which is induced by a transducer in a wooden platform. The experimental result indicates that vibration signal from 20 to 600 Hz has been successfully detected. Due to the limitation of the vibration source used in the experiment, vibration signal above 600 Hz is undetected.

Design of embedded system to determine liquid refractive index based on ultrasonic sensor using an ATMega328

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radiyonoa, Y.; Surantoro, S.; Pujayanto, P.; Budiharti, R.; Respati, Y. S.; Saputro, D. E.

2018-05-01

The occurrence of the broken pencil shadow into a glass of water becomes an interesting matter to be learned. The students of senior high school still find difficulty in determining liquid refractive index. To overcome this problem, it needs to develop an experimental tool to determine liquid refractive index by utilizing the newest technology. It is expected to be useful for students. This study is aimed to (1) make the design of physics learning experimental tool determinant of a liquid refractive index assisted by microcontroller based on ultrasonic sensors ATMega328 (2) explain the working principle and experimental result of liquid refractive indexing instrument assisted with ATMega328 microcontroller based ultrasonic sensor. This research used the experimental method. The result of the research shows design of physics learning experimental tool determinant of a liquid refractive index assisted by microcontroller based on ultrasonic sensors ATMega328 that has relative counting mistake of 0.36% on the measurement of aquades liquid refractive index, relative mistake of 0.18% on the 5% NaCl measurement, 0.24% on 5% glucose, and relative mistake of 0.50% on the measurement of 5 % fructose liquid refractive index. It has been created a proper device to be used in determining liquid refractive index.

The magic glove: a gesture-based remote controller for intelligent mobile robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Chaomin; Chen, Yue; Krishnan, Mohan; Paulik, Mark

2012-01-01

This paper describes the design of a gesture-based Human Robot Interface (HRI) for an autonomous mobile robot entered in the 2010 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC). While the robot is meant to operate autonomously in the various Challenges of the competition, an HRI is useful in moving the robot to the starting position and after run termination. In this paper, a user-friendly gesture-based embedded system called the Magic Glove is developed for remote control of a robot. The system consists of a microcontroller and sensors that is worn by the operator as a glove and is capable of recognizing hand signals. These are then transmitted through wireless communication to the robot. The design of the Magic Glove included contributions on two fronts: hardware configuration and algorithm development. A triple axis accelerometer used to detect hand orientation passes the information to a microcontroller, which interprets the corresponding vehicle control command. A Bluetooth device interfaced to the microcontroller then transmits the information to the vehicle, which acts accordingly. The user-friendly Magic Glove was successfully demonstrated first in a Player/Stage simulation environment. The gesture-based functionality was then also successfully verified on an actual robot and demonstrated to judges at the 2010 IGVC.

Smart measurement system for resistive (bridge) or capacitive sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Guijie; Meijer, Gerard C. M.

1998-07-01

A low-cost smart measurement system for resistive (bridge) and capacitive sensors is presented and demonstrated. The measurement system consists of three main parts: the sensor element, a universal transducer interface (UTI) and a microcontroller. The UTI is a sensor-signal-to-time converter, based on a period-modulated oscillator, which is equipped with front-ends for many types of resistive (bridge) and capacitive sensors, and which generates a microcontroller-compatible output signal. The microcontroller performs data acquisition of the output signals from the interface UTI, controls the working status of the UTI for a specified application and communicates with a personal computer. Continuous auto-calibration of the offset and the gain of the complete system is applied to eliminate many nonidealities. Experimental results show that the accuracy and resolution are 14 bits and 16 bits, respectively, for a measurement time of about 100 ms.

An Introduction to the Industrial Applications of Microcontrollers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carelse, Xavier F.

A microcontroller is sometimes described as a “computer on a chip” because it contains all the features of a full computer including central processor, in-built clock circuitry, ROM, RAM, input and output ports with special features'such as serial communication, analogue-to-digital conversion and, more recently, signal processing. The smallest microcontroller has only eight pins but some having 68 pins are also being marketed. In the last five years, the prices of microcontrollers have dropped by 80% and are now one of the most cost-effective components in industry. Being software-driven, microcontrollers greatly simplify the design of sophisticated instrumentation and control circuitry. They are able to effect precise calculations sometimes needed for feedback in control systems and now form the basis of all intelligent embedded systems such as those required in television and VCR remote controls, microwave ovens, washing machines, etc. More than ten times as many microcontrollers than microprocessors are manufactured and sold in the world in spite of the high profile that the latter enjoys because of the personal computer market. In Zimbabwe, extensive research is being carried out to use microcontrollers to aid the cost recovery of domestic and commercial solar installations as part of the rural electrification programme.

On-chip temperature-based digital signal processing for customized wireless microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farhah Razanah Faezal, Siti; Isa, Mohd Nazrin Md; Harun, Azizi; Nizam Mohyar, Shaiful; Bahari Jambek, Asral

2017-11-01

Increases in die size and power density inside system-on-chip (SoC) design have brought thermal issue inside the system. Uneven heat-up and increasing in temperature offset on-chip has become a major factor that can limits the system performance. This paper presents the design and simulation of a temperature-based digital signal processing for modern system-on-chip design using the Verilog HDL. This design yields continuous monitoring of temperature and reacts to specified conditions. The simulation of the system has been done on Altera Quartus Software v. 14. With system above, microcontroller can achieve nominal power dissipation and operation is within the temperature range due to the incorporate of an interrupt-based system.

Teaching Electronics and Laboratory Automation Using Microcontroller Boards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mabbott, Gary A.

2014-01-01

Modern microcontroller boards offer the analytical chemist a powerful and inexpensive means of interfacing computers and laboratory equipment. The availability of a host of educational materials, compatible sensors, and electromechanical devices make learning to implement microcontrollers fun and empowering. This article describes the advantages…

Stand alone, low current measurements on possible sensing platforms via Arduino Uno microcontroller with modified commercially available sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, Meghan; Henson, Gabriel; Senevirathne, Indrajith

Advent of cost-effective solid-state sensors has spurred an immense interest in microcontrollers, in particular Arduino microcontrollers. These include serious engineering and physical science applications due to their versatility and robustness. An Arduino microcontroller coupled with a commercially available sensor has been used to methodically measure, record, and explore low currents, low voltages, and corresponding dissipated power towards assessing secondary physical properties in a select set of engineered systems. System was assembled via breadboard, wire, and simple soldering with an Arduino Uno with ATmega328P microcontroller connected to a PC. The microcontroller was programmed with Arduino software while the bootloader was used to upload the code. High-side measurement INA169 current shunt monitor was used to measure corresponding low to ultra-low currents and voltages. A collection of measurements was obtained via the sensor and was compared with measurements from standardized devices to assess reliability and uncertainty. Some sensors were modified/hacked to improve the sensitivity of the measurements.

Gamma motes for detection of radioactive materials in shipping containers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harold McHugh; William Quam; Stephan Weeks

Shipping containers can be effectively monitored for radiological materials using gamma (and neutron) motes in distributed mesh networks. The mote platform is ideal for collecting data for integration into operational management systems required for efficiently and transparently monitoring international trade. Significant reductions in size and power requirements have been achieved for room-temperature cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) gamma detectors. Miniaturization of radio modules and microcontroller units are paving the way for low-power, deeply-embedded, wireless sensor distributed mesh networks.

[Development of a massage device based on microcontroller in the field of alimentary tract].

PubMed

Huang, Rong; Peng, Chenglin; He, Hongmei; Zhu, Jing

2007-12-01

In this artical is first reported a survey of the progress in research of MEMS technology. Then, the basic structure, features and the principles of a massage device based on microcontroller in the field of alimentary tract are introduced. Special emphasis is laid on the utilization of MSP430F123 microprocessor for producing a kind of period pulse to control the power of massage capsule. In general, the research and development of the massage device in the field of alimentary tract have active support and deep significance to therapy in the clinical and business settings as well as in the development of biomedical engineering and MEMS.

Microcontroller-based underwater acoustic ECG telemetry system.

PubMed

Istepanian, R S; Woodward, B

1997-06-01

This paper presents a microcontroller-based underwater acoustic telemetry system for digital transmission of the electrocardiogram (ECG). The system is designed for the real time, through-water transmission of data representing any parameter, and it was used initially for transmitting in multiplexed format the heart rate, breathing rate and depth of a diver using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA). Here, it is used to monitor cardiovascular reflexes during diving and swimming. The programmable capability of the system provides an effective solution to the problem of transmitting data in the presence of multipath interference. An important feature of the paper is a comparative performance analysis of two encoding methods, Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) and Pulse Position Modulation (PPM).

An Open-Source Arduino-based Controller for Mechanical Rain Simulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cantilina, K. K.

2017-12-01

Many commercial rain simulators currently used in hydrology rely on inflexible and outdated controller designs. These analog controllers typically only allow a handful of discrete parameter options, and do not support internal timing functions or continuously-changing parameters. A desire for finer control of rain simulation events necessitated the design and construction of a microcontroller-based controller, using widely available off-the-shelf components. A menu driven interface allows users to fine-tune simulation parameters without the need for training or experience with microcontrollers, and the accessibility of the Arduino IDE allows users with a minimum of programming and hardware experience to modify the controller program to suit the needs of individual experiments.

A multi-purpose open-source triggering platform for magnetic resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruytenberg, T.; Webb, A. G.; Beenakker, J. W. M.

2014-10-01

Many MR scans need to be synchronised with external events such as the cardiac or respiratory cycles. For common physiological functions commercial trigger equipment exists, but for more experimental inputs these are not available. This paper describes the design of a multi-purpose open-source trigger platform for MR systems. The heart of the system is an open-source Arduino Due microcontroller. This microcontroller samples an analogue input and digitally processes these data to determine the trigger. The output of the microcontroller is programmed to mimic a physiological signal which is fed into the electrocardiogram (ECG) or pulse oximeter port of MR scanner. The microcontroller is connected to a Bluetooth dongle that allows wireless monitoring and control outside the scanner room. This device can be programmed to generate a trigger based on various types of input. As one example, this paper describes how it can be used as an acoustic cardiac triggering unit. For this, a plastic stethoscope is connected to a microphone which is used as an input for the system. This test setup was used to acquire retrospectively-triggered cardiac scans in ten volunteers. Analysis showed that this platform produces a reliable trigger (>99% triggers are correct) with a small average 8 ms variation between the exact trigger points.

A multi-purpose open-source triggering platform for magnetic resonance.

PubMed

Ruytenberg, T; Webb, A G; Beenakker, J W M

2014-10-01

Many MR scans need to be synchronised with external events such as the cardiac or respiratory cycles. For common physiological functions commercial trigger equipment exists, but for more experimental inputs these are not available. This paper describes the design of a multi-purpose open-source trigger platform for MR systems. The heart of the system is an open-source Arduino Due microcontroller. This microcontroller samples an analogue input and digitally processes these data to determine the trigger. The output of the microcontroller is programmed to mimic a physiological signal which is fed into the electrocardiogram (ECG) or pulse oximeter port of MR scanner. The microcontroller is connected to a Bluetooth dongle that allows wireless monitoring and control outside the scanner room. This device can be programmed to generate a trigger based on various types of input. As one example, this paper describes how it can be used as an acoustic cardiac triggering unit. For this, a plastic stethoscope is connected to a microphone which is used as an input for the system. This test setup was used to acquire retrospectively-triggered cardiac scans in ten volunteers. Analysis showed that this platform produces a reliable trigger (>99% triggers are correct) with a small average 8 ms variation between the exact trigger points. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

HeartSaver: a mobile cardiac monitoring system for auto-detection of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, and atrio-ventricular block.

PubMed

Sankari, Ziad; Adeli, Hojjat

2011-04-01

A mobile medical device, dubbed HeartSaver, is developed for real-time monitoring of a patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) and automatic detection of several cardiac pathologies, including atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction and atrio-ventricular block. HeartSaver is based on adroit integration of four different modern technologies: electronics, wireless communication, computer, and information technologies in the service of medicine. The physical device consists of four modules: sensor and ECG processing unit, a microcontroller, a link between the microcontroller and the cell phone, and mobile software associated with the system. HeartSaver includes automated cardiac pathology detection algorithms. These algorithms are simple enough to be implemented on a low-cost, limited-power microcontroller but powerful enough to detect the relevant cardiac pathologies. When an abnormality is detected, the microcontroller sends a signal to a cell phone. This operation triggers an application software on the cell phone that sends a text message transmitting information about patient's physiological condition and location promptly to a physician or a guardian. HeartSaver can be used by millions of cardiac patients with the potential to transform the cardiac diagnosis, care, and treatment and save thousands of lives. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Flexible Microcontroller-Based Data Acquisition Device

PubMed Central

Hercog, Darko; Gergič, Bojan

2014-01-01

This paper presents a low-cost microcontroller-based data acquisition device. The key component of the presented solution is a configurable microcontroller-based device with an integrated USB transceiver and a 12-bit analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). The presented embedded DAQ device contains a preloaded program (firmware) that enables easy acquisition and generation of analogue and digital signals and data transfer between the device and the application running on a PC via USB bus. This device has been developed as a USB human interface device (HID). This USB class is natively supported by most of the operating systems and therefore any installation of additional USB drivers is unnecessary. The input/output peripheral of the presented device is not static but rather flexible, and could be easily configured to customised needs without changing the firmware. When using the developed configuration utility, a majority of chip pins can be configured as analogue input, digital input/output, PWM output or one of the SPI lines. In addition, LabVIEW drivers have been developed for this device. When using the developed drivers, data acquisition and signal processing algorithms as well as graphical user interface (GUI), can easily be developed using a well-known, industry proven, block oriented LabVIEW programming environment. PMID:24892494

Instrumental Develovement of 50 Meters Free Style Swimming Speed Measurement Based on Microcontroller Arduino Uno

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badruzaman; Rusdiana, A.; Gilang, M. R.; Martini, T.

2017-03-01

This study is purposed to make a software and hardware instrument in controlling the velocity of 50 meters free style swimming speed measurement based on microcontroller Arduino Uno. The writer uses 6 participants of advanced 2015 college students of sport education. The materials he uses are electronical series of microcontroller Arduino Uno base, laser sensors shone on light dependent resistor, laser receiver functions as a detector of laser cutting block, cables as connector transfering the data. This device consist of 4 installable censors in every 10 meters with the result of swimming speed showed on the monitors using visual basic 6.0 software. This instrument automatically works when the buzzer is pushed and also runs the timer on the application. For the procedure, the writer asks the participants to swim in free style along 50 meters. When the athlete swims, they will cut the laser of every censors so that it gives a signal to stop the running timer on the monitoring application. The output result the writer gets from this used instrument is to know how fast a swimmer swim in maximum speed, to know the time and distance of acceleration and decelaration that happens. The result of validity instrument shows 0,605 (high), while the reliability is 0,833 (very high).

Design of intelligent vehicle control system based on single chip microcomputer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Congwei

2018-06-01

The smart car microprocessor uses the KL25ZV128VLK4 in the Freescale series of single-chip microcomputers. The image sampling sensor uses the CMOS digital camera OV7725. The obtained track data is processed by the corresponding algorithm to obtain track sideline information. At the same time, the pulse width modulation control (PWM) is used to control the motor and servo movements, and based on the digital incremental PID algorithm, the motor speed control and servo steering control are realized. In the project design, IAR Embedded Workbench IDE is used as the software development platform to program and debug the micro-control module, camera image processing module, hardware power distribution module, motor drive and servo control module, and then complete the design of the intelligent car control system.

DESIGN NOTE: Microcontroller-based multi-sensor apparatus for temperature control and thermal conductivity measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukaro, R.; Gasseller, M.; Kufazvinei, C.; Olumekor, L.; Taele, B. M.

2003-08-01

A microcontroller-based multi-sensor temperature measurement and control system that uses a steady-state one-dimensional heat-flow technique for absolute determination of thermal conductivity of a rigid poor conductor using the guarded hot-plate method is described. The objective of this project was to utilize the latest powerful, yet inexpensive, technological developments, sensors, data acquisition and control system, computer and application software, for research and teaching by example. The system uses an ST6220 microcontroller and LM335 temperature sensors for temperature measurement and control. The instrument interfaces to a computer via the serial port using a Turbo C++ programme. LM335Z silicon semiconductor temperature sensors located at different axial locations in the heat source were calibrated and used to measure temperature in the range from room temperature (about 293 K) to 373 K. A zero and span circuit was used in conjunction with an eight-to-one-line data multiplexer to scale the LM335 output signals to fit the 0 5.0 V full-scale input of the microcontroller's on-chip ADC and to sequentially measure temperature at the different locations. Temperature control is achieved by using software-generated pulse-width-modulated signals that control power to the heater. This article emphasizes the apparatus's instrumentation, the computerized data acquisition design, operation and demonstration of the system as a purposeful measurement system that could be easily adopted for use in the undergraduate laboratory. Measurements on a 10 mm thick sample of polyurethane foam at different temperature gradients gave a thermal conductivity of 0.026 +/- 0.004 W m-1 K-1.

IEEE 1451.2 based Smart sensor system using ADuc847

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreejithlal, A.; Ajith, Jose

IEEE 1451 standard defines a standard interface for connecting transducers to microprocessor based data acquisition systems, instrumentation systems, control and field networks. Smart transducer interface module (STIM) acts as a unit which provides signal conditioning, digitization and data packet generation functions to the transducers connected to it. This paper describes the implementation of a microcontroller based smart transducer interface module based on IEEE 1451.2 standard. The module, implemented using ADuc847 microcontroller has 2 transducer channels and is programmed using Embedded C language. The Sensor system consists of a Network Controlled Application Processor (NCAP) module which controls the Smart transducer interface module (STIM) over an IEEE1451.2-RS232 bus. The NCAP module is implemented as a software module in C# language. The hardware details, control principles involved and the software implementation for the STIM are described in detail.

Commercial Parts Radiation Testing

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-13

New Mexico’s COSMIAC Center performed radiation testing on a series of operational amplifiers, microcontrollers and microprocessor. The...commercial microcontroller and microprocessor equipment. The team would develop a list of the most promising commercial parts that might be utilized to...parts will include microprocessors, microcontrollers and memory modules. In addition, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) will also be chosen

Support for Resource Constrained Microcontroller Programming by a Broad Developer Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amar, Amichi

2010-01-01

Resource constrained microcontrollers with as little as several hundred bytes of RAM and a few dozen megahertz of processing power are the most prevalent computing devices on earth. Microcontrollers and the many application components that interface to them, such as sensors, actuators, transceivers and displays are now cheap and readily available.…

Development of small and inexpensive digital data acquisition systems using a microcontroller-based approach†

PubMed Central

Naivar, Mark A.; Wilder, Mark E.; Habbersett, Robert C.; Woods, Travis A.; Sebba, David S.; Nolan, John P.; Graves, Steven W.

2014-01-01

Fully digital data acquisition systems for use in flow cytometry provide excellent flexibility and precision. Here, we demonstrate the development of a low cost, small, and low power digital flow cytometry data acquisition system using a single microcontroller chip with an integrated analog to digital converter (ADC). Our demonstration system uses a commercially available evaluation board making the system simple to integrate into a flow cytometer. We have evaluated this system using calibration microspheres analyzed on commercial, slow-flow, and CCD based flow cytometers. In our evaluations, our demonstration data system clearly resolves all eight peaks of a Rainbow microsphere set on both a slow-flow flow cytometer and a retrofitted BD FACScalibur, which indicates it has the sensitivity and resolution required for most flow cytometry applications. It is also capable of millisecond time resolution, full waveform collection, and selective triggering of data collection from a CCD camera. The capability of our demonstration system suggests that the use of microcontrollers for flow cytometry digital data-acquisition will be increasingly valuable for extending the life of older cytometers and provides a compelling data-system design approach for low-cost, portable flow cytometers. PMID:19852060

Development of small and inexpensive digital data acquisition systems using a microcontroller-based approach.

PubMed

Naivar, Mark A; Wilder, Mark E; Habbersett, Robert C; Woods, Travis A; Sebba, David S; Nolan, John P; Graves, Steven W

2009-12-01

Fully digital data acquisition systems for use in flow cytometry provide excellent flexibility and precision. Here, we demonstrate the development of a low cost, small, and low power digital flow cytometry data acquisition system using a single microcontroller chip with an integrated analog to digital converter (ADC). Our demonstration system uses a commercially available evaluation board making the system simple to integrate into a flow cytometer. We have evaluated this system using calibration microspheres analyzed on commercial, slow-flow, and CCD-based flow cytometers. In our evaluations, our demonstration data system clearly resolves all eight peaks of a Rainbow microsphere set on both a slow-flow flow cytometer and a retrofitted BD FACScalibur, which indicates it has the sensitivity and resolution required for most flow cytometry applications. It is also capable of millisecond time resolution, full waveform collection, and selective triggering of data collection from a CCD camera. The capability of our demonstration system suggests that the use of microcontrollers for flow cytometry digital data-acquisition will be increasingly valuable for extending the life of older cytometers and provides a compelling data-system design approach for low-cost, portable flow cytometers.

A Simple Picaxe Microcontroller Pulse Source for Juxtacellular Neuronal Labelling.

PubMed

Verberne, Anthony J M

2016-10-19

Juxtacellular neuronal labelling is a method which allows neurophysiologists to fill physiologically-identified neurons with small positively-charged marker molecules. Labelled neurons are identified by histochemical processing of brain sections along with immunohistochemical identification of neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, neurotransmitter transporters or biosynthetic enzymes. A microcontroller-based pulser circuit and associated BASIC software script is described for incorporation into the design of a commercially-available intracellular electrometer for use in juxtacellular neuronal labelling. Printed circuit board construction has been used for reliability and reproducibility. The current design obviates the need for a separate digital pulse source and simplifies the juxtacellular neuronal labelling procedure.

Microcontroller interface for diode array spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguo, L.; Williams, R. R.

An alternative to bus-based computer interfacing is presented using diode array spectrometry as a typical application. The new interface consists of an embedded single-chip microcomputer, known as a microcontroller, which provides all necessary digital I/O and analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) along with an unprecedented amount of intelligence. Communication with a host computer system is accomplished by a standard serial interface so this type of interfacing is applicable to a wide range of personal and minicomputers and can be easily networked. Data are acquired asynchronousty and sent to the host on command. New operating modes which have no traditional counterparts are presented.

Liquid volume monitoring based on ultrasonic sensor and Arduino microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husni, M.; Siahaan, D. O.; Ciptaningtyas, H. T.; Studiawan, H.; Aliarham, Y. P.

2016-04-01

Incident of oil leakage and theft in oil tank often happens. To prevent it, the liquid volume insides the tank needs to be monitored continuously. Aim of the study is to calculate the liquid volume inside oil tank on any road condition and send the volume data and location data to the user. This research use some ultrasonic sensors (to monitor the fluid height), Bluetooth modules (to sent data from the sensors to the Arduino microcontroller), Arduino Microcontroller (to calculate the liquid volume), and also GPS/GPRS/GSM Shield module (to get location of vehicle and sent the data to the Server). The experimental results show that the accuracy rate of monitoring liquid volume inside tanker while the vehicle is in the flat road is 99.33% and the one while the vehicle is in the road with elevation angle is 84%. Thus, this system can be used to monitor the tanker position and the liquid volume in any road position continuously via web application to prevent illegal theft.

A miniature microcontroller curve tracing circuit for space flight testing transistors.

PubMed

Prokop, N; Greer, L; Krasowski, M; Flatico, J; Spina, D

2015-02-01

This paper describes a novel miniature microcontroller based curve tracing circuit, which was designed to monitor the environmental effects on Silicon Carbide Junction Field Effect Transistor (SiC JFET) device performance, while exposed to the low earth orbit environment onboard the International Space Station (ISS) as a resident experiment on the 7th Materials on the International Space Station Experiment (MISSE7). Specifically, the microcontroller circuit was designed to operate autonomously and was flown on the external structure of the ISS for over a year. This curve tracing circuit is capable of measuring current vs. voltage (I-V) characteristics of transistors and diodes. The circuit is current limited for low current devices and is specifically designed to test high temperature, high drain-to-source resistance SiC JFETs. The results of each I-V data set are transmitted serially to an external telemetered communication interface. This paper discusses the circuit architecture, its design, and presents example results.

PIC microcontroller-based RF wireless ECG monitoring system.

PubMed

Oweis, R J; Barhoum, A

2007-01-01

This paper presents a radio-telemetry system that provides the possibility of ECG signal transmission from a patient detection circuit via an RF data link. A PC then receives the signal through the National Instrument data acquisition card (NIDAQ). The PC is equipped with software allowing the received ECG signals to be saved, analysed, and sent by email to another part of the world. The proposed telemetry system consists of a patient unit and a PC unit. The amplified and filtered ECG signal is sampled 360 times per second, and the A/D conversion is performed by a PIC16f877 microcontroller. The major contribution of the final proposed system is that it detects, processes and sends patients ECG data over a wireless RF link to a maximum distance of 200 m. Transmitted ECG data with different numbers of samples were received, decoded by means of another PIC microcontroller, and displayed using MATLAB program. The designed software is presented in a graphical user interface utility.

Single-chip pulse programmer for magnetic resonance imaging using a 32-bit microcontroller.

PubMed

Handa, Shinya; Domalain, Thierry; Kose, Katsumi

2007-08-01

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse programmer has been developed using a single-chip microcontroller (ADmicroC7026). The microcontroller includes all the components required for the MRI pulse programmer: a 32-bit RISC CPU core, 62 kbytes of flash memory, 8 kbytes of SRAM, two 32-bit timers, four 12-bit DA converters, and 40 bits of general purpose I/O. An evaluation board for the microcontroller was connected to a host personal computer (PC), an MRI transceiver, and a gradient driver using interface circuitry. Target (embedded) and host PC programs were developed to enable MRI pulse sequence generation by the microcontroller. The pulse programmer achieved a (nominal) time resolution of approximately 100 ns and a minimum time delay between successive events of approximately 9 micros. Imaging experiments using the pulse programmer demonstrated the effectiveness of our approach.

Single-chip pulse programmer for magnetic resonance imaging using a 32-bit microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handa, Shinya; Domalain, Thierry; Kose, Katsumi

2007-08-01

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse programmer has been developed using a single-chip microcontroller (ADμC7026). The microcontroller includes all the components required for the MRI pulse programmer: a 32-bit RISC CPU core, 62kbytes of flash memory, 8kbytes of SRAM, two 32-bit timers, four 12-bit DA converters, and 40bits of general purpose I/O. An evaluation board for the microcontroller was connected to a host personal computer (PC), an MRI transceiver, and a gradient driver using interface circuitry. Target (embedded) and host PC programs were developed to enable MRI pulse sequence generation by the microcontroller. The pulse programmer achieved a (nominal) time resolution of approximately 100ns and a minimum time delay between successive events of approximately 9μs. Imaging experiments using the pulse programmer demonstrated the effectiveness of our approach.

A microcontroller platform for the rapid prototyping of functional electrical stimulation-based gait neuroprostheses.

PubMed

Luzio de Melo, Paulo; da Silva, Miguel Tavares; Martins, Jorge; Newman, Dava

2015-05-01

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been used over the last decades as a method to rehabilitate lost motor functions of individuals with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and post-stroke hemiparesis. Within this field, researchers in need of developing FES-based control solutions for specific disabilities often have to choose between either the acquisition and integration of high-performance industry-level systems, which are rather expensive and hardly portable, or develop custom-made portable solutions, which despite their lower cost, usually require expert-level electronic skills. Here, a flexible low-cost microcontroller-based platform for rapid prototyping of FES neuroprostheses is presented, designed for reduced execution complexity, development time, and production cost. For this reason, the Arduino open-source microcontroller platform was used, together with off-the-shelf components whenever possible. The developed system enables the rapid deployment of portable FES-based gait neuroprostheses, being flexible enough to allow simple open-loop strategies but also more complex closed-loop solutions. The system is based on a modular architecture that allows the development of optimized solutions depending on the desired FES applications, even though the design and testing of the platform were focused toward drop foot correction. The flexibility of the system was demonstrated using two algorithms targeting drop foot condition within different experimental setups. Successful bench testing of the device in healthy subjects demonstrated these neuroprosthesis platform capabilities to correct drop foot. Copyright © 2015 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

E-Learning System for Learning Virtual Circuit Making with a Microcontroller and Programming to Control a Robot

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takemura, Atsushi

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a novel e-Learning system for learning electronic circuit making and programming a microcontroller to control a robot. The proposed e-Learning system comprises a virtual-circuit-making function for the construction of circuits with a versatile, Arduino microcontroller and an educational system that can simulate behaviors of…

A new microcontroller supervised thermoelectric renal hypothermia system.

PubMed

Işik, Hakan

2005-10-01

In the present study, a thermoelectric system controlled by a microcontroller is developed to induce renal hypothermia. Temperature value was managed by 8-byte microcontroller, PIC16F877, and was programmed using microcontroller MPASM package. In order to ensure hypothermia in the kidney 1-4 modules and sensors perceiving temperature of the area can be selected. Temperature values are arranged proportionately for the selected area and the determined temperature values can be monitored from an Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen. The temperature range of the system is between -50 and +50 degrees C. Renal hypothermia system was tried under in vivo conditions on the kidney of a dog.

Design considerations for a gas microcontroller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ritter, D. A.

1986-01-01

Some of the design problems that are now being addressed in consideration of a microcontroller for the upcoming GAS payload are discussed. Microcontrollers will be used to run the experiments and to collect and store the data from those experiments. Some of the requirements for a microcontroller are to be small, lightweight, have low power consumption, and high reliability. Some of the solutions that were developed to meet these design requirements are discussed. At present, the experiment is still in the design stage and the final design may change from what is presented here. The search for new integrated circuits which will do all that is needed all in one package continues.

Microcontrollers and optical sensors for education in optics and photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dressler, Paul; Wielage, Heinz; Haiss, Ulrich; Vauderwange, Oliver; Wozniak, P.; Curticapean, Dan

2014-09-01

The digital revolution is going full steam ahead, with a constantly growing number of new devices providing a steady increase in complexity and power. Most of the success is based on one important invention: the microprocessor/microcontroller. In this paper the authors present how to integrate microcontrollers and optical sensors in the curricula of media engineering by combining subjects of media technology, optics, information technology and media design. Hereby the aim is not to teach these topics separate from each other, but to bring them together in interdisciplinary lectures, projects and applications. Microcontrollers can be applied in various ways to teach content from the fields of optics and photonics. They can be used to control LEDs, displays, light detectors and infrared sensors, which makes it possible to build measuring instruments like e.g. a lux meter, a light barrier or an optical distance meter. The learning goals are to stimulate the student's interest in the multiplicity of subjects related to this course and to support a deeper understanding of the close connections between them. The teaching method that the authors describe in their paper turned out to be very successful, as the participants are motivated to bring in their own ideas for projects, they spend more time than requested and as many students return to the courses as tutors. It is an example for effectual knowledge transfer and exchange of ideas among students.

Distributed processing for features improvement in real-time portable medical devices.

PubMed

Mercado, Erwin John Saavedra

2008-01-01

Portable biomedical devices are being developed and incorporated in daily life. Nevertheless, their standalone capacity is diminished due to the lack of processing power required to face such duties as for example, signal artifacts robustness in EKG monitor devices. The following paper presents a multiprocessor architecture made from simple microcontrollers to provide an increase in processing performance, power consumption efficiency and lower cost.

Microcontroller uses in Long-Duration Ballooning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Joseph

This paper discusses how microcontrollers are being utilized to fulfill the demands of long duration ballooning (LDB) and the advantages of doing so. The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) offers the service of launching high altitude balloons (120k ft) which provide an over the horizon telemetry system and platform for scientific research payloads to collect data. CSBF has utilized microcontrollers to address multiple tasks and functions which were previously performed by more complex systems. A microcontroller system has been recently developed and programmed in house to replace our previous backup navigation system which is used on all LDB flights. A similar microcontroller system was developed to be independently launched in Antarctica before the actual scientific payload. This system's function is to transmit its GPS position and a small housekeeping packet so that we can confirm the upper level float winds are as predicted from satellite derived models. Microcontrollers have also been used to create test equipment to functionally check out the flight hardware used in our telemetry systems. One test system which was developed can be used to quickly determine if our communication link we are providing for the science payloads is functioning properly. Another system was developed to provide us with the ability to easily determine the status of one of our over the horizon communication links through a closed loop system. This test system has given us the capability to provide more field support to science groups than we were able to in years past. The trend of utilizing microcontrollers has taken place for a number of reasons. By using microcontrollers to fill these needs, it has given us the ability to quickly design and implement systems which meet flight critical needs, as well as perform many of the everyday tasks in LDB. This route has also allowed us to reduce the amount of time required for personnel to perform a number of the tasks required during the initial fabrication and also refurbishing processes of flight hardware systems. The recent use of microcontrollers in the design of both LDB flight hardware and test equipment has shown some examples of the adaptability and usefulness they have provided for our workplace.

Arduino Uno Microcontroller with Commercially Available Sensors Towards Generating Student Accessible Raw Meteorological Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henson, Gabrielle; Tanner, Meghan; Senevirathne, Indrajith

Microcontroller systems can be a boon to cost - effective techniques that can be used to enhance teaching at college level. We have used Arduino microcontroller coupled with commercially available sensors to systematically measure, record and analyze temperature, humidity and barometric pressure and to upload the real time raw data to cloud. Corresponding data will be available in classroom settings for predictions, analysis and simple weather forecasting. Setup was assembled via breadboard, wire and simple soldering with an Arduino Uno ATmega328P microcontroller connected to a PC. The microcontroller was programmed with Arduino Software while the bootloader was used to upload the code. Commercial DHT22 humidity and temperature sensor and BMP180 barometric pressure sensor were used to obtain relative humidity, temperature and the barometric pressure. System was mounted inside a weather resistant enclosure and data measurements were obtained and were uploaded onto the PC and then to cloud. Cloud data can be accessed via a shared link in a General Education class for multitude of purposes.

Design of pneumatic proportional flow valve type 5/3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laski, P. A.; Pietrala, D. S.; Zwierzchowski, J.; Czarnogorski, K.

2017-08-01

In this paper the 5/3-way pneumatic, proportional flow valve was designed and made. Stepper linear actuator was used to move the spool. The valve is controlled by the controlled based on a AVR microcontroller. Virtual model of the valve was created in CAD. The real element was made based on a standard 5/3-way manually actuated valve with hand lever, which was dismounted and replaced by linear stepper motor. All the elements was mounted in a specially made housing. The controller consists of microcontroller Atmega16, integrated circuit L293D, display, two potentiometers, three LEDs and six buttons. Series of research was also conducted. Simulation research were performed using CFD by the Flow Simulation addition to SolidWorks. During the experiments the valve characteristics of flow and pressure was determined.

A Remote Monitoring System for Voltage, Current, Power and Temperature Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barakat, E.; Sinno, N.; Keyrouz, C.

This paper presents a study and design of a monitoring system for the continuous measurement of electrical energy parameters such as voltage, current, power and temperature. This system is designed to monitor the data remotely over internet. The electronic power meter is based on a microcontroller from Microchip Technology Inc. PIC family. The design takes into consideration the correct operation in the event of an outage or brown out by recording the electrical values and the temperatures in EEPROM internally available in the microcontroller. Also a digital display is used to show the acquired measurements. A computer will remotely monitor the data over internet.

A Simple Picaxe Microcontroller Pulse Source for Juxtacellular Neuronal Labelling †

PubMed Central

Verberne, Anthony J. M.

2016-01-01

Juxtacellular neuronal labelling is a method which allows neurophysiologists to fill physiologically-identified neurons with small positively-charged marker molecules. Labelled neurons are identified by histochemical processing of brain sections along with immunohistochemical identification of neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, neurotransmitter transporters or biosynthetic enzymes. A microcontroller-based pulser circuit and associated BASIC software script is described for incorporation into the design of a commercially-available intracellular electrometer for use in juxtacellular neuronal labelling. Printed circuit board construction has been used for reliability and reproducibility. The current design obviates the need for a separate digital pulse source and simplifies the juxtacellular neuronal labelling procedure. PMID:28952589

Microcontroller-based binary integrator for millimeter-wave radar experiments.

PubMed

Eskelinen, Pekka; Ruoskanen, Jukka; Peltonen, Jouni

2010-05-01

An easily on-site reconfigurable multiple binary integrator for millimeter radar experiments has been constructed of static random access memories, an eight bit microcontroller, and high speed video operational amplifiers. The design uses a raw comparator path and two adjustable m-out-of-n chains in a wired-OR configuration. Standard high speed memories allow the use of pulse widths below 100 ns. For eight pulse repetition intervals it gives a maximum improvement of 6.6 dB for stationary low-level target echoes. The doubled configuration enhances the capability against fluctuating targets. Because of the raw comparator path, also single return pulses of relatively high amplitude are processed.

Pure-tone Audiometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapul, A. A.; Zubova, E. I.; Torgaev, S. N.; Drobchik, V. V.

2017-08-01

The research focuses on a pure-tone audiometer designing. The relevance of the study is proved by high incidence of an auditory analyser in older people and children. At first, the article provides information about subjective and objective audiometry methods. Secondly, we offer block-diagram and basic-circuit arrangement of device. We decided to base on STM32F407VG microcontroller and use digital pot in the function of attenuator. Third, we implemented microcontroller and PC connection. C programming language is used for microcontroller’s program and PC’s interface. Fourthly, we created the pure-tone audiometer prototype. In the future, we will implement the objective method ASSR in addition to pure-tone audiometry.

Self-Powered WSN for Distributed Data Center Monitoring

PubMed Central

Brunelli, Davide; Passerone, Roberto; Rizzon, Luca; Rossi, Maurizio; Sartori, Davide

2016-01-01

Monitoring environmental parameters in data centers is gathering nowadays increasing attention from industry, due to the need of high energy efficiency of cloud services. We present the design and the characterization of an energy neutral embedded wireless system, prototyped to monitor perpetually environmental parameters in servers and racks. It is powered by an energy harvesting module based on Thermoelectric Generators, which converts the heat dissipation from the servers. Starting from the empirical characterization of the energy harvester, we present a power conditioning circuit optimized for the specific application. The whole system has been enhanced with several sensors. An ultra-low-power micro-controller stacked over the energy harvesting provides an efficient power management. Performance have been assessed and compared with the analytical model for validation. PMID:26729135

Self-Powered WSN for Distributed Data Center Monitoring.

PubMed

Brunelli, Davide; Passerone, Roberto; Rizzon, Luca; Rossi, Maurizio; Sartori, Davide

2016-01-02

Monitoring environmental parameters in data centers is gathering nowadays increasing attention from industry, due to the need of high energy efficiency of cloud services. We present the design and the characterization of an energy neutral embedded wireless system, prototyped to monitor perpetually environmental parameters in servers and racks. It is powered by an energy harvesting module based on Thermoelectric Generators, which converts the heat dissipation from the servers. Starting from the empirical characterization of the energy harvester, we present a power conditioning circuit optimized for the specific application. The whole system has been enhanced with several sensors. An ultra-low-power micro-controller stacked over the energy harvesting provides an efficient power management. Performance have been assessed and compared with the analytical model for validation.

Pneumatically Modulated Liquid Delivery System for Nebulizers

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-02

VII. Acknowledgements 18 APPENDIX A: Complete Parts List 19 APPENDIX B: Source code for the Arduino Uno microcontroller (CD) 23 1 I...implemented. The Arduino Uno is a well-established hobbyist microcontroller, focused on ease-of-use and teaching non-computer programmers about embedded...circuits. The Arduino Uno uses an Atmega328 microcontroller with thirteen digital TTL control lines, six 10-bit resolution 0-5 V analog inputs, TTL

PARduino: A Simple Device Measuring and Logging Photosynthetically Active Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnard, H. R.; Findley, M. C.

2013-12-01

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR, 400 to 700 nm) is one of the primary controls of forest carbon and water relations. In complex terrain, PAR has high spatial-variability. Given the high cost of commercial datalogging equipment, spatially-distributed measurements of PAR have been typically modeled using geographic coordinates and terrain indices. Here, we present a design for a low cost, field-deployable device for measuring and logging PAR built around an Arduino microcontroller (we named it PARduino). PARduino provides for widely distributed sensor arrays and tests the feasibility of using hobbyist-grade electronics for collecting scientific data. PARduino components include a LiCor quantum sensor, EME Systems signal converter/amplifier, and Sparkfun's Arduino Pro Mini microcontroller. Additional components include a real time clock, a microSD flash memory card, and a custom printed circuit board (PCB). We selected the components with an eye towards ease of assembly. Everything can be connected to the PCB using through-hole soldering techniques. Since the device will be deployed in remote research plots that lack easy access to line power, battery life was also a consideration in the design. Extended deployment is possible because PARduino's software keeps it in a low-power sleep mode until ready to make a measurement. PARduino will be open-source hardware for use and improvement by others.

Geometry-Of-Fire Tracking Algorithm for Direct-Fire Weapon Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

this specific application. A scaled-down version for a fire team was created with XBee Pro radios, Arduino Uno microcontrollers, Raspberry Pi computers...constructed with XBee Pro radios, Arduino Uno microcontrollers, Raspberry Pi computers and ROS [5]. The XBee Pro radios and Arduino Uno microcontrollers...communicated the positional data of each node as shown in Figure 4, and the Raspberry Pi computers and ROS executed the tracking algorithm and allowed

[Design of Oxygen Saturation, Heart Rate, Respiration Rate Detection System Based on Smartphone of Android Operating System].

PubMed

Zhu, Mingshan; Zeng, Bixin

2015-03-01

In this paper, we designed an oxygen saturation, heart rate, respiration rate monitoring system based on smartphone of android operating system, physiological signal acquired by MSP430 microcontroller and transmitted by Bluetooth module.

Distributed digital signal processors for multi-body structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Gordon K.

1990-01-01

Several digital filter designs were investigated which may be used to process sensor data from large space structures and to design digital hardware to implement the distributed signal processing architecture. Several experimental tests articles are available at NASA Langley Research Center to evaluate these designs. A summary of some of the digital filter designs is presented, an evaluation of their characteristics relative to control design is discussed, and candidate hardware microcontroller/microcomputer components are given. Future activities include software evaluation of the digital filter designs and actual hardware inplementation of some of the signal processor algorithms on an experimental testbed at NASA Langley.

A Model for Microcontroller Functionality Upset Induced by External Pulsed Electromagnetic Irradiation

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-21

AFRL-RD-PS- AFRL-RD-PS- TN-2016-0003 TN-2016-0003 A Model for Microcontroller Functionality Upset Induced by External Pulsed Electromagnetic ...External Pulsed Electromagnetic Irradiation 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA9451-15-C-0004 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6 . AUTHOR(S) David...microcontroller (µC) subjected to external irradiation by a narrowband electromagnetic (EM) pulse. In our model, the state of a µC is completely specified by

Enhanced low current, voltage, and power dissipation measurements via Arduino Uno microcontroller with modified commercially available sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, Meghan; Eckel, Ryan; Senevirathne, Indrajith

The versatility, simplicity, and robustness of Arduino microcontroller architecture have won a huge following with increasingly serious engineering and physical science applications. Arduino microcontroller environment coupled with commercially available sensors have been used to systematically measure, record, and analyze low currents, low voltages and corresponding dissipated power for assessing secondary physical properties in a diverse array of engineering systems. Setup was assembled via breadboard, wire, and simple soldering with an Arduino Uno with ATmega328P microcontroller connected to a PC. The microcontroller was programmed with Arduino Software while the bootloader was used to upload the code. Commercial Hall effect current sensor modules ACS712 and INA169 current shunt monitor was used to measure corresponding low to ultra-low currents and voltages. Stable measurement data was obtained via sensors and compared with corresponding oscilloscope measurements to assess reliability and uncertainty. Sensor breakout boards were modified to enhance the sensitivity of the measurements and to expand the applicability. Discussion of these measurements will focus on capabilities, capacities and limitations of the systems with examples of possible applications. Lock Haven Nanotechnology Program.

Measurement and control systems for an imaging electromagnetic flow metre.

PubMed

Zhao, Y Y; Lucas, G; Leeungculsatien, T

2014-03-01

Electromagnetic flow metres based on the principles of Faraday's laws of induction have been used successfully in many industries. The conventional electromagnetic flow metre can measure the mean liquid velocity in axisymmetric single phase flows. However, in order to achieve velocity profile measurements in single phase flows with non-uniform velocity profiles, a novel imaging electromagnetic flow metre (IEF) has been developed which is described in this paper. The novel electromagnetic flow metre which is based on the 'weight value' theory to reconstruct velocity profiles is interfaced with a 'Microrobotics VM1' microcontroller as a stand-alone unit. The work undertaken in the paper demonstrates that an imaging electromagnetic flow metre for liquid velocity profile measurement is an instrument that is highly suited for control via a microcontroller. © 2013 ISA Published by ISA All rights reserved.

A novel rotometer based on a RISC microcontroller.

PubMed

Heredia-López, F J; Bata-García, J L; Alvarez-Cervera, F J; Góngora-Alfaro, J L

2002-08-01

A new, low-cost rotometer, based on a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microcontroller, is presented. Like earlier devices, it counts the number and direction of full turns for predetermined time periods during the evaluation of turning behavior induced by drug administration in rats. The present stand-alone system includes a nonvolatile memory for long-term data storage and a serial port for data transmission. It also contains a display for monitoring the experiments and has battery backup to avoid interruptions owing to power failures. A high correlation was found (r > .988, p < 2 x 10(-14)) between the counts of the rotometer and those of two trained observers. The system reflects quantitative differences in turning behavior owing to pharmacological manipulations. It provides the most common counting parameters and is inexpensive, flexible, highly reliable, and completely portable (weight including batteries, 159 g).

The Bionic Clicker Mark I & II

PubMed Central

Magee, Elliott G.; Ourselin, S.; Nikitichev, Daniil; Vercauteren, T.; Vanhoestenberghe, Anne

2017-01-01

In this manuscript, we present two 'Bionic Clicker' systems, the first designed to demonstrate electromyography (EMG) based control systems for educational purposes and the second for research purposes. EMG based control systems pick up electrical signals generated by muscle activation and use these as inputs for controllers. EMG controllers are widely used in prosthetics to control limbs. The Mark I (MK I) clicker allows the wearer to change the slide of a presentation by raising their index finger. It is built around a microcontroller and a bio-signals shield. It generated a lot of interest from both the public and research community. The Mark II (MK II) device presented here was designed to be a cheaper, sleeker, and more customizable system that can be easily modified and directly transmit EMG data. It is built using a wireless capable microcontroller and a muscle sensor. PMID:28829413

The Bionic Clicker Mark I & II.

PubMed

Magee, Elliott G; Ourselin, S; Nikitichev, Daniil; Vercauteren, T; Vanhoestenberghe, Anne

2017-08-14

In this manuscript, we present two 'Bionic Clicker' systems, the first designed to demonstrate electromyography (EMG) based control systems for educational purposes and the second for research purposes. EMG based control systems pick up electrical signals generated by muscle activation and use these as inputs for controllers. EMG controllers are widely used in prosthetics to control limbs. The Mark I (MK I) clicker allows the wearer to change the slide of a presentation by raising their index finger. It is built around a microcontroller and a bio-signals shield. It generated a lot of interest from both the public and research community. The Mark II (MK II) device presented here was designed to be a cheaper, sleeker, and more customizable system that can be easily modified and directly transmit EMG data. It is built using a wireless capable microcontroller and a muscle sensor.

Design of anti-theft/cable cut real time alert system for copper cable using microcontroller and GSM technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, E. K.; Norizan, M. N.; Mohamad, I. S.; Yasin, M. N. M.; Murad, S. A. Z.; Baharum, N. A.; Jamalullail, N.

2017-09-01

This paper presents the design of anti-theft/cable cut real time alert system using microcontroller and GSM technology. The detection part is using the electrical circuit wire connection in detecting the voltage drop of the cable inside the microcontroller digital input port. The GSM wireless modem is used to send the location of cable cut directly to the authority mobile phone. Microcontroller SK40C with Microchip PIC16F887 is used as a controller to control the wireless modem and also the detection device. The device is able to detect and display the location of the cable cut on the LCD display besides of and sending out the location of the cable break to the authority mobile phone wirelessly via SMS.

Characterization of the supersonic flowing microwave discharge using two dimensional plasma tomography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nikolic, M.; Samolov, A.; Popovic, S.

2013-03-14

A tomographic numerical method based on the two-dimensional Radon formula for a cylindrical cavity has been employed for obtaining spatial distributions of the argon excited levels. The spectroscopy measurements were taken at different positions and directions to observe populations of excited species in the plasmoid region and the corresponding excitation temperatures. Excited argon states are concentrated near the tube walls, thus, confirming the assumption that the post discharge plasma is dominantly sustained by travelling surface wave. An automated optical measurement system has been developed for reconstruction of local plasma parameters of the plasmoid structure formed in an argon supersonic flowingmore » microwave discharge. The system carries out angle and distance measurements using a rotating, flat mirror, as well as two high precision stepper motors operated by a microcontroller-based system and several sensors for precise feedback control.« less

Humidity control of an incubator using the microcontroller-based active humidifier system employing an ultrasonic nebulizer.

PubMed

Güler, I; Burunkaya, M

2002-01-01

Relative humidity levels of an incubator were measured and controlled. An ultrasonic nebulizer system as an active humidifier was used to humidify the incubator environment. An integrated circuit-type humidity sensor was used to measure the humidity level of the incubator environment. Measurement and control processes were achieved by a PIC microcontroller. The high-performance and high-speed PIC provided the flexibility of the system. The developed system can be used effectively for the intensive care of newborns and/or premature babies. Since the humidifier generates an aerosol in ambient conditions, it is possible to provide the high relative humidity level for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes in medicine.

Development of the automated bunker door by using a microcontroller-system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, M. A.; Leo, K. W.; Mohamad, G. H. P.; Ahmad, A.; Hashim, S. A.; Chulan, R. M.; Baijan, A. H.

2018-01-01

The new low energy electron beam accelerator bunker was designed and built locally to allocate a 500 keV electron beam accelerator at Block 43T in Malaysian Nuclear Agency. This bunker is equipped with a locally made radiation shielding door of 10 tons. Originally, this door is moving manually by a wheel and fitted with a gear system. However, it is still heavy and need longer time to operate it manually. To overcome those issues, a new automated control system has been designed and developed. In this paper, the complete steps and design of automated control system based on the microcontroller (PIC16F84A) is described.

Architectural design proposal for real time clock for wireless microcontroller unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alias, Muhammad Nor Azwan Mohd; Nizam Mohyar, Shaiful

2017-11-01

In this project, we are developing an Intellectual properties (IP) which is a dedicated real-time clock (RTC) system for a wireless microcontroller. This IP is developed using Verilog Hardware Description Language (Verilog HDL) and being simulated using Quartus II and Synopsys software. This RTC will be used in microcontroller system to provide precise time and date which can be used for various applications. It plays a very important role in the real-time systems like digital clock, attendance system, digital camera and more.

Dosimeter Design Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-05

monitor the radiation environment in a geosynchronous satellite. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Radiation testing, Cobalt, Microcontroller 16. SECURITY...electronics including: an Aeroflex 8051 microcontroller , a Maxwell Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Texas Instrument analog

Microcontrollers for data logging in Environmental Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, R. Giles; Westbrook, Christopher. D.

2016-04-01

Methods for obtaining reliable environmental measurements are central in developing a quantitative understanding of the natural world [1]. In the environmental sciences, data is usually obtained through planned experimental work, by collaborators in large field experiments or merely from others downloaded through the internet. Careful appreciation of the provenance and reliability of measurements has traditionally been a central aspect of physics education, and a similar physics-centred approach to measurements has been embedded in the new Environmental Physics BSc programme at the University of Reading [2]. Through the use of practical classes, students are educated in using small programmable microcontroller devices to obtain environmental data. The classes are based around exploring the open source Arduino, to which a range of analogue and digital sensors are connected and evaluated. A simplified prototyping system has been developed to help emphasise the measurement aspects over the electronics considerations. The practical classes work towards deployment of a miniature data logger based on the Arduino's microcontroller but optimised for low power, from which the environmental measurements are compared with co-located standard data obtained at the Reading University Atmospheric Observatory. [1] R.G. Harrison, Meteorological Measurements and Instrumentation, Wiley, 2014. (http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118745809.html) [2] Environmental Physics BSc (https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/subject-area/environment-ug/bsc-environmental-physics.aspx)

ROBucket: A low cost operant chamber based on the Arduino microcontroller.

PubMed

Devarakonda, Kavya; Nguyen, Katrina P; Kravitz, Alexxai V

2016-06-01

The operant conditioning chamber is a cornerstone of animal behavioral research. Operant boxes are used to assess learning and motivational behavior in animals, particularly for food and drug reinforcers. However, commercial operant chambers cost several thousands of dollars. We have constructed the Rodent Operant Bucket (ROBucket), an inexpensive and easily assembled open-source operant chamber based on the Arduino microcontroller platform, which can be used to train mice to respond for sucrose solution or other liquid reinforcers. The apparatus contains two nose pokes, a drinking well, and a solenoid-controlled liquid delivery system. ROBucket can run fixed ratio and progressive ratio training schedules, and can be programmed to run more complicated behavioral paradigms. Additional features such as motion sensing and video tracking can be added to the operant chamber through the array of widely available Arduino-compatible sensors. The design files and programming code are open source and available online for others to use.

Micro-controller based fall detector to assist recovering patients or senior citizens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Páez, Francisco; Asplund, Lars

2010-09-01

Senior citizens and patients recovering from surgery or using strong medications with severe side effects tend to fall unexpectedly. The consequences of such an uncontrolled fall could be worse than the original malady, especially when there is no communication with the care-takers. We describe a fall-detector device capable of distinguishing falls from normal daily activities. Based on three-axis accelerometer and advanced data processing, the microcontroller emits an alarm requesting help in the case of a physical fall. We design and construct the fall-detector prototype for either inside or outside use. In order to determine the device performance, fifty instances of each fall event have been evaluated; all of them detected as fall event. In the case of daily activities, the only movement that produces an alarm is the transition from standing up to lying in 5% of the occurrences.

Development of an instrumentation system for measurement of degradation of lubricating oil using optical fiber sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laskar, S.; Bordoloi, S.

2016-01-01

This paper presents an instrumentation system to measure the degradation in lubricating oil using a bare, tapered and bent multi-mode optical fiber (BTBMOF) sensor probe and a temperature probe. The sensor system consists of (i) a bare, tapered and bent multi-mode optical fiber (BTBMOF) as optical sensor along with a laser source and a LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) as detector (ii) a temperature sensor (iii) a ATmega microcontroller based data acquisition system and (iv) a trained ANN for processing and calibration. The BTBMOF sensor and the temperature sensor are used to provide the measure of refractive index (RI) and the temperature of a lubricating oil sample. A microcontroller based instrumentation system with trained ANN algorithm has been developed to determine the degradation of the lubricating oil sample by sampling the readings of the optical fiber sensor, and the temperature sensor.

An Arduino microcontroller based digitalization of a vertical traversing mechanism used for the analysis of jet flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, S. M. Rakibur; Roshid, S. M. Al Mamun Or; Nishan, Ishtiaque Ahmed

2017-12-01

This paper deals with the design of a drive system of traversing mechanism used to position the pitot tube in desired position of the jet flow field. In this system a stepper motor is driven by a `dual H bridge' motor driver and programmed Arduino microcontroller. The stepper motor is made to move in precise steps to obtain desired movement of the traversing mechanism. The jet flow is characterized in three distinct zones - initial zone, transition zone and developed zone. Each zone can be divided into required number of segments based on variation of velocity. By assigning number of segments, step range and number of steps in each segment as inputs, it is possible to collect data in all the flow zones according to our programmed schedule. The system will allow taking a large number of readings automatically.

Development of a cloud-based system for remote monitoring of a PVT panel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraiva, Luis; Alcaso, Adérito; Vieira, Paulo; Ramos, Carlos Figueiredo; Cardoso, Antonio Marques

2016-10-01

The paper presents a monitoring system developed for an energy conversion system based on the sun and known as thermophotovoltaic panel (PVT). The project was implemented using two embedded microcontrollers platforms (arduino Leonardo and arduino yún), wireless transmission systems (WI-FI and XBEE) and net computing ,commonly known as cloud (Google cloud). The main objective of the project is to provide remote access and real-time data monitoring (like: electrical current, electrical voltage, input fluid temperature, output fluid temperature, backward fluid temperature, up PV glass temperature, down PV glass temperature, ambient temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, wind direction and fluid mass flow). This project demonstrates the feasibility of using inexpensive microcontroller's platforms and free internet service in theWeb, to support the remote study of renewable energy systems, eliminating the acquisition of dedicated systems typically more expensive and limited in the kind of processing proposed.

A microcontroller-based telemetry system for sympathetic nerve activity and ECG measurement.

PubMed

Harada, E; Yonezawa, Y; Caldwell, W M; Hahn, A W

1999-01-01

A telemetry system employing a low power 8-bit microcontroller has been developed for chronic unanesthetized small animal studies. The two-channel system is designed for use with animals in shielded cages. Analog signals from implantable ECG and nerve electrodes are converted to an 8-bit serial digital format. This is accomplished by individual 8 bit A/D converters included in the microcontroller, which also has serial I/O port. The converted serial binary code is applied directly to an antenna wire. Therefore, the system does not need to employ a separate transmitter, such as in FM or infrared optical telemeters. The system is used in a shielded animal cage to reduce interference from external radio signals and 60 Hz power line fields. The code is received by a high input impedance amplifier in the cage and is then demodulated. The telemeter is powered by a small 3 V lithium battery, which provides 100 hours of continuous operation. The circuit is constructed on two 25 x 25 mm. printed circuit boards and encapsulated in epoxy, yielding a total volume of 6.25 cc. The weight is 15 g.

A wearable, mobile phone-based respiration monitoring system for sleep apnea syndrome detection.

PubMed

Ishida, Ryoichi; Yonezawa, Yoshiharu; Maki, Hiromichi; Ogawa, Hidekuni; Ninomiya, Ishio; Sada, Kouji; Hamada, Shingo; Hahn, Allen W; Caldwell, W Morton

2005-01-01

A new wearable respiration monitoring system has been developed for non-invasive detection of sleep apnea syndrome. The system, which is attached to a shirt, consists of a piezoelectric sensor, a low-power 8-bit single chip microcontroller, EEPROM and a 2.4 GHz low-power transmitting mobile phone (PHS). The piezoelectric sensor, whose electrical polarization voltage is produced by body movements, is installed inside the shirt and closely contacts the patient's chest. The low frequency components of body movements recorded by the sensor are mainly generated by respiration. The microcontroller sequentially stores the movement signal to the EEPROM for 5 minutes and detects, by time-frequency analysis, whether the patient has breathed during that time. When the patient is apneic for 10 sseconds, the microcontroller sends the recorded respiration waveform during and one minute before and after the apnea directly to the hospital server computer via the mobile phone. The server computer then creates apnea "filings" automatically for every patient. The system can be used at home and be self-applied by patients. Moreover, the system does not require any extra equipment such as a personal computer, PDA, or Internet connection.

Development of microcontroller based water flow measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munir, Muhammad Miftahul; Surachman, Arif; Fathonah, Indra Wahyudin; Billah, Muhammad Aziz; Khairurrijal, Mahfudz, Hernawan; Rimawan, Ririn; Lestari, Slamet

2015-04-01

A digital instrument for measuring water flow was developed using an AT89S52 microcontroller, DS1302 real time clock (RTC), and EEPROM for an external memory. The sensor used for probing the current was a propeller that will rotate if immersed in a water flow. After rotating one rotation, the sensor sends one pulse and the number of pulses are counted for a certain time of counting. The measurement data, i.e. the number of pulses per unit time, are converted into water flow velocity (m/s) through a mathematical formula. The microcontroller counts the pulse sent by the sensor and the number of counted pulses are stored into the EEPROM memory. The time interval for counting is provided by the RTC and can be set by the operator. The instrument was tested under various time intervals ranging from 10 to 40 seconds and several standard propellers owned by Experimental Station for Hydraulic Structure and Geotechnics (BHGK), Research Institute for Water Resources (Pusair). Using the same propellers and water flows, it was shown that water flow velocities obtained from the developed digital instrument and those found by the provided analog one are almost similar.

Characterizing Graphene-modified Electrodes for Interfacing with Arduino®-based Devices.

PubMed

Arris, Farrah Aida; Ithnin, Mohamad Hafiz; Salim, Wan Wardatul Amani Wan

2016-08-01

Portable low-cost platform and sensing systems for identification and quantitative measurement are in high demand for various environmental monitoring applications, especially in field work. Quantifying parameters in the field requires both minimal sample handling and a device capable of performing measurements with high sensitivity and stability. Furthermore, the one-device-fits-all concept is useful for continuous monitoring of multiple parameters. Miniaturization of devices can be achieved by introducing graphene as part of the transducer in an electrochemical sensor. In this project, we characterize graphene deposition methods on glassy-carbon electrodes (GCEs) with the goal of interfacing with an Arduino-based user-friendly microcontroller. We found that a galvanostatic electrochemical method yields the highest peak current of 10 mA, promising a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor. An Atlas Scientific™ printed circuit board (PCB) was connected to an Arduino® microcontroller using a multi-circuit connection that can be interfaced with graphene-based electrochemical sensors for environmental monitoring.

Specifics of Pulsed Arc Welding Power Supply Performance Based On A Transistor Switch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krampit, N. Yu; Kust, T. S.; Krampit, M. A.

2016-08-01

Specifics of designing a pulsed arc welding power supply device are presented in the paper. Electronic components for managing large current was analyzed. Strengths and shortcomings of power supply circuits based on thyristor, bipolar transistor and MOSFET are outlined. As a base unit for pulsed arc welding was chosen MOSFET transistor, which is easy to manage. Measures to protect a transistor are given. As for the transistor control device is a microcontroller Arduino which has a low cost and adequate performance of the work. Bead transfer principle is to change the voltage on the arc in the formation of beads on the wire end. Microcontroller controls transistor when the arc voltage reaches the threshold voltage. Thus there is a separation and transfer of beads without splashing. Control strategies tested on a real device and presented. The error in the operation of the device is less than 25 us, it can be used controlling drop transfer at high frequencies (up to 1300 Hz).

Double-differential recording and AGC using microcontrolled variable gain ASIC.

PubMed

Rieger, Robert; Deng, Shin-Liang

2013-01-01

Low-power wearable recording of biopotentials requires acquisition front-ends with high common-mode rejection for interference suppression and adjustable gain to provide an optimum signal range to a cascading analogue-to-digital stage. A microcontroller operated double-differential (DD) recording setup and automatic gain control circuit (AGC) are discussed which reject common-mode interference and provide tunable gain, thus compensating for imbalance and variation in electrode interface impedance. Custom-designed variable gain amplifiers (ASIC) are used as part of the recording setup. The circuit gain and balance is set by the timing of microcontroller generated clock signals. Measured results are presented which confirm that improved common-mode rejection is achieved compared to a single differential amplifier in the presence of input network imbalance. Practical measured examples further validate gain control suitable for biopotential recording and power-line rejection for wearable ECG and EMG recording. The prototype front-end consumes 318 μW including amplifiers and microcontroller.

Arduino based radiation survey meter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Nur Aira Abd; Lombigit, Lojius; Abdullah, Nor Arymaswati; Azman, Azraf; Dolah, Taufik; Muzakkir, Amir; Jaafar, Zainudin; Mohamad, Glam Hadzir Patai; Ramli, Abd Aziz Mhd; Zain, Rasif Mohd; Said, Fazila; Khalid, Mohd Ashhar; Taat, Muhamad Zahidee

2016-01-01

This paper presents the design of new digital radiation survey meter with LND7121 Geiger Muller tube detector and Atmega328P microcontroller. Development of the survey meter prototype is carried out on Arduino Uno platform. 16-bit Timer1 on the microcontroller is utilized as external pulse counter to produce count per second or CPS measurement. Conversion from CPS to dose rate technique is also performed by Arduino to display results in micro Sievert per hour (μSvhr-1). Conversion factor (CF) value for conversion of CPM to μSvhr-1 determined from manufacturer data sheet is compared with CF obtained from calibration procedure. The survey meter measurement results are found to be linear for dose rates below 3500 µSv/hr.

Wearable knee health rehabilitation assessment using acoustical emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teague, Caitlin N.; Hersek, Sinan; Conant, Jordan L.; Gilliland, Scott M.; Inan, Omer T.

2017-02-01

We have developed a novel, wearable sensing system based on miniature piezoelectric contact microphones for measuring the acoustical emissions from the knee during movement. The system consists of two contact microphones, positioned on the medial and lateral sides of the patella, connected to custom, analog pre-amplifier circuits and a microcontroller for digitization and data storage on a secure digital card. Tn addition to the acoustical sensing, the system includes two integrated inertial measurement sensors including accelerometer and gyroscope modalities to enable joint angle calculations; these sensors, with digital outputs, are connected directly to the same microcontroller. The system provides low noise, accurate joint acoustical emission and angle measurements in a wearable form factor and has several hours of battery life.

Ethernet based data logger for gaseous detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swain, S.; Sahu, P. K.; Sahu, S. K.

2018-05-01

A data logger is designed to monitor and record ambient parameters such as temperature, pressure and relative humidity along with gas flow rate as a function of time. These parameters are required for understanding the characteristics of gas-filled detectors such as Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) and Multi-Wire Proportional Counter (MWPC). The data logger has different microcontrollers and has been interfaced to an ethernet port with a local LCD unit for displaying all measured parameters. In this article, the explanation of the data logger design, hardware, and software description of the master microcontroller and the DAQ system along with LabVIEW interface client program have been presented. We have implemented this device with GEM detector and displayed few preliminary results as a function of above parameters.

Home-made temperature monitoring system from four-channel K-type thermocouples via internet of thing technology platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Detmod, Thitaporn; Özmen, Yiǧiter; Songkaitiwong, Kittiphot; Saenyot, Khanuengchat; Locharoenrat, Kitsakorn; Lekchaum, Sarai

2018-06-01

This paper is aimed to design and construct the home-made temperature monitoring system from four-channel K-type thermocouples in order to improve the temperature measurement based on standard evaluation measurements guidance. The temperature monitoring system was capable to record the temperature on SD card and to display the realtime temperature on Internet of Thing Technology platform. The temperature monitoring system was tested in terms of the temperature measurement accuracy and delay response time. It was found that a standard deviation was acceptable as compared to the Instrument Society of America. The response time of the microcontroller to SD card was 2 sec faster than that of the microcontroller to Thingspeak.

Design and Development of Microcontroller-Based Clinical Chemistry Analyser for Measurement of Various Blood Biochemistry Parameters

PubMed Central

Taneja, S. R.; Kumar, Jagdish; Thariyan, K. K.; Verma, Sanjeev

2005-01-01

Clinical chemistry analyser is a high-performance microcontroller-based photometric biochemical analyser to measure various blood biochemical parameters such as blood glucose, urea, protein, bilirubin, and so forth, and also to measure and observe enzyme growth occurred while performing the other biochemical tests such as ALT (alkaline amino transferase), amylase, AST (aspartate amino transferase), and so forth. These tests are of great significance in biochemistry and used for diagnostic purposes and classifying various disorders and diseases such as diabetes, liver malfunctioning, renal diseases, and so forth. An inexpensive clinical chemistry analyser developed by the authors is described in this paper. This is an open system in which any reagent kit available in the market can be used. The system is based on the principle of absorbance transmittance photometry. System design is based around 80C31 microcontroller with RAM, EPROM, and peripheral interface devices. The developed system incorporates light source, an optical module, interference filters of various wave lengths, peltier device for maintaining required temperature of the mixture in flow cell, peristaltic pump for sample aspiration, graphic LCD display for displaying blood parameters, patients test results and kinetic test graph, 40 columns mini thermal printer, and also 32-key keyboard for executing various functions. The lab tests conducted on the instrument include versatility of the analyzer, flexibility of the software, and treatment of sample. The prototype was tested and evaluated over 1000 blood samples successfully for seventeen blood parameters. Evaluation was carried out at Government Medical College and Hospital, the Department of Biochemistry. The test results were found to be comparable with other standard instruments. PMID:18924737

Design and development of microcontroller-based clinical chemistry analyser for measurement of various blood biochemistry parameters.

PubMed

Taneja, S R; Gupta, R C; Kumar, Jagdish; Thariyan, K K; Verma, Sanjeev

2005-01-01

Clinical chemistry analyser is a high-performance microcontroller-based photometric biochemical analyser to measure various blood biochemical parameters such as blood glucose, urea, protein, bilirubin, and so forth, and also to measure and observe enzyme growth occurred while performing the other biochemical tests such as ALT (alkaline amino transferase), amylase, AST (aspartate amino transferase), and so forth. These tests are of great significance in biochemistry and used for diagnostic purposes and classifying various disorders and diseases such as diabetes, liver malfunctioning, renal diseases, and so forth. An inexpensive clinical chemistry analyser developed by the authors is described in this paper. This is an open system in which any reagent kit available in the market can be used. The system is based on the principle of absorbance transmittance photometry. System design is based around 80C31 microcontroller with RAM, EPROM, and peripheral interface devices. The developed system incorporates light source, an optical module, interference filters of various wave lengths, peltier device for maintaining required temperature of the mixture in flow cell, peristaltic pump for sample aspiration, graphic LCD display for displaying blood parameters, patients test results and kinetic test graph, 40 columns mini thermal printer, and also 32-key keyboard for executing various functions. The lab tests conducted on the instrument include versatility of the analyzer, flexibility of the software, and treatment of sample. The prototype was tested and evaluated over 1000 blood samples successfully for seventeen blood parameters. Evaluation was carried out at Government Medical College and Hospital, the Department of Biochemistry. The test results were found to be comparable with other standard instruments.

Microcontroller for automation application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, H. W.

1975-01-01

The description of a microcontroller currently being developed for automation application was given. It is basically an 8-bit microcomputer with a 40K byte random access memory/read only memory, and can control a maximum of 12 devices through standard 15-line interface ports.

Development of a low-frequency physiotherapeutic device for diabetes manipulated by microcontroller.

PubMed

Guo, Jin-Song; Gong, Jian

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To develop a physiotherapeutic device for diabetes that generates special low-frequency waveform manipulated by a microcontroller. METHODS: A microcontoller and a digital-to-analog converter were utilized along with a keyboard and LED display circuit, to generate desired low-frequecy waveform with the assistance of a software. RESULTS: The complex waveform generated by this device met the demands for diabetes physiotherapy, and the frequency and amplitude could be freely adjusted. CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of a digital-to-analog converter controlled by a microcontroller can very well serve the purpose of a low-frequency physiotherapy for diabetes.

Engineering Novel Lab Devices Using 3D Printing and Microcontrollers.

PubMed

Courtemanche, Jean; King, Samson; Bouck, David

2018-03-01

The application of 3D printing and microcontrollers allows users to rapidly engineer novel hardware solutions useful in a laboratory environment. 3D printing is transformative as it enables the rapid fabrication of adapters, housings, jigs, and small structural elements. Microcontrollers allow for the creation of simple, inexpensive machines that receive input from one or more sensors to trigger a mechanical or electrical output. Bringing these technologies together, we have developed custom solutions that improve capabilities and reduce costs, errors, and human intervention. In this article, we describe three devices: JetLid, TipWaster, and Remote Monitoring Device (REMIND). JetLid employs a microcontroller and presence sensor to trigger a high-speed fan that reliably de-lids microtiter plates on a high-throughput screening system. TipWaster uses a presence sensor to activate an active tip waste chute when tips are ejected from a pipetting head. REMIND is a wireless, networked lab monitoring device. In its current implementation, it monitors the liquid level of waste collection vessels or bulk liquid reagent containers. The modularity of this device makes adaptation to other sensors (temperature, humidity, light/darkness, movement, etc.) relatively simple. These three devices illustrate how 3D printing and microcontrollers have enabled the process of rapidly turning ideas into useful devices.

System on chip (SOC) wi-fi microcontroller for multistation measurement of water surface level using ultrasonic sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryono, Suryono; Purnomo Putro, Sapto; Widowati; Adhy, Satriyo

2018-05-01

Experimental results of data acquisition and transmission of water surface level from the field using System on Chip (SOC) Wi-Fi microcontroller are described here. System on Chip (SOC) Wi-Fi microcontroller is useful in dealing with limitations of in situ measurement by people. It is expected to address the problem of field instrumentation such as complexities in electronic circuit, power supply, efficiency, and automation of digital data acquisition. The system developed here employs five (5) nodes consisting of ultrasonic water surface level sensor using (SOC) Wi-Fi microcontroller. The five nodes are connected to a Wi-Fi router as the gateway to send multi-station data to a computer host. Measurement of water surface level using SOC Wi-Fi microcontroller manages conduct multi-station communication via database service programming that is capable of inputting every data sent to the database record according to the identity of data sent. The system here has a measurement error of 0.65 cm, while in terms of range, communication between data node to gateway varies in distance from 25 m to 45 m. Communication has been successfully conducted from one Wi-Fi gateway to the other that further improvement for its multi-station range is a certain possibility.

A High Performance LIA-Based Interface for Battery Powered Sensing Devices

PubMed Central

García-Romeo, Daniel; Valero, María R.; Medrano, Nicolás; Calvo, Belén; Celma, Santiago

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a battery-compatible electronic interface based on a general purpose lock-in amplifier (LIA) capable of recovering input signals up to the MHz range. The core is a novel ASIC fabricated in 1.8 V 0.18 µm CMOS technology, which contains a dual-phase analog lock-in amplifier consisting of carefully designed building blocks to allow configurability over a wide frequency range while maintaining low power consumption. It operates using square input signals. Hence, for battery-operated microcontrolled systems, where square reference and exciting signals can be generated by the embedded microcontroller, the system benefits from intrinsic advantages such as simplicity, versatility and reduction in power and size. Experimental results confirm the signal recovery capability with signal-to-noise power ratios down to −39 dB with relative errors below 0.07% up to 1 MHz. Furthermore, the system has been successfully tested measuring the response of a microcantilever-based resonant sensor, achieving similar results with better power-bandwidth trade-off compared to other LIAs based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and commercial LIA equipment. PMID:26437408

A High Performance LIA-Based Interface for Battery Powered Sensing Devices.

PubMed

García-Romeo, Daniel; Valero, María R; Medrano, Nicolás; Calvo, Belén; Celma, Santiago

2015-09-30

This paper proposes a battery-compatible electronic interface based on a general purpose lock-in amplifier (LIA) capable of recovering input signals up to the MHz range. The core is a novel ASIC fabricated in 1.8 V 0.18 µm CMOS technology, which contains a dual-phase analog lock-in amplifier consisting of carefully designed building blocks to allow configurability over a wide frequency range while maintaining low power consumption. It operates using square input signals. Hence, for battery-operated microcontrolled systems, where square reference and exciting signals can be generated by the embedded microcontroller, the system benefits from intrinsic advantages such as simplicity, versatility and reduction in power and size. Experimental results confirm the signal recovery capability with signal-to-noise power ratios down to -39 dB with relative errors below 0.07% up to 1 MHz. Furthermore, the system has been successfully tested measuring the response of a microcantilever-based resonant sensor, achieving similar results with better power-bandwidth trade-off compared to other LIAs based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and commercial LIA equipment.

Autonomous caregiver following robotic wheelchair

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnam, E. Venkata; Sivaramalingam, Sethurajan; Vignesh, A. Sri; Vasanth, Elanthendral; Joans, S. Mary

2011-12-01

In the last decade, a variety of robotic/intelligent wheelchairs have been proposed to meet the need in aging society. Their main research topics are autonomous functions such as moving toward some goals while avoiding obstacles, or user-friendly interfaces. Although it is desirable for wheelchair users to go out alone, caregivers often accompany them. Therefore we have to consider not only autonomous functions and user interfaces but also how to reduce caregivers' load and support their activities in a communication aspect. From this point of view, we have proposed a robotic wheelchair moving with a caregiver side by side based on the MATLAB process. In this project we discussing about robotic wheel chair to follow a caregiver by using a microcontroller, Ultrasonic sensor, keypad, Motor drivers to operate robot. Using camera interfaced with the DM6437 (Davinci Code Processor) image is captured. The captured image are then processed by using image processing technique, the processed image are then converted into voltage levels through MAX 232 level converter and given it to the microcontroller unit serially and ultrasonic sensor to detect the obstacle in front of robot. In this robot we have mode selection switch Automatic and Manual control of robot, we use ultrasonic sensor in automatic mode to find obstacle, in Manual mode to use the keypad to operate wheel chair. In the microcontroller unit, c language coding is predefined, according to this coding the robot which connected to it was controlled. Robot which has several motors is activated by using the motor drivers. Motor drivers are nothing but a switch which ON/OFF the motor according to the control given by the microcontroller unit.

Design and development of electric vehicle charging station equipped with RFID

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panatarani, C.; Murtaddo, D.; Maulana, D. W.; Irawan, S.; Joni, I. M.

2016-02-01

This paper reports the development of electric charging station from distributed renewable for electric vehicle (EV). This designed refer to the input voltage standard of IEC 61851, plugs features of IEC 62196 and standard communication of ISO 15118. The developed electric charging station used microcontroller ATMEGA8535 and RFID as controller and identifier of the EV users, respectively. The charging station successfully developed as desired features for electric vehicle from renewable energy resources grid with solar panel, wind power and batteries storage.

Development of an extensible dual-core wireless sensing node for cyber-physical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kane, Michael; Zhu, Dapeng; Hirose, Mitsuhito; Dong, Xinjun; Winter, Benjamin; Häckell, Mortiz; Lynch, Jerome P.; Wang, Yang; Swartz, A.

2014-04-01

The introduction of wireless telemetry into the design of monitoring and control systems has been shown to reduce system costs while simplifying installations. To date, wireless nodes proposed for sensing and actuation in cyberphysical systems have been designed using microcontrollers with one computational pipeline (i.e., single-core microcontrollers). While concurrent code execution can be implemented on single-core microcontrollers, concurrency is emulated by splitting the pipeline's resources to support multiple threads of code execution. For many applications, this approach to multi-threading is acceptable in terms of speed and function. However, some applications such as feedback controls demand deterministic timing of code execution and maximum computational throughput. For these applications, the adoption of multi-core processor architectures represents one effective solution. Multi-core microcontrollers have multiple computational pipelines that can execute embedded code in parallel and can be interrupted independent of one another. In this study, a new wireless platform named Martlet is introduced with a dual-core microcontroller adopted in its design. The dual-core microcontroller design allows Martlet to dedicate one core to standard wireless sensor operations while the other core is reserved for embedded data processing and real-time feedback control law execution. Another distinct feature of Martlet is a standardized hardware interface that allows specialized daughter boards (termed wing boards) to be interfaced to the Martlet baseboard. This extensibility opens opportunity to encapsulate specialized sensing and actuation functions in a wing board without altering the design of Martlet. In addition to describing the design of Martlet, a few example wings are detailed, along with experiments showing the Martlet's ability to monitor and control physical systems such as wind turbines and buildings.

[Study for portable dynamic ECG monitor and recorder].

PubMed

Yang, Pengcheng; Li, Yongqin; Chen, Bihua

2012-09-01

This Paper presents a portable dynamic ECG monitor system based on MSP430F149 microcontroller. The electrocardiogram detecting system consists of ECG detecting circuit, man-machine interaction module, MSP430F149 and upper computer software. The ECG detecting circuit including a preamplifier, second-order Butterworth low-pass filter, high-pass filter, and 50Hz trap circuit to detects electrocardiogram and depresses various kinds of interference effectively. A microcontroller is used to collect three channel analog signals which can be displayed on TFT LCD. A SD card is used to record real-time data continuously and implement the FTA16 file system. In the end, a host computer system interface is also designed to analyze the ECG signal and the analysis results can provide diagnosis references to clinical doctors.

Multiprocessor Neural Network in Healthcare.

PubMed

Godó, Zoltán Attila; Kiss, Gábor; Kocsis, Dénes

2015-01-01

A possible way of creating a multiprocessor artificial neural network is by the use of microcontrollers. The RISC processors' high performance and the large number of I/O ports mean they are greatly suitable for creating such a system. During our research, we wanted to see if it is possible to efficiently create interaction between the artifical neural network and the natural nervous system. To achieve as much analogy to the living nervous system as possible, we created a frequency-modulated analog connection between the units. Our system is connected to the living nervous system through 128 microelectrodes. Two-way communication is provided through A/D transformation, which is even capable of testing psychopharmacons. The microcontroller-based analog artificial neural network can play a great role in medical singal processing, such as ECG, EEG etc.

Adjustment method for embedded metrology engine in an EM773 series microcontroller.

PubMed

Blazinšek, Iztok; Kotnik, Bojan; Chowdhury, Amor; Kačič, Zdravko

2015-09-01

This paper presents the problems of implementation and adjustment (calibration) of a metrology engine embedded in NXP's EM773 series microcontroller. The metrology engine is used in a smart metering application to collect data about energy utilization and is controlled with the use of metrology engine adjustment (calibration) parameters. The aim of this research is to develop a method which would enable the operators to find and verify the optimum parameters which would ensure the best possible accuracy. Properly adjusted (calibrated) metrology engines can then be used as a base for variety of products used in smart and intelligent environments. This paper focuses on the problems encountered in the development, partial automatisation, implementation and verification of this method. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Software Development Platform for Wearable Medical Applications.

PubMed

Zhang, Ruikai; Lin, Wei

2015-10-01

Wearable medical devices have become a leading trend in healthcare industry. Microcontrollers are computers on a chip with sufficient processing power and preferred embedded computing units in those devices. We have developed a software platform specifically for the design of the wearable medical applications with a small code footprint on the microcontrollers. It is supported by the open source real time operating system FreeRTOS and supplemented with a set of standard APIs for the architectural specific hardware interfaces on the microcontrollers for data acquisition and wireless communication. We modified the tick counter routine in FreeRTOS to include a real time soft clock. When combined with the multitasking features in the FreeRTOS, the platform offers the quick development of wearable applications and easy porting of the application code to different microprocessors. Test results have demonstrated that the application software developed using this platform are highly efficient in CPU usage while maintaining a small code foot print to accommodate the limited memory space in microcontrollers.

Vertical-angle control system in the LLMC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Binhua; Yang, Lei; Tie, Qiongxian; Mao, Wei

2000-10-01

A control system of the vertical angle transmission used in the Lower Latitude Meridian Circle (LLMC) is described in this paper. The transmission system can change the zenith distance of the tube quickly and precisely. It works in three modes: fast motion, slow motion and lock mode. The fast motion mode and the slow motion mode are that the tube of the instrument is driven by a fast motion stepper motor and a slow motion one separately. The lock mode is running for lock mechanism that is driven by a lock stepper motor. These three motors are controlled together by a single chip microcontroller, which is controlled in turn by a host personal computer. The slow motion mechanism and its rotational step angle are fully discussed because the mechanism is not used before. Then the hardware structure of this control system based on a microcontroller is described. Control process of the system is introduced during a normal observation, which is divided into eleven steps. All the steps are programmed in our control software in C++ and/or in ASM. The C++ control program is set up in the host PC, while the ASM control program is in the microcontroller system. Structures and functions of these rprograms are presented. Some details and skills for programming are discussed in the paper too.

Implementation of high-resolution time-to-digital converter in 8-bit microcontrollers.

PubMed

Bengtsson, Lars E

2012-04-01

This paper will demonstrate how a time-to-digital converter (TDC) with sub-nanosecond resolution can be implemented into an 8-bit microcontroller using so called "direct" methods. This means that a TDC is created using only five bidirectional digital input-output-pins of a microcontroller and a few passive components (two resistors, a capacitor, and a diode). We will demonstrate how a TDC for the range 1-10 μs is implemented with 0.17 ns resolution. This work will also show how to linearize the output by combining look-up tables and interpolation. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

The Microcontroller: A Paradigm for a Robot Building Block

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammons, John; Deal, Walter F., III

2013-01-01

Microcontrollers are used extensively in transportation and communications technologies, in automobiles to monitor and control engine speed and performance so as to maximize fuel economy and efficiency, and by manufacturing industries to produce "smart" technology. The flexibility, imagination, and spirit that make these tiny devices so…

A system for the delivery of programmable, adaptive stimulation intensity envelopes for drop foot correction applications.

PubMed

Breen, P P; O'Keeffe, D T; Conway, R; Lyons, G M

2006-03-01

We describe the design of an intelligent drop foot stimulator unit for use in conjunction with a commercial neuromuscular electrical nerve stimulation (NMES) unit, the NT2000. The developed micro-controller unit interfaces to a personal computer (PC) and a graphical user interface (GUI) allows the clinician to graphically specify the shape of the stimulation intensity envelope required for a subject undergoing drop foot correction. The developed unit is based on the ADuC812S micro-controller evaluation board from Analog Devices and uses two force sensitive resistor (FSR) based foot-switches to control application of stimulus. The unit has the ability to display to the clinician how the stimulus intensity envelope is being delivered during walking using a data capture capability. The developed system has a built-in algorithm to dynamically adjust the delivery of stimulus to reflect changes both within the gait cycle and from cycle to cycle. Thus, adaptive control of stimulus intensity is achieved.

Microcontroller-based system for estimate of calcium in serum samples.

PubMed

Neelamegam, Periyaswmy; Jamaludeen, Abdul Sheriff; Ragendran, Annamalai; Murugrananthan, Krishanamoorthy

2010-01-01

In this study, a microcontroller-based control unit was designed and constructed for the estimation of serum calcium in blood samples. The proposed optoelectronic instrument used a red light emitting diode (LED) as a light source and photodiode as a sensor. The performance of the system was compared with that of a commercial instrument in measuring calcium ion. The quantitative analysis of calcium in a catalyst using arsenazo III as colorimetric reagent was used to test the device. The calibration curve for calcium binding with arsenazo III was drawn to check the range of linearity, which was between 0.1 to 4.5 mM L⁻¹. The limit of detection (LOD) is 0.05 mM L⁻¹. Absorbance changes over the pH range of 2-12 were determined to optimize the assay, with maximum absorption at pH 9.0. Interferences in absorbance from monovalent (K+ and Na+) and divalent (Mg²+) cations were also studied. The results show that the system works successfully.

Microcontroller based resonance tracking unit for time resolved continuous wave cavity-ringdown spectroscopy measurements.

PubMed

Votava, Ondrej; Mašát, Milan; Parker, Alexander E; Jain, Chaithania; Fittschen, Christa

2012-04-01

We present in this work a new tracking servoloop electronics for continuous wave cavity-ringdown absorption spectroscopy (cw-CRDS) and its application to time resolved cw-CRDS measurements by coupling the system with a pulsed laser photolysis set-up. The tracking unit significantly increases the repetition rate of the CRDS events and thus improves effective time resolution (and/or the signal-to-noise ratio) in kinetics studies with cw-CRDS in given data acquisition time. The tracking servoloop uses novel strategy to track the cavity resonances that result in a fast relocking (few ms) after the loss of tracking due to an external disturbance. The microcontroller based design is highly flexible and thus advanced tracking strategies are easy to implement by the firmware modification without the need to modify the hardware. We believe that the performance of many existing cw-CRDS experiments, not only time-resolved, can be improved with such tracking unit without any additional modification to the experiment. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

Versatile single-chip event sequencer for atomic physics experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eyler, Edward

2010-03-01

A very inexpensive dsPIC microcontroller with internal 32-bit counters is used to produce a flexible timing signal generator with up to 16 TTL-compatible digital outputs, with a time resolution and accuracy of 50 ns. This time resolution is easily sufficient for event sequencing in typical experiments involving cold atoms or laser spectroscopy. This single-chip device is capable of triggered operation and can also function as a sweeping delay generator. With one additional chip it can also concurrently produce accurately timed analog ramps, and another one-chip addition allows real-time control from an external computer. Compared to an FPGA-based digital pattern generator, this design is slower but simpler and more flexible, and it can be reprogrammed using ordinary `C' code without special knowledge. I will also describe the use of the same microcontroller with additional hardware to implement a digital lock-in amplifier and PID controller for laser locking, including a simple graphics-based control unit. This work is supported in part by the NSF.

Automated Mobile System for Accurate Outdoor Tree Crop Enumeration Using an Uncalibrated Camera.

PubMed

Nguyen, Thuy Tuong; Slaughter, David C; Hanson, Bradley D; Barber, Andrew; Freitas, Amy; Robles, Daniel; Whelan, Erin

2015-07-28

This paper demonstrates an automated computer vision system for outdoor tree crop enumeration in a seedling nursery. The complete system incorporates both hardware components (including an embedded microcontroller, an odometry encoder, and an uncalibrated digital color camera) and software algorithms (including microcontroller algorithms and the proposed algorithm for tree crop enumeration) required to obtain robust performance in a natural outdoor environment. The enumeration system uses a three-step image analysis process based upon: (1) an orthographic plant projection method integrating a perspective transform with automatic parameter estimation; (2) a plant counting method based on projection histograms; and (3) a double-counting avoidance method based on a homography transform. Experimental results demonstrate the ability to count large numbers of plants automatically with no human effort. Results show that, for tree seedlings having a height up to 40 cm and a within-row tree spacing of approximately 10 cm, the algorithms successfully estimated the number of plants with an average accuracy of 95.2% for trees within a single image and 98% for counting of the whole plant population in a large sequence of images.

Automated Mobile System for Accurate Outdoor Tree Crop Enumeration Using an Uncalibrated Camera

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Thuy Tuong; Slaughter, David C.; Hanson, Bradley D.; Barber, Andrew; Freitas, Amy; Robles, Daniel; Whelan, Erin

2015-01-01

This paper demonstrates an automated computer vision system for outdoor tree crop enumeration in a seedling nursery. The complete system incorporates both hardware components (including an embedded microcontroller, an odometry encoder, and an uncalibrated digital color camera) and software algorithms (including microcontroller algorithms and the proposed algorithm for tree crop enumeration) required to obtain robust performance in a natural outdoor environment. The enumeration system uses a three-step image analysis process based upon: (1) an orthographic plant projection method integrating a perspective transform with automatic parameter estimation; (2) a plant counting method based on projection histograms; and (3) a double-counting avoidance method based on a homography transform. Experimental results demonstrate the ability to count large numbers of plants automatically with no human effort. Results show that, for tree seedlings having a height up to 40 cm and a within-row tree spacing of approximately 10 cm, the algorithms successfully estimated the number of plants with an average accuracy of 95.2% for trees within a single image and 98% for counting of the whole plant population in a large sequence of images. PMID:26225982

Centrifugal LabTube platform for fully automated DNA purification and LAMP amplification based on an integrated, low-cost heating system.

PubMed

Hoehl, Melanie M; Weißert, Michael; Dannenberg, Arne; Nesch, Thomas; Paust, Nils; von Stetten, Felix; Zengerle, Roland; Slocum, Alexander H; Steigert, Juergen

2014-06-01

This paper introduces a disposable battery-driven heating system for loop-mediated isothermal DNA amplification (LAMP) inside a centrifugally-driven DNA purification platform (LabTube). We demonstrate LabTube-based fully automated DNA purification of as low as 100 cell-equivalents of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) in water, milk and apple juice in a laboratory centrifuge, followed by integrated and automated LAMP amplification with a reduction of hands-on time from 45 to 1 min. The heating system consists of two parallel SMD thick film resistors and a NTC as heating and temperature sensing elements. They are driven by a 3 V battery and controlled by a microcontroller. The LAMP reagents are stored in the elution chamber and the amplification starts immediately after the eluate is purged into the chamber. The LabTube, including a microcontroller-based heating system, demonstrates contamination-free and automated sample-to-answer nucleic acid testing within a laboratory centrifuge. The heating system can be easily parallelized within one LabTube and it is deployable for a variety of heating and electrical applications.

Teaching Smartphone and Microcontroller Systems Using "Android Java"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tigrek, Seyitriza

2012-01-01

Mobile devices are becoming indispensable tools for many students and educators. Mobile technology is starting a new era in the computing methodologies in many engineering disciplines and laboratories. Microcontroller extension that communicates with mobile devices will take the data acquisition and control process into a new level in the sensing…

Communications interface for wireless communications headset

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Culotta, Jr., Anthony Joseph (Inventor); Seibert, Marc A. (Inventor)

2004-01-01

A universal interface adapter circuit interfaces, for example, a wireless communications headset with any type of communications system, including those that require push-to-talk (PTT) signaling. The interface adapter is comprised of several main components, including an RF signaling receiver, a microcontroller and associated circuitry for decoding and processing the received signals, and programmable impedance matching and line interfacing circuitry for interfacing a wireless communications headset system base to a communications system. A signaling transmitter, which is preferably portable (e.g., handheld), is employed by the wireless headset user to send signals to the signaling receiver. In an embodiment of the invention directed specifically to push-to-talk (PTT) signaling, the wireless headset user presses a button on the signaling transmitter when they wish to speak. This sends a signal to the microcontroller which decodes the signal and recognizes the signal as being a PTT request. In response, the microcontroller generates a control signal that closes a switch to complete a voice connection between the headset system base and the communications system so that the user can communicate with the communications system. With this arrangement, the wireless headset can be interfaced to any communications system that requires PTT signaling, without modification of the headset device. In addition, the interface adapter can also be configured to respond to or deliver any other types of signals, such as dual-tone-multiple-frequency (DTMF) tones, and on/off hook signals. The present invention is also scalable, and permits multiple wireless users to operate independently in the same environment through use of a plurality of the interface adapters.

A 300MHz Embedded Flash Memory with Pipeline Architecture and Offset-Free Sense Amplifiers for Dual-Core Automotive Microcontrollers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kajiyama, Shinya; Fujito, Masamichi; Kasai, Hideo; Mizuno, Makoto; Yamaguchi, Takanori; Shinagawa, Yutaka

A novel 300MHz embedded flash memory for dual-core microcontrollers with a shared ROM architecture is proposed. One of its features is a three-stage pipeline read operation, which enables reduced access pitch and therefore reduces performance penalty due to conflict of shared ROM accesses. Another feature is a highly sensitive sense amplifier that achieves efficient pipeline operation with two-cycle latency one-cycle pitch as a result of a shortened sense time of 0.63ns. The combination of the pipeline architecture and proposed sense amplifiers significantly reduces access-conflict penalties with shared ROM and enhances performance of 32-bit RISC dual-core microcontrollers by 30%.

Wireless sensor network for irrigation application in cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A wireless sensor network was deployed in a cotton field to monitor soil water status for irrigation. The network included two systems, a Decagon system and a microcontroller-based system. The Decagon system consists of soil volumetric water-content sensors, wireless data loggers, and a central data...

A Compact and Low Cost Electronic Nose for Aroma Detection

PubMed Central

Macías, Miguel Macías; Agudo, J. Enrique; Manso, Antonio García; Orellana, Carlos Javier García; Velasco, Horacio Manuel González; Caballero, Ramón Gallardo

2013-01-01

This article explains the development of a prototype of a portable and a very low-cost electronic nose based on an mbed microcontroller. Mbeds are a series of ARM microcontroller development boards designed for fast, flexible and rapid prototyping. The electronic nose is comprised of an mbed, an LCD display, two small pumps, two electro-valves and a sensor chamber with four TGS Figaro gas sensors. The performance of the electronic nose has been tested by measuring the ethanol content of wine synthetic matrices and special attention has been paid to the reproducibility and repeatability of the measurements taken on different days. Results show that the electronic nose with a neural network classifier is able to discriminate wine samples with 10, 12 and 14% V/V alcohol content with a classification error of less than 1%. PMID:23698265

Greenhouse intelligent control system based on microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Congwei

2018-04-01

As one of the hallmarks of agricultural modernization, intelligent greenhouse has the advantages of high yield, excellent quality, no pollution and continuous planting. Taking AT89S52 microcontroller as the main controller, the greenhouse intelligent control system uses soil moisture sensor, temperature and humidity sensors, light intensity sensor and CO2 concentration sensor to collect measurements and display them on the 12864 LCD screen real-time. Meantime, climate parameter values can be manually set online. The collected measured values are compared with the set standard values, and then the lighting, ventilation fans, warming lamps, water pumps and other facilities automatically start to adjust the climate such as light intensity, CO2 concentration, temperature, air humidity and soil moisture of the greenhouse parameter. So, the state of the environment in the greenhouse Stabilizes and the crop grows in a suitable environment.

[Research and application of microcontroller system for target controlled infusion].

PubMed

Cheng, Yuke; Dou, Jianhong; Zhang, Xingan; Wang, Ruosong

2005-08-01

This paper presents a microcontroller system for target controlled infusion according to pharmacodynamic parameters of intravenous anesthetics. It can control the depth of anesthesia by adjusting the level of plasma concentrations. The system has the advantages of high precision, extending power and easy manipulation. It has been used in the clinical anesthesia.

Inexpensive Miniature Programmable Magnetic Stirrer from Reconfigured Computer Parts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer, Conan; Leech, Donal

2017-01-01

This technology report outlines a robust and easy to assemble magnetic stirrer that is programmable. All of the parts are recycled from obsolete computer hardware except the Arduino microcontroller and motor driver, at a total cost of around $40. This multidisciplinary approach introduces microcontrollers to students and grants the opportunity to…

G-cueing microcontroller (a microprocessor application in simulators)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horattas, C. G.

1980-01-01

A g cueing microcontroller is described which consists of a tandem pair of microprocessors, dedicated to the task of simulating pilot sensed cues caused by gravity effects. This task includes execution of a g cueing model which drives actuators that alter the configuration of the pilot's seat. The g cueing microcontroller receives acceleration commands from the aerodynamics model in the main computer and creates the stimuli that produce physical acceleration effects of the aircraft seat on the pilots anatomy. One of the two microprocessors is a fixed instruction processor that performs all control and interface functions. The other, a specially designed bipolar bit slice microprocessor, is a microprogrammable processor dedicated to all arithmetic operations. The two processors communicate with each other by a shared memory. The g cueing microcontroller contains its own dedicated I/O conversion modules for interface with the seat actuators and controls, and a DMA controller for interfacing with the simulation computer. Any application which can be microcoded within the available memory, the available real time and the available I/O channels, could be implemented in the same controller.

Development of CMOS Imager Block for Capsule Endoscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafie, S.; Fodzi, F. A. M.; Tung, L. Q.; Lioe, D. X.; Halin, I. A.; Hasan, W. Z. W.; Jaafar, H.

2014-04-01

This paper presents the development of imager block to be associated in a capsule endoscopy system. Since the capsule endoscope is used to diagnose gastrointestinal diseases, the imager block must be in small size which is comfortable for the patients to swallow. In this project, a small size 1.5V button battery is used as the power supply while the voltage supply requirements for other components such as microcontroller and CMOS image sensor are higher. Therefore, a voltage booster circuit is proposed to boost up the voltage supply from 1.5V to 3.3V. A low power microcontroller is used to generate control pulses for the CMOS image sensor and to convert the 8-bits parallel data output to serial data to be transmitted to the display panel. The results show that the voltage booster circuit was able to boost the voltage supply from 1.5V to 3.3V. The microcontroller precisely controls the CMOS image sensor to produce parallel data which is then serialized again by the microcontroller. The serial data is then successfully translated to 2fps image and displayed on computer.

Energy Analysis of Decoders for Rakeness-Based Compressed Sensing of ECG Signals.

PubMed

Pareschi, Fabio; Mangia, Mauro; Bortolotti, Daniele; Bartolini, Andrea; Benini, Luca; Rovatti, Riccardo; Setti, Gianluca

2017-12-01

In recent years, compressed sensing (CS) has proved to be effective in lowering the power consumption of sensing nodes in biomedical signal processing devices. This is due to the fact the CS is capable of reducing the amount of data to be transmitted to ensure correct reconstruction of the acquired waveforms. Rakeness-based CS has been introduced to further reduce the amount of transmitted data by exploiting the uneven distribution to the sensed signal energy. Yet, so far no thorough analysis exists on the impact of its adoption on CS decoder performance. The latter point is of great importance, since body-area sensor network architectures may include intermediate gateway nodes that receive and reconstruct signals to provide local services before relaying data to a remote server. In this paper, we fill this gap by showing that rakeness-based design also improves reconstruction performance. We quantify these findings in the case of ECG signals and when a variety of reconstruction algorithms are used either in a low-power microcontroller or a heterogeneous mobile computing platform.

An observatory control system for the University of Hawai'i 2.2m Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKay, Luke; Erickson, Christopher; Mukensnable, Donn; Stearman, Anthony; Straight, Brad

2016-07-01

The University of Hawai'i 2.2m telescope at Maunakea has operated since 1970, and has had several controls upgrades to date. The newest system will operate as a distributed hierarchy of GNU/Linux central server, networked single-board computers, microcontrollers, and a modular motion control processor for the main axes. Rather than just a telescope control system, this new effort is towards a cohesive, modular, and robust whole observatory control system, with design goals of fully robotic unattended operation, high reliability, and ease of maintenance and upgrade.

Fault Tolerant Microcontroller for the Configurable Fault Tolerant Processor

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

many others come to mind I also wish to thank Jan Grey for providing an excellent System-on-a-Chip that formed a core component of this thesis...developed by Jan Gray as documented in his "Building a RISC CPU and System-on-a-Chip in an FPGA" series of articles that was published in Circuit Cellar...those detailed by Jan Gray in his "Getting Started with the XSOC Project v0.93" [16]. The XSOC distribution is available at <http://www.fpgacpu.org

Laser frequency stabilization using a transfer interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Shira; Sawaoka, Hiromitsu; Bhatt, Nishant; Potnis, Shreyas; Vutha, Amar C.

2018-03-01

We present a laser frequency stabilization system that uses a transfer interferometer to stabilize slave lasers to a reference laser. Our implementation uses off-the-shelf optical components along with microcontroller-based digital feedback, and offers a simple, flexible, and robust way to stabilize multiple laser frequencies to better than 1 MHz.

Microcontroller-Based Experimental Setup and Experiments for SCADA Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin, S.; Olmez, M.; Isler, Y.

2010-01-01

In the field of automation technology, research and development for industrial applications has increased rapidly in recent years. Therefore, industrial automation and control education is a very important element of the industrialization process in developing countries, such as Turkey, which needs to keep abreast for the latest developments in…

A microcontroller-based portable electrocardiograph recorder.

PubMed

Segura-Juárez, José J; Cuesta-Frau, David; Samblas-Pena, Luis; Aboy, Mateo

2004-09-01

We describe a low cost portable Holter design that can be implemented with off-the-shelf components. The recorder is battery powered and includes a graphical display and keyboard. The recorder is capable of acquiring up to 48 hours of continuous electrocardiogram data at a sample rate of up to 250 Hz.

Soil moisture and plant canopy temperature sensing for irrigation application in cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A wireless sensor network was deployed in a cotton field to monitor soil water status for irrigation. The network included two systems, a Decagon system and a microcontroller-based system. The Decagon system consists of soil volumetric water-content sensors, wireless data loggers, and a central data...

Electro pneumatic trainer embedded with programmable integrated circuit (PIC) microcontroller and graphical user interface platform for aviation industries training purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burhan, I.; Azman, A. A.; Othman, R.

2016-10-01

An electro pneumatic trainer embedded with programmable integrated circuit (PIC) microcontroller and Visual Basic (VB) platform is fabricated as a supporting tool to existing teaching and learning process, and to achieve the objectives and learning outcomes towards enhancing the student's knowledge and hands-on skill, especially in electro pneumatic devices. The existing learning process for electro pneumatic courses conducted in the classroom does not emphasize on simulation and complex practical aspects. VB is used as the platform for graphical user interface (GUI) while PIC as the interface circuit between the GUI and hardware of electro pneumatic apparatus. Fabrication of electro pneumatic trainer interfacing between PIC and VB has been designed and improved by involving multiple types of electro pneumatic apparatus such as linear drive, air motor, semi rotary motor, double acting cylinder and single acting cylinder. Newly fabricated electro pneumatic trainer microcontroller interface can be programmed and re-programmed for numerous combination of tasks. Based on the survey to 175 student participants, 97% of the respondents agreed that the newly fabricated trainer is user friendly, safe and attractive, and 96.8% of the respondents strongly agreed that there is improvement in knowledge development and also hands-on skill in their learning process. Furthermore, the Lab Practical Evaluation record has indicated that the respondents have improved their academic performance (hands-on skills) by an average of 23.5%.

Visualizing the Logistic Map with a Microcontroller

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serna, Juan D.; Joshi, Amitabh

2012-01-01

The logistic map is one of the simplest nonlinear dynamical systems that clearly exhibits the route to chaos. In this paper, we explore the evolution of the logistic map using an open-source microcontroller connected to an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We divide the one-dimensional domain interval [0,1] into ten equal parts, an associate…

[The research on a pocket microcontroller system for target controlled infusion].

PubMed

Cheng, Yu-Ke; Zhang, Xin-An; Zhang, Yan-Wu; Wu, Qun-Ling; Dou, Jian-Hong; Wang, Rou-Shong

2005-05-01

This paper present a microcontroller system for target controlled infusion according to pharmacodynamic parameters of intravenous anesthetics. It can control the depth of anesthesia by adjusting the level of plasma concentrations. The system has the advantages of high precision, extended function and easy operation. It has been now used in the clinical anesthesia.

Instrumentation for laser physics and spectroscopy using 32-bit microcontrollers with an Android tablet interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eyler, E. E.

2013-10-01

Several high-performance lab instruments suitable for manual assembly have been developed using low-pin-count 32-bit microcontrollers that communicate with an Android tablet via a USB interface. A single Android tablet app accommodates multiple interface needs by uploading parameter lists and graphical data from the microcontrollers, which are themselves programmed with easily modified C code. The hardware design of the instruments emphasizes low chip counts and is highly modular, relying on small "daughter boards" for special functions such as USB power management, waveform generation, and phase-sensitive signal detection. In one example, a daughter board provides a complete waveform generator and direct digital synthesizer that fits on a 1.5 in. × 0.8 in. circuit card.

The WAIS Melt Monitor: An automated ice core melting system for meltwater sample handling and the collection of high resolution microparticle size distribution data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breton, D. J.; Koffman, B. G.; Kreutz, K. J.; Hamilton, G. S.

2010-12-01

Paleoclimate data are often extracted from ice cores by careful geochemical analysis of meltwater samples. The analysis of the microparticles found in ice cores can also yield unique clues about atmospheric dust loading and transport, dust provenance and past environmental conditions. Determination of microparticle concentration, size distribution and chemical makeup as a function of depth is especially difficult because the particle size measurement either consumes or contaminates the meltwater, preventing further geochemical analysis. Here we describe a microcontroller-based ice core melting system which allows the collection of separate microparticle and chemistry samples from the same depth intervals in the ice core, while logging and accurately depth-tagging real-time electrical conductivity and particle size distribution data. This system was designed specifically to support microparticle analysis of the WAIS Divide WDC06A deep ice core, but many of the subsystems are applicable to more general ice core melting operations. Major system components include: a rotary encoder to measure ice core melt displacement with 0.1 millimeter accuracy, a meltwater tracking system to assign core depths to conductivity, particle and sample vial data, an optical debubbler level control system to protect the Abakus laser particle counter from damage due to air bubbles, a Rabbit 3700 microcontroller which communicates with a host PC, collects encoder and optical sensor data and autonomously operates Gilson peristaltic pumps and fraction collectors to provide automatic sample handling, melt monitor control software operating on a standard PC allowing the user to control and view the status of the system, data logging software operating on the same PC to collect data from the melting, electrical conductivity and microparticle measurement systems. Because microparticle samples can easily be contaminated, we use optical air bubble sensors and high resolution ice core density profiles to guide the melting process. The combination of these data allow us to analyze melt head performance, minimize outer-to-inner fraction contamination and avoid melt head flooding. The WAIS Melt Monitor system allows the collection of real-time, sub-annual microparticle and electrical conductivity data while producing and storing enough sample for traditional Coulter-Counter particle measurements as well long term acid leaching of bioactive metals (e.g., Fe, Co, Cd, Cu, Zn) prior to chemical analysis.

Wireless sensing and vibration control with increased redundancy and robustness design.

PubMed

Li, Peng; Li, Luyu; Song, Gangbing; Yu, Yan

2014-11-01

Control systems with long distance sensor and actuator wiring have the problem of high system cost and increased sensor noise. Wireless sensor network (WSN)-based control systems are an alternative solution involving lower setup and maintenance costs and reduced sensor noise. However, WSN-based control systems also encounter problems such as possible data loss, irregular sampling periods (due to the uncertainty of the wireless channel), and the possibility of sensor breakdown (due to the increased complexity of the overall control system). In this paper, a wireless microcontroller-based control system is designed and implemented to wirelessly perform vibration control. The wireless microcontroller-based system is quite different from regular control systems due to its limited speed and computational power. Hardware, software, and control algorithm design are described in detail to demonstrate this prototype. Model and system state compensation is used in the wireless control system to solve the problems of data loss and sensor breakdown. A positive position feedback controller is used as the control law for the task of active vibration suppression. Both wired and wireless controllers are implemented. The results show that the WSN-based control system can be successfully used to suppress the vibration and produces resilient results in the presence of sensor failure.

A low-cost spectrometer for NMR measurements in the Earth's magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michal, Carl A.

2010-10-01

We describe and demonstrate an inexpensive, easy-to-build, portable spectrometer for nuclear magnetic resonance measurements in the Earth's magnetic field. The spectrometer is based upon a widely available inexpensive microcontroller, which acts as a pulse programmer, audio-frequency synthesizer and digitizer, replacing what are typically the most expensive specialized components of the system. The microcontroller provides the capability to execute arbitrarily long and complicated sequences of phase-coherent, phase-modulated excitation pulses and acquire data sets of unlimited duration. Suitably packaged, the spectrometer is amenable to measurements in the research lab, in the field or in the teaching lab. The choice of components was heavily weighted by cost and availability, but required no significant sacrifice in performance. Using an existing personal computer, the resulting design can be assembled for as little as US200. The spectrometer performance is demonstrated with spin-echo and Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill pulse sequences on a water sample.

ELOPTA: a novel microcontroller-based operant device.

PubMed

Hoffman, Adam M; Song, Jianjian; Tuttle, Elaina M

2007-11-01

Operant devices have been used for many years in animal behavior research, yet such devices a regenerally highly specialized and quite expensive. Although commercial models are somewhat adaptable and resilient, they are also extremely expensive and are controlled by difficult to learn proprietary software. As an alternative to commercial devices, we have designed and produced a fully functional, programmable operant device, using a PICmicro microcontroller (Microchip Technology, Inc.). The electronic operant testing apparatus (ELOPTA) is designed to deliver food when a study animal, in this case a bird, successfully depresses the correct sequence of illuminated keys. The device logs each keypress and can detect and log whenever a test animal i spositioned at the device. Data can be easily transferred to a computer and imported into any statistical analysis software. At about 3% the cost of a commercial device, ELOPTA will advance behavioral sciences, including behavioral ecology, animal learning and cognition, and ethology.

A Proposal for the Education based on the Information Technology in Technical High Schools, Linking Together Web Programming and Microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinozaki, Kenichi; Yanaru, Torao

Recently, IT (Information Technology) have rapidly revolved and penetrated into the usual human life, with such as the household appliances and the mobile devices. Considering this strong change of social environment, what technology is introduced to satisfy the present educational needs and how to develop the teaching system is very important. Then in this paper, we describe the developed web-teaching material that links Xport, an embedded device server, with the control system using microcontroller technology. In the classes, we have implemented the lessons that utilize this system in the following subjects : programming technology, hardware technology, electronic circuit and practical training. Furthermore, because of high availability of the developed system through internet, it is also useful for the education on science and technical arts in general high schools or in junior high schools as well as in technical high schools.

High-voltage electrode optimization towards uniform surface treatment by a pulsed volume discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponomarev, A. V.; Pedos, M. S.; Scherbinin, S. V.; Mamontov, Y. I.; Ponomarev, S. V.

2015-11-01

In this study, the shape and material of the high-voltage electrode of an atmospheric pressure plasma generation system were optimised. The research was performed with the goal of achieving maximum uniformity of plasma treatment of the surface of the low-voltage electrode with a diameter of 100 mm. In order to generate low-temperature plasma with the volume of roughly 1 cubic decimetre, a pulsed volume discharge was used initiated with a corona discharge. The uniformity of the plasma in the region of the low-voltage electrode was assessed using a system for measuring the distribution of discharge current density. The system's low-voltage electrode - collector - was a disc of 100 mm in diameter, the conducting surface of which was divided into 64 radially located segments of equal surface area. The current at each segment was registered by a high-speed measuring system controlled by an ARM™-based 32-bit microcontroller. To facilitate the interpretation of results obtained, a computer program was developed to visualise the results. The program provides a 3D image of the current density distribution on the surface of the low-voltage electrode. Based on the results obtained an optimum shape for a high-voltage electrode was determined. Uniformity of the distribution of discharge current density in relation to distance between electrodes was studied. It was proven that the level of non-uniformity of current density distribution depends on the size of the gap between electrodes. Experiments indicated that it is advantageous to use graphite felt VGN-6 (Russian abbreviation) as the material of the high-voltage electrode's emitting surface.

Drifters for New Measurements Along River Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, J. L.; Niemeier, J. J.; Kruger, A.; Mantilla, R. G.; Ceynar, D. L.

2008-12-01

Inexpensive floating devices and techniques have been developed for a variety of river measurements, including surface flow velocity, water temperature, and light measurements, which serve as a proxy for turbidity. These devices, called Drifters, provide measurements in a Lagrangian reference frame. A Drifter consists of an inexpensive microcontroller, sensors, on-board data storage, a temperature-controlled clock, low-power radio transceiver, two AA batteries, all housed in a small plastic boat hull. As a Drifter floats down a river, the microcontroller periodically awakens and performs a series of measurements. Radio beacons placed on the riverbank transmit location information to the Drifters for georeferencing. Drifters are collected downstream where the data are downloaded for analysis. Drifters can also transmit collected data to the beacons in real time, but at the cost of higher power consumption. The design of the Drifters recognizes the need for accurate determination of travel times along the river network to an outlet of interest. Drifters have the potential to provide a full picture of the spatial distribution of travel times in a basin, opening the door to new understanding of the runoff transport phenomena, and removing the need of calibrated parameters in runoff transport equations of hydrological models. Acquired measurements are overlaid on maps, which provide a new perspective of the spatial distribution of water quality, temperature and velocity in large regions. Drifters have been used to make measurements over a 3-mile stretch of the Iowa River in Iowa City, Iowa, as preparation for a large-scale experiment on the river network of the Clear Creek basin in Iowa.

Design of FPGA-based radiation tolerant quench detectors for LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steckert, J.; Skoczen, A.

2017-04-01

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) comprises many superconducting circuits. Most elements of these circuits require active protection. The functionality of the quench detectors was initially implemented as microcontroller based equipment. After the initial stage of the LHC operation with beams the introduction of a new type of quench detector began. This article presents briefly the main ideas and architectures applied to the design and the validation of FPGA-based quench detectors.

Microcontroller-driven fluid-injection system for atomic force microscopy.

PubMed

Kasas, S; Alonso, L; Jacquet, P; Adamcik, J; Haeberli, C; Dietler, G

2010-01-01

We present a programmable microcontroller-driven injection system for the exchange of imaging medium during atomic force microscopy. Using this low-noise system, high-resolution imaging can be performed during this process of injection without disturbance. This latter circumstance was exemplified by the online imaging of conformational changes in DNA molecules during the injection of anticancer drug into the fluid chamber.

A 0.7-V 17.4- μ W 3-lead wireless ECG SoC.

PubMed

Khayatzadeh, Mahmood; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Tan, Jun; Liew, Wen-Sin; Lian, Yong

2013-10-01

This paper presents a fully integrated sub-1 V 3-lead wireless ECG System-on-Chip (SoC) for wireless body sensor network applications. The SoC includes a two-channel ECG front-end with a driven-right-leg circuit, an 8-bit SAR ADC, a custom-designed 16-bit microcontroller, two banks of 16 kb SRAM, and a MICS band transceiver. The microcontroller and SRAM blocks are able to operate at sub-/near-threshold regime for the best energy consumption. The proposed SoC has been implemented in a standard 0.13- μ m CMOS process. Measurement results show the microcontroller consumes only 2.62 pJ per instruction at 0.35 V . Both microcontroller and memory blocks are functional down to 0.25 V. The entire SoC is capable of working at single 0.7-V supply. At the best case, it consumes 17.4 μ W in heart rate detection mode and 74.8 μW in raw data acquisition mode under sampling rate of 500 Hz. This makes it one of the best ECG SoCs among state-of-the-art biomedical chips.

Evaluation of corn genotypes for drought and heat stress tolerance using physiological measurements and a microcontroller-based monitoring system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Moisture deficit accompanied by high temperature are major abiotic stress factors that affect corn production in the southern United States, particularly during the reproductive stage of the plant. In evaluating plants for environmental stress tolerance, it is important to monitor changes in their ...

Determination of moisture deficit and heat stress tolerance in corn using physiological measurements and a low-cost microcontroller-based monitoring system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the southern United States, corn production encounters moisture deficit coupled with high temperature stress, particularly during the reproductive stage of the plant. In evaluating plants for environmental stress tolerance, it is important to monitor changes in their physical environment under na...

Improving Learning Performance in Laboratory Instruction by Means of SMS Messaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez-Torres, M. R.; Toral, S. L.; Barrero, F.; Gallardo, S.

2007-01-01

The study described in this paper outlines an attempt to explore those factors that contribute to learning performance improvement in laboratory instruction. As a case study, the educational methodology involved in a basic microcontroller course was analyzed. Traditional lab sessions based on the control of peripherals with low interactivity have…

An Embedded Systems Course for Engineering Students Using Open-Source Platforms in Wireless Scenarios

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez-Sanchez, M. C.; Torrado-Carvajal, Angel; Vaquero, Joaquin; Borromeo, Susana; Hernandez-Tamames, Juan A.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a case study analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of using project-based learning (PBL) combined with collaborative learning (CL) and industry best practices, integrated with information communication technologies, open-source software, and open-source hardware tools, in a specialized microcontroller and embedded systems…

A novel automated rat catalepsy bar test system based on a RISC microcontroller.

PubMed

Alvarez-Cervera, Fernando J; Villanueva-Toledo, Jairo; Moo-Puc, Rosa E; Heredia-López, Francisco J; Alvarez-Cervera, Margarita; Pineda, Juan C; Góngora-Alfaro, José L

2005-07-15

Catalepsy tests performed in rodents treated with drugs that interfere with dopaminergic transmission have been widely used for the screening of drugs with therapeutic potential in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The basic method for measuring catalepsy intensity is the "standard" bar test. We present here an easy to use microcontroller-based automatic system for recording bar test experiments. The design is simple, compact, and has a low cost. Recording intervals and total experimental time can be programmed within a wide range of values. The resulting catalepsy times are stored, and up to five simultaneous experiments can be recorded. A standard personal computer interface is included. The automated system also permits the elimination of human error associated with factors such as fatigue, distraction, and data transcription, occurring during manual recording. Furthermore, a uniform criterion for timing the cataleptic condition can be achieved. Correlation values between the results obtained with the automated system and those reported by two independent observers ranged between 0.88 and 0.99 (P<0.0001; three treatments, nine animals, 144 catalepsy time measurements).

Obstacle avoidance system with sonar sensing and fuzzy logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiang, Wen-chuan; Kelkar, Nikhal; Hall, Ernest L.

1997-09-01

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have many potential applications in manufacturing, medicine, space and defense. The purpose of this paper is to describe exploratory research on the design of an obstacle avoidance system using sonar sensors for a modular autonomous mobile robot controller. The advantages of a modular system are related to portability and the fact that any vehicle can become autonomous with minimal modifications. A mobile robot test-bed has been constructed using a golf cart base. The obstacle avoidance system is based on a micro-controller interfaced with multiple ultrasonic transducers. This micro-controller independently handles all timing and distance calculations and sends a distance measurement back to the computer via the serial line. This design yields a portable independent system. Testing of these systems has been done in the lab as well as on an outside test track with positive results that show that at five mph the vehicle can follow a line and at the same time avoid obstacles. This design, in its modularity, creates a portable autonomous obstacle avoidance controller applicable for any mobile vehicle with only minor adaptations.

Energy efficient wireless sensor network for structural health monitoring using distributed embedded piezoelectric transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Peng; Olmi, Claudio; Song, Gangbing

2010-04-01

Piezoceramic based transducers are widely researched and used for structural health monitoring (SHM) systems due to the piezoceramic material's inherent advantage of dual sensing and actuation. Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology benefits from advances made in piezoceramic based structural health monitoring systems, allowing easy and flexible installation, low system cost, and increased robustness over wired system. However, piezoceramic wireless SHM systems still faces some drawbacks, one of these is that the piezoceramic based SHM systems require relatively high computational capabilities to calculate damage information, however, battery powered WSN sensor nodes have strict power consumption limitation and hence limited computational power. On the other hand, commonly used centralized processing networks require wireless sensors to transmit all data back to the network coordinator for analysis. This signal processing procedure can be problematic for piezoceramic based SHM applications as it is neither energy efficient nor robust. In this paper, we aim to solve these problems with a distributed wireless sensor network for piezoceramic base structural health monitoring systems. Three important issues: power system, waking up from sleep impact detection, and local data processing, are addressed to reach optimized energy efficiency. Instead of sweep sine excitation that was used in the early research, several sine frequencies were used in sequence to excite the concrete structure. The wireless sensors record the sine excitations and compute the time domain energy for each sine frequency locally to detect the energy change. By comparing the data of the damaged concrete frame with the healthy data, we are able to find out the damage information of the concrete frame. A relative powerful wireless microcontroller was used to carry out the sampling and distributed data processing in real-time. The distributed wireless network dramatically reduced the data transmission between wireless sensor and the wireless coordinator, which in turn reduced the power consumption of the overall system.

Development of wireless vehicle remote control for fuel lid operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulaiman, N.; Jadin, M. S.; Najib, M. S.; Mustafa, M.; Azmi, S. N. F.

2018-04-01

Nowadays, the evolution of the vehicle technology had made the vehicle especially car to be equipped with a remote control to control the operation of the locking and unlocking system of the car’s door and rear’s bonnet. However, for the fuel or petrol lid, it merely can be opened from inside the car’s cabin by handling the fuel level inside the car’s cabin to open the fuel lid. The petrol lid can be closed by pushing the lid by hand. Due to the high usage of using fuel lever to open the fuel lid when refilling the fuel, the car driver might encounter the malfunction of fuel lid (fail to open) when pushing or pulling the fuel lever. Thus, the main aim of the research is to enhance the operation of an existing car remote control where the car fuel lid can be controlled using two techniques; remote control-based and smartphone-based. The remote control is constructed using Arduino microcontroller, wireless sensors and XCTU software to set the transmitting and receiving parameters. Meanwhile, the smartphone can control the operation of the fuel lid by communicating with Arduino microcontroller which is attached to the fuel lid using Bluetooth sensor to open the petrol lid. In order to avoid the conflict of instruction between wireless systems with the existing mechanical-based system, the servo motor will be employed to release the fuel lid merely after receiving the instruction from Arduino microcontroller and smartphone. As a conclusion, the prototype of the multipurpose vehicle remote control is successfully invented, constructed and tested. The car fuel lid can be opened either using remote control or smartphone in a sequential manner. Therefore, the outcome of the project can be used to serve as an alternative solution to solve the car fuel lid problem even though the problem rarely occurred.

[Microcontroller temperature regulator MPT110 for drying-sterilizing cabinets].

PubMed

Kostin, N N; Gavrishchuk, V I; Zelepukin, S A; Shkulepa, V M; Zharov, E N

2002-01-01

The paper describes a MPT-110 temperature microcontroller developed by the closed joint-stock company "OPLEKS" (Orel, Russia) and the results of comparative tests performed in the @IIICC-80 drying sterilizing cabinet. The use of the MPT-110 controller is shown to improve the quality of control and to shorten the times that is taken for the cabinet to reach the preset temperature point.

Heavy-Ion Testing of the Freescale Qorivva 32-bit Automotive-Grade MCU

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Ted; Seidleck, Christina; Casey, Megan; LaBel, Ken

2016-01-01

We present single-event effects testing results from a commercially-available automotive microcontroller. We discuss the difficulties encountered testing with commercially-provided evaluation boards while attempting to classify the complex and varied failure modes of a modern 32-bit microcontroller. This work also describes some of the possible advantages to using off-the-shelf automotive-grade electronics for low-risk aerospace applications.

Infrared-Proximity-Sensor Modules For Robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parton, William; Wegerif, Daniel; Rosinski, Douglas

1995-01-01

Collision-avoidance system for articulated robot manipulators uses infrared proximity sensors grouped together in array of sensor modules. Sensor modules, called "sensorCells," distributed processing board-level products for acquiring data from proximity-sensors strategically mounted on robot manipulators. Each sensorCell self-contained and consists of multiple sensing elements, discrete electronics, microcontroller and communications components. Modules connected to central control computer by redundant serial digital communication subsystem including both serial and a multi-drop bus. Detects objects made of various materials at distance of up to 50 cm. For some materials, such as thermal protection system tiles, detection range reduced to approximately 20 cm.

Design and Evolution of the Asporto Heart Preservation Device.

PubMed

Rivard, Andrew L

2015-06-01

The Asporto Heart Preservation Device is a system providing perfusion of cardioplegia to the donor heart using a computer-controlled peristaltic pump in a thermoelectrically cooled and insulated container. In 1998, a user interface was developed at the University of Minnesota consisting of a touch screen and battery-backed microcontroller. Power was supplied by a 120 VAC to 12 VDC converter. An upgrade to the insulated cooler and microcontroller occurred in 2002, which was followed by proof of concept experimental pre-clinical transplants and tests demonstrating the efficacy of the device with isolated donor hearts. During the period between 2002 and 2006, a variety of donor organ containers were developed, modified, and tested to provide an optimal sterile environment and fluid path. Parallel development paths encompass formalized design specifications for final prototypes of the touch screen/microcontroller, organ container, and thermoelectric cooler.

Arduino-Based Data Acquisition into Excel, LabVIEW, and MATLAB

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Daniel

2017-01-01

Data acquisition equipment for physics can be quite expensive. As an alternative, data can be acquired using a low-cost Arduino microcontroller. The Arduino has been used in physics labs where the data are acquired using the Arduino software. The Arduino software, however, does not contain a suite of tools for data fitting and analysis. The data…

Radiation Test Results for Common CubeSat Microcontrollers and Microprocessors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guertin, Steven M.; Amrbar, Mehran; Vartanian, Sergeh

2015-01-01

SEL, SEU, and TID results are presented for microcontrollers and microprocessors of interest for small satellite systems such as the TI MSP430F1611, MSP430F1612 and MSP430FR5739, Microchip PIC24F256GA110 and dsPIC33FJ256GP710, Atmel AT91SAM9G20, and Intel Atom E620T, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064.

Using SRAM Based FPGAs for Power-Aware High Performance Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Valverde, Juan; Otero, Andres; Lopez, Miguel; Portilla, Jorge; de la Torre, Eduardo; Riesgo, Teresa

2012-01-01

While for years traditional wireless sensor nodes have been based on ultra-low power microcontrollers with sufficient but limited computing power, the complexity and number of tasks of today’s applications are constantly increasing. Increasing the node duty cycle is not feasible in all cases, so in many cases more computing power is required. This extra computing power may be achieved by either more powerful microcontrollers, though more power consumption or, in general, any solution capable of accelerating task execution. At this point, the use of hardware based, and in particular FPGA solutions, might appear as a candidate technology, since though power use is higher compared with lower power devices, execution time is reduced, so energy could be reduced overall. In order to demonstrate this, an innovative WSN node architecture is proposed. This architecture is based on a high performance high capacity state-of-the-art FPGA, which combines the advantages of the intrinsic acceleration provided by the parallelism of hardware devices, the use of partial reconfiguration capabilities, as well as a careful power-aware management system, to show that energy savings for certain higher-end applications can be achieved. Finally, comprehensive tests have been done to validate the platform in terms of performance and power consumption, to proof that better energy efficiency compared to processor based solutions can be achieved, for instance, when encryption is imposed by the application requirements. PMID:22736971

Using SRAM based FPGAs for power-aware high performance wireless sensor networks.

PubMed

Valverde, Juan; Otero, Andres; Lopez, Miguel; Portilla, Jorge; de la Torre, Eduardo; Riesgo, Teresa

2012-01-01

While for years traditional wireless sensor nodes have been based on ultra-low power microcontrollers with sufficient but limited computing power, the complexity and number of tasks of today's applications are constantly increasing. Increasing the node duty cycle is not feasible in all cases, so in many cases more computing power is required. This extra computing power may be achieved by either more powerful microcontrollers, though more power consumption or, in general, any solution capable of accelerating task execution. At this point, the use of hardware based, and in particular FPGA solutions, might appear as a candidate technology, since though power use is higher compared with lower power devices, execution time is reduced, so energy could be reduced overall. In order to demonstrate this, an innovative WSN node architecture is proposed. This architecture is based on a high performance high capacity state-of-the-art FPGA, which combines the advantages of the intrinsic acceleration provided by the parallelism of hardware devices, the use of partial reconfiguration capabilities, as well as a careful power-aware management system, to show that energy savings for certain higher-end applications can be achieved. Finally, comprehensive tests have been done to validate the platform in terms of performance and power consumption, to proof that better energy efficiency compared to processor based solutions can be achieved, for instance, when encryption is imposed by the application requirements.

Hardware system of X-wave generator with simple driving pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xu; Li, Yaqin; Xiao, Feng; Ding, Mingyue; Yuchi, Ming

2013-03-01

The limited diffraction beams such as X-wave have the properties of larger depth of field. Thus, it has the potential to generate ultra-high frame rate ultrasound images. However, in practice, the real-time generation of X-wave ultrasonic field requires complex and high-cost system, especially the precise and specific voltage time distribution part for the excitation of each distinct array element. In order to simplify the hardware realization of X-wave, based on the previous works, X-wave excitation signals were decomposed and expressed as the superposition of a group of simple driving pulses, such as rectangular and triangular waves. The hardware system for the X-wave generator was also designed. The generator consists of a computer for communication with the circuit, universal serial bus (USB) based micro-controller unit (MCU) for data transmission, field programmable gate array (FPGA) based Direct Digital Synthesizer(DDS), 12-bit digital-to-analog (D/A) converter and a two stage amplifier.The hardware simulation results show that the designed system can generate the waveforms at different radius approximating the theoretical X-wave excitations with a maximum error of 0.49% triggered by the quantification of amplitude data.

Project-based physics labs using low-cost open-source hardware

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouquet, F.; Bobroff, J.; Fuchs-Gallezot, M.; Maurines, L.

2017-03-01

We describe a project-based physics lab, which we proposed to third-year university students. These labs are based on new open-source low-cost equipment (Arduino microcontrollers and compatible sensors). Students are given complete autonomy: they develop their own experimental setup and study the physics topic of their choice. The goal of these projects is to let students to discover the reality of experimental physics. Technical specifications of the acquisition material and case studies are presented for practical implementation in other universities.

Direct Power Injection of Microcontrollers in PCB Environments (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Air Force Research Laboratory 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT...and model development. The Atmel AT89LP2052, 8-bit microcontroller has been programmed to complete a binary count from 20 to 28. A 20 pin SOIC has...onto the custom board ( SOIC ). LabVIEW has been used to control the power level and timing of the RF source (MXG), and data acquisition using the

Reprogramming the articulated robotic arm for glass handling by using Arduino microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razali, Zol Bahri; Kader, Mohamed Mydin M. Abdul; Kadir, Mohd Asmadi Akmal; Daud, Mohd Hisam

2017-09-01

The application of articulated robotic arm in industries is raised due to the expansion of using robot to replace human task, especially for the harmful tasks. However a few problems happen with the program use to schedule the arm, Thus the purpose of this project is to design, fabricate and integrate an articulated robotic arm by using Arduino microcontroller for handling glass sorting system. This project was designed to segregate glass and non-glass waste which would be pioneer step for recycling. This robotic arm has four servo motors to operate as a whole; three for the body and one for holding mechanism. This intelligent system is controlled by Arduino microcontroller and build with optical sensor to provide the distinguish objects that will be handled. Solidworks model was used to produce the detail design of the robotic arm and make the mechanical properties analysis by using a CAD software.

Water Pipeline Monitoring and Leak Detection using Flow Liquid Meter Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmat, R. F.; Satria, I. S.; Siregar, B.; Budiarto, R.

2017-04-01

Water distribution is generally installed through underground pipes. Monitoring the underground water pipelines is more difficult than monitoring the water pipelines located on the ground in open space. This situation will cause a permanent loss if there is a disturbance in the pipeline such as leakage. Leaks in pipes can be caused by several factors, such as the pipe’s age, improper installation, and natural disasters. Therefore, a solution is required to detect and to determine the location of the damage when there is a leak. The detection of the leak location will use fluid mechanics and kinematics physics based on harness water flow rate data obtained using flow liquid meter sensor and Arduino UNO as a microcontroller. The results show that the proposed method is able to work stably to determine the location of the leak which has a maximum distance of 2 metres, and it’s able to determine the leak location as close as possible with flow rate about 10 litters per minute.

Droplet sorting based on the number of encapsulated particles using a solenoid valve.

PubMed

Cao, Zhenning; Chen, Fangyuan; Bao, Ning; He, Huacheng; Xu, Peisheng; Jana, Saikat; Jung, Sunghwan; Lian, Hongzhen; Lu, Chang

2013-01-07

Droplet microfluidics provides a high-throughput platform for screening subjects and conditions involved in biology. Droplets with encapsulated beads and cells have been increasingly used for studying molecular and cellular biology. Droplet sorting is needed to isolate and analyze the subject of interest during such screening. The vast majority of current sorting techniques use fluorescence intensity emitted by each droplet as the only criterion. However, due to the randomness and imperfections in the encapsulation process, typically a mixed population of droplets with an uneven number of encapsulated particles results and is used for screening. Thus droplet sorting based on the number of encapsulated particles becomes necessary for isolating or enriching droplets with a specific occupancy. In this work, we developed a fluorescence-activated microfluidic droplet sorter that integrated a simple deflection mechanism based on the use of a solenoid valve and a sophisticated signal processing system with a microcontroller as the core. By passing droplets through a narrow interrogation channel, the encapsulated particles were detected individually. The microcontroller conducted the computation to determine the number of encapsulated particles in each droplet and made the sorting decision accordingly that led to actuation of the solenoid valve. We tested both fluorescent beads and stained cells and our results showed high efficiency and accuracy for sorting and enrichment.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clements, Abraham Anthony

EPOXY is a LLVM base compiler that applies security protections to bare-metal programs on ARM Cortex-M series micro-controllers. This includes privilege overlaying, wherein operations requiring privileged execution are identified and only these operations execute in privileged mode. It also applies code integrity, control-flow hijacking defenses, stack protections, and fine-grained randomization schemes. All of its protections work within the constraints of bare-metal systems.

Microcontroller based automatic temperature control for oyster mushroom plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sihombing, P.; Astuti, T. P.; Herriyance; Sitompul, D.

2018-03-01

In the cultivation of Oyster Mushrooms need special treatment because oyster mushrooms are susceptible to disease. Mushroom growth will be inhibited if the temperature and humidity are not well controlled because temperature and inertia can affect mold growth. Oyster mushroom growth usually will be optimal at temperatures around 22-28°C and humidity around 70-90%. This problem is often encountered in the cultivation of oyster mushrooms. Therefore it is very important to control the temperature and humidity of the room of oyster mushroom cultivation. In this paper, we developed an automatic temperature monitoring tool in the cultivation of oyster mushroom-based Arduino Uno microcontroller. We have designed a tool that will control the temperature and humidity automatically by Android Smartphone. If the temperature increased more than 28°C in the room of mushroom plants, then this tool will turn on the pump automatically to run water in order to lower the room temperature. And if the room temperature of mushroom plants below of 22°C, then the light will be turned on in order to heat the room. Thus the temperature in the room oyster mushrooms will remain stable so that the growth of oyster mushrooms can grow with good quality.

Remote hardware-reconfigurable robotic camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arias-Estrada, Miguel; Torres-Huitzil, Cesar; Maya-Rueda, Selene E.

2001-10-01

In this work, a camera with integrated image processing capabilities is discussed. The camera is based on an imager coupled to an FPGA device (Field Programmable Gate Array) which contains an architecture for real-time computer vision low-level processing. The architecture can be reprogrammed remotely for application specific purposes. The system is intended for rapid modification and adaptation for inspection and recognition applications, with the flexibility of hardware and software reprogrammability. FPGA reconfiguration allows the same ease of upgrade in hardware as a software upgrade process. The camera is composed of a digital imager coupled to an FPGA device, two memory banks, and a microcontroller. The microcontroller is used for communication tasks and FPGA programming. The system implements a software architecture to handle multiple FPGA architectures in the device, and the possibility to download a software/hardware object from the host computer into its internal context memory. System advantages are: small size, low power consumption, and a library of hardware/software functionalities that can be exchanged during run time. The system has been validated with an edge detection and a motion processing architecture, which will be presented in the paper. Applications targeted are in robotics, mobile robotics, and vision based quality control.

Design of a memory-access controller with 3.71-times-enhanced energy efficiency for Internet-of-Things-oriented nonvolatile microcontroller unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natsui, Masanori; Hanyu, Takahiro

2018-04-01

In realizing a nonvolatile microcontroller unit (MCU) for sensor nodes in Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications, it is important to solve the data-transfer bottleneck between the central processing unit (CPU) and the nonvolatile memory constituting the MCU. As one circuit-oriented approach to solving this problem, we propose a memory access minimization technique for magnetoresistive-random-access-memory (MRAM)-embedded nonvolatile MCUs. In addition to multiplexing and prefetching of memory access, the proposed technique realizes efficient instruction fetch by eliminating redundant memory access while considering the code length of the instruction to be fetched and the transition of the memory address to be accessed. As a result, the performance of the MCU can be improved while relaxing the performance requirement for the embedded MRAM, and compact and low-power implementation can be performed as compared with the conventional cache-based one. Through the evaluation using a system consisting of a general purpose 32-bit CPU and embedded MRAM, it is demonstrated that the proposed technique increases the peak efficiency of the system up to 3.71 times, while a 2.29-fold area reduction is achieved compared with the cache-based one.

Implementation methodology for interoperable personal health devices with low-voltage low-power constraints.

PubMed

Martinez-Espronceda, Miguel; Martinez, Ignacio; Serrano, Luis; Led, Santiago; Trigo, Jesús Daniel; Marzo, Asier; Escayola, Javier; Garcia, José

2011-05-01

Traditionally, e-Health solutions were located at the point of care (PoC), while the new ubiquitous user-centered paradigm draws on standard-based personal health devices (PHDs). Such devices place strict constraints on computation and battery efficiency that encouraged the International Organization for Standardization/IEEE11073 (X73) standard for medical devices to evolve from X73PoC to X73PHD. In this context, low-voltage low-power (LV-LP) technologies meet the restrictions of X73PHD-compliant devices. Since X73PHD does not approach the software architecture, the accomplishment of an efficient design falls directly on the software developer. Therefore, computational and battery performance of such LV-LP-constrained devices can even be outperformed through an efficient X73PHD implementation design. In this context, this paper proposes a new methodology to implement X73PHD into microcontroller-based platforms with LV-LP constraints. Such implementation methodology has been developed through a patterns-based approach and applied to a number of X73PHD-compliant agents (including weighing scale, blood pressure monitor, and thermometer specializations) and microprocessor architectures (8, 16, and 32 bits) as a proof of concept. As a reference, the results obtained in the weighing scale guarantee all features of X73PHD running over a microcontroller architecture based on ARM7TDMI requiring only 168 B of RAM and 2546 B of flash memory.

Time response for sensor sensed to actuator response for mobile robotic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amir, N. S.; Shafie, A. A.

2017-11-01

Time and performance of a mobile robot are very important in completing the tasks given to achieve its ultimate goal. Tasks may need to be done within a time constraint to ensure smooth operation of a mobile robot and can result in better performance. The main purpose of this research was to improve the performance of a mobile robot so that it can complete the tasks given within time constraint. The problem that is needed to be solved is to minimize the time interval between sensor detection and actuator response. The research objective is to analyse the real time operating system performance of sensors and actuators on one microcontroller and on two microcontroller for a mobile robot. The task for a mobile robot for this research is line following with an obstacle avoidance. Three runs will be carried out for the task and the time between the sensors senses to the actuator responses were recorded. Overall, the results show that two microcontroller system have better response time compared to the one microcontroller system. For this research, the average difference of response time is very important to improve the internal performance between the occurrence of a task, sensors detection, decision making and actuator response of a mobile robot. This research helped to develop a mobile robot with a better performance and can complete task within the time constraint.

Automatic Lamp and Fan Control Based on Microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widyaningrum, V. T.; Pramudita, Y. D.

2018-01-01

In general, automation can be described as a process following pre-determined sequential steps with a little or without any human exertion. Automation is provided with the use of various sensors suitable to observe the production processes, actuators and different techniques and devices. In this research, the automation system developed is an automatic lamp and an automatic fan on the smart home. Both of these systems will be processed using an Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller. A microcontroller is used to obtain values of physical conditions through sensors connected to it. In the automatic lamp system required sensors to detect the light of the LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) sensor. While the automatic fan system required sensors to detect the temperature of the DHT11 sensor. In tests that have been done lamps and fans can work properly. The lamp can turn on automatically when the light begins to darken, and the lamp can also turn off automatically when the light begins to bright again. In addition, it can concluded also that the readings of LDR sensors are placed outside the room is different from the readings of LDR sensors placed in the room. This is because the light intensity received by the existing LDR sensor in the room is blocked by the wall of the house or by other objects. Then for the fan, it can also turn on automatically when the temperature is greater than 25°C, and the fan speed can also be adjusted. The fan may also turn off automatically when the temperature is less than equal to 25°C.

Digital Architecture for a Trace Gas Sensor Platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonzales, Paula; Casias, Miguel; Vakhtin, Andrei; Pilgrim, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

A digital architecture has been implemented for a trace gas sensor platform, as a companion to standard analog control electronics, which accommodates optical absorption whose fractional absorbance equivalent would result in excess error if assumed to be linear. In cases where the absorption (1-transmission) is not equivalent to the fractional absorbance within a few percent error, it is necessary to accommodate the actual measured absorption while reporting the measured concentration of a target analyte with reasonable accuracy. This requires incorporation of programmable intelligence into the sensor platform so that flexible interpretation of the acquired data may be accomplished. Several different digital component architectures were tested and implemented. Commercial off-the-shelf digital electronics including data acquisition cards (DAQs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and microcontrollers have been used to achieve the desired outcome. The most completely integrated architecture achieved during the project used the CPLD along with a microcontroller. The CPLD provides the initial digital demodulation of the raw sensor signal, and then communicates over a parallel communications interface with a microcontroller. The microcontroller analyzes the digital signal from the CPLD, and applies a non-linear correction obtained through extensive data analysis at the various relevant EVA operating pressures. The microcontroller then presents the quantitatively accurate carbon dioxide partial pressure regardless of optical density. This technique could extend the linear dynamic range of typical absorption spectrometers, particularly those whose low end noise equivalent absorbance is below one-part-in-100,000. In the EVA application, it allows introduction of a path-length-enhancing architecture whose optical interference effects are well understood and quantified without sacrificing the dynamic range that allows quantitative detection at the higher carbon dioxide partial pressures. The digital components are compact and allow reasonably complete integration with separately developed analog control electronics without sacrificing size, mass, or power draw.

Real-Time Acquisition and Display of Data and Video

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachnak, Rafic; Chakinarapu, Ramya; Garcia, Mario; Kar, Dulal; Nguyen, Tien

2007-01-01

This paper describes the development of a prototype that takes in an analog National Television System Committee (NTSC) video signal generated by a video camera and data acquired by a microcontroller and display them in real-time on a digital panel. An 8051 microcontroller is used to acquire power dissipation by the display panel, room temperature, and camera zoom level. The paper describes the major hardware components and shows how they are interfaced into a functional prototype. Test data results are presented and discussed.

An Arduino-based experiment designed to clarify the transition to total internal reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atkin, Keith

2018-03-01

The topic of refraction and reflection of light at the boundary of transparent media is a fundamentally important one. The special case of total internal reflection is however commonly misrepresented in elementary textbooks. This paper addresses the problem and describes an experimental procedure for measuring and displaying reflected and transmitted light intensities using readily available components and the Arduino microcontroller.

[Research of controlling of smart home system based on P300 brain-computer interface].

PubMed

Wang, Jinjia; Yang, Chengjie

2014-08-01

Using electroencephalogram (EEG) signal to control external devices has always been the research focus in the field of brain-computer interface (BCI). This is especially significant for those disabilities who have lost capacity of movements. In this paper, the P300-based BCI and the microcontroller-based wireless radio frequency (RF) technology are utilized to design a smart home control system, which can be used to control household appliances, lighting system, and security devices directly. Experiment results showed that the system was simple, reliable and easy to be populirised.

Mathematical Calculations Of Heat Transfer For The CNC Deposition Platform Based On Chemical Thermal Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Essa, Mohammed Sh.; Chiad, Bahaa T.; Hussein, Khalil A.

2018-05-01

Chemical thermal deposition techniques are highly depending on deposition platform temperature as well as surface substrate temperatures, so in this research thermal distribution and heat transfer was calculated to optimize the deposition platform temperature distribution, determine the power required for the heating element, to improve thermal homogeneity. Furthermore, calculate the dissipated thermal power from the deposition platform. Moreover, the thermal imager (thermal camera) was used to estimate the thermal destitution in addition to, the temperature allocation over 400cm2 heated plate area. In order to reach a plate temperature at 500 oC, a plate supported with an electrical heater of power (2000 W). Stainless steel plate of 12mm thickness was used as a heated plate and deposition platform and subjected to lab tests using element analyzer X-ray fluorescence system (XRF) to check its elemental composition and found the grade of stainless steel and found to be 316 L. The total heat losses calculated at this temperature was 612 W. Homemade heating element was used to heat the plate and can reach 450 oC with less than 15 min as recorded from the system.as well as the temperatures recorded and monitored using Arduino/UNO microcontroller with cold-junction-compensated K-thermocouple-to-digital converter type MAX6675.

A single-chip event sequencer and related microcontroller instrumentation for atomic physics research.

PubMed

Eyler, E E

2011-01-01

A 16-bit digital event sequencer with 50 ns resolution and 50 ns trigger jitter is implemented by using an internal 32-bit timer on a dsPIC30F4013 microcontroller, controlled by an easily modified program written in standard C. It can accommodate hundreds of output events, and adjacent events can be spaced as closely as 1.5 μs. The microcontroller has robust 5 V inputs and outputs, allowing a direct interface to common laboratory equipment and other electronics. A USB computer interface and a pair of analog ramp outputs can be added with just two additional chips. An optional display/keypad unit allows direct interaction with the sequencer without requiring an external computer. Minor additions also allow simple realizations of other complex instruments, including a precision high-voltage ramp generator for driving spectrum analyzers or piezoelectric positioners, and a low-cost proportional integral differential controller and lock-in amplifier for laser frequency stabilization with about 100 kHz bandwidth.

In-situ FPGA debug driven by on-board microcontroller

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baker, Zachary Kent

2009-01-01

Often we are faced with the situation that the behavior of a circuit changes in an unpredictable way when chassis cover is attached or the system is not easily accessible. For instance, in a deployed environment, such as space, hardware can malfunction in unpredictable ways. What can a designer do to ascertain the cause of the problem? Register interrogations only go so far, and sometimes the problem being debugged is register transactions themselves, or the problem lies in FPGA programming. This work provides a solution to this; namely, the ability to drive a JTAG chain via an on-board microcontroller andmore » use a simple clone of the Xilinx Chipscope core without a Xilinx JTAG cable or any external interfaces required. We have demonstrated the functionality of the prototype system using a Xilinx Spartan 3E FPGA and a Microchip PIC18j2550 microcontroller. This paper will discuss the implementation details as well as present case studies describing how the tools have aided satellite hardware development.« less

Prediction of Trace Element based Energizing Sensor Control System using PWM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zukri, Mohammad Nizar Bin Mohamed; Abu Bakar, Elmi Bin; Uchiyama, Naoki; Abdullah, Mohamad Nazir Bin

2018-05-01

A real-time system for field-work monitoring wastewater laden with heavy metal in industrial discharge through wireless communication network was developed. The monitoring system poses an interesting challenge in order to determine existing metal ion in the solution whereas the previous result only consider total dissolve ion. This paper aims to distinguish the metal ion based on reaction determination in solution. The control algorithm was implemented as generating voltage input for energize conductivity sensor since the voltage corresponding to oxidation and reaction based on standard reduction potential. Implementation of ATmega2560 microcontroller for control voltage fed on sensor equivalent to controlling the PWM duty cycle. PID controller was designed uses a microcontroller (Arduino) platform with manual tuning for identify reaction process and sufficient voltage input. From the experimental result, is found that the proposed PI controller has excellent tracking and measurement performance. Low-pass filter was applied in programming to make the system understand that signal has achieved stable. The development of hardware and software of the closed loop system has an enhancement of measurement performance and high feasibility for SME’s company in economic point of view. The desired objective is to achieve a system with the stable measurement and sufficient voltage supply. This system will provide an accurate and precise control efficiently without using costly component and complicated circuit.

Design and development of control unit and software for the ADFOSC instrument of the 3.6 m Devasthal optical telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, T. S.

2016-08-01

In this paper, we describe the details of control unit and GUI software for positioning two filter wheels, a slit wheel and a grism wheel in the ADFOSC instrument. This is a first generation instrument being built for the 3.6 m Devasthal optical telescope. The control hardware consists of five electronic boards based on low cost 8-bit PIC microcontrollers and are distributed over I2C bus. The four wheels are controlled by four identical boards which are configured in I2C slave mode while the fifth board acts as an I2C master for sending commands to and receiving status from the slave boards. The master also communicates with the interfacing PC over TCP/IP protocol using simple ASCII commands. For moving the wheels stepper motors along with suitable amplifiers have been employed. Homing after powering ON is achieved using hall effect sensors. By implementing distributed control units having identical design modularity is achieved enabling easier maintenance and upgradation. A GUI based software for commanding the instrument is developed in Microsoft Visual C++. For operating the system during observations the user selects normal mode while the engineering mode is available for offering additional flexibility and low level control during maintenance and testing. A detailed time-stamped log of commands, status and errors are continuously generated. Both the control unit and the software have been successfully tested and integrated with the ADFOSC instrument.

A novel anti-theft security system for photovoltaic modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Wasif Ali; Lim, Boon-Han; Lai, An-Chow; Chong, Kok-Keong

2017-04-01

Solar farms are considered as easy target for thieves because of insufficient protection measures. Existing anti-theft approaches are based on system level and are not very preventive and efficient because these can be bypassed with some technical knowledge. Additionally, it is difficult for security guards to tackle them as robbers come in a form of a gang equipped with heavy weapons. In this paper, a low power auto shut-off and non-destructive system is proposed for photovoltaic (PV) modules to achieve better level of security at module level. In proposed method, the power generation function of the PV module will be shut-off internally and cannot be re-activated by unauthorized personnel, in the case of theft. Hence, the PV module will not be functional even sold to new customers. The system comprises of a microcontroller, a low power position sensor, a controllable semiconductor switch and a wireless reactive-able system. The anti-theft system is developed to be laminated inside PV module and will be interconnected with solar cells so it becomes difficult for thieves to temper. The position of PV module is retrieved by position sensor and stored in a microcontroller as an initial reference value. Microcontroller uses this stored reference value to control power supply of PV module via power switch. The stored reference value can be altered using wireless circuitry by following authentication protocol. It makes the system non-destructive as anti-theft function can be reset again by authorized personnel, if it is recovered after theft or moved for maintenance purposes. The research component includes the design of a position sensing circuit, an auto shut-off circuit, a reactive-able wireless security protection algorithm and finally the integration of the multiple circuits.

Development of a hardware-based AC microgrid for AC stability assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanson, Robert R.

As more power electronic-based devices enable the development of high-bandwidth AC microgrids, the topic of microgrid power distribution stability has become of increased interest. Recently, researchers have proposed a relatively straightforward method to assess the stability of AC systems based upon the time-constants of sources, the net bus capacitance, and the rate limits of sources. In this research, a focus has been to develop a hardware test system to evaluate AC system stability. As a first step, a time domain model of a two converter microgrid was established in which a three phase inverter acts as a power source and an active rectifier serves as an adjustable constant power AC load. The constant power load can be utilized to create rapid power flow transients to the generating system. As a second step, the inverter and active rectifier were designed using a Smart Power Module IGBT for switching and an embedded microcontroller as a processor for algorithm implementation. The inverter and active rectifier were designed to operate simultaneously using a synchronization signal to ensure each respective local controller operates in a common reference frame. Finally, the physical system was created and initial testing performed to validate the hardware functionality as a variable amplitude and variable frequency AC system.

Creating a transducer electronic datasheet using I2C serial EEPROM memory and PIC32-based microcontroller development board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croitoru, Bogdan; Tulbure, Adrian; Abrudean, Mihail; Secara, Mihai

2015-02-01

The present paper describes a software method for creating / managing one type of Transducer Electronic Datasheet (TEDS) according to IEEE 1451.4 standard in order to develop a prototype of smart multi-sensor platform (with up to ten different analog sensors simultaneously connected) with Plug and Play capabilities over ETHERNET and Wi-Fi. In the experiments were used: one analog temperature sensor, one analog light sensor, one PIC32-based microcontroller development board with analog and digital I/O ports and other computing resources, one 24LC256 I2C (Inter Integrated Circuit standard) serial Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) memory with 32KB available space and 3 bytes internal buffer for page writes (1 byte for data and 2 bytes for address). It was developed a prototype algorithm for writing and reading TEDS information to / from I2C EEPROM memories using the standard C language (up to ten different TEDS blocks coexisting in the same EEPROM device at once). The algorithm is able to write and read one type of TEDS: transducer information with standard TEDS content. A second software application, written in VB.NET platform, was developed in order to access the EEPROM sensor information from a computer through a serial interface (USB).

Multipurpose active pixel sensor (APS)-based microtracker

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisenman, Allan R.; Liebe, Carl C.; Zhu, David Q.

1998-12-01

A new, photon-sensitive, imaging array, the active pixel sensor (APS) has emerged as a competitor to the CCD imager for use in star and target trackers. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has undertaken a program to develop a new generation, highly integrated, APS-based, multipurpose tracker: the Programmable Intelligent Microtracker (PIM). The supporting hardware used in the PIM has been carefully selected to enhance the inherent advantages of the APS. Adequate computation power is included to perform star identification, star tracking, attitude determination, space docking, feature tracking, descent imaging for landing control, and target tracking capabilities. Its first version uses a JPL developed 256 X 256-pixel APS and an advanced 32-bit RISC microcontroller. By taking advantage of the unique features of the APS/microcontroller combination, the microtracker will achieve about an order-of-magnitude reduction in mass and power consumption compared to present state-of-the-art star trackers. It will also add the advantage of programmability to enable it to perform a variety of star, other celestial body, and target tracking tasks. The PIM is already proving the usefulness of its design concept for space applications. It is demonstrating the effectiveness of taking such an integrated approach in building a new generation of high performance, general purpose, tracking instruments to be applied to a large variety of future space missions.

Early Leakage Protection System of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Based on ATMega 16 Microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sriwati; Ikhsan Ilahi, Nur; Musrawati; Baco, Syarifuddin; Suyuti'Andani Achmad, Ansar; Umrianah, Ejah

2018-04-01

LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas). LPG is a hydrocarbon gas production from refineries and gas refinery with the major components of propane gas (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). Limit flame (Flammable Range) or also called gas with air. Value Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) is the minimum limit of the concentration of fuel vapor in the air which if there is no source of fire, the gas will be burned. While the value of the Upper Explosive Limit (UEL), which limits the maximum concentration of fuel vapor in the air, which if no source of fire, the gas will be burned. Protection system is a defend mechanism of human, equipment, and buildings around the protected area. Goals to be achieved in this research are to design a protection system against the consequences caused by the leakage of LPG gas based on ATmega16 microcontroller. The method used in this research is to reduce the levels of leaked LPG and turned off the power source when the leakage of LPG is on the verge of explosive limit. The design of this protection system works accurately between 200 ppm up to 10000 ppm, which is still below the threshold of explosive. Thus protecting the early result of that will result in the leakage of LPG gas.

Development of hardware system using temperature and vibration maintenance models integration concepts for conventional machines monitoring: a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adeyeri, Michael Kanisuru; Mpofu, Khumbulani; Kareem, Buliaminu

2016-03-01

This article describes the integration of temperature and vibration models for maintenance monitoring of conventional machinery parts in which their optimal and best functionalities are affected by abnormal changes in temperature and vibration values thereby resulting in machine failures, machines breakdown, poor quality of products, inability to meeting customers' demand, poor inventory control and just to mention a few. The work entails the use of temperature and vibration sensors as monitoring probes programmed in microcontroller using C language. The developed hardware consists of vibration sensor of ADXL345, temperature sensor of AD594/595 of type K thermocouple, microcontroller, graphic liquid crystal display, real time clock, etc. The hardware is divided into two: one is based at the workstation (majorly meant to monitor machines behaviour) and the other at the base station (meant to receive transmission of machines information sent from the workstation), working cooperatively for effective functionalities. The resulting hardware built was calibrated, tested using model verification and validated through principles pivoted on least square and regression analysis approach using data read from the gear boxes of extruding and cutting machines used for polyethylene bag production. The results got therein confirmed related correlation existing between time, vibration and temperature, which are reflections of effective formulation of the developed concept.

The design and implementation of a windowing interface pinch force measurement system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Tze-Yee; Chen, Yuanu-Joan; Chung, Chin-Teng; Hsiao, Ming-Heng

2010-02-01

This paper presents a novel windowing interface pinch force measurement system that is basically based on an USB (Universal Series Bus) microcontroller which mainly processes the sensing data from the force sensing resistance sensors mounted on five digits. It possesses several friendly functions, such as the value and curve trace of the applied force by a hand injured patient displayed in real time on a monitoring screen, consequently, not only the physician can easily evaluate the effect of hand injury rehabilitation, but also the patients get more progressive during the hand physical therapy by interacting with the screen of pinch force measurement. In order to facilitate the pinch force measurement system and make it friendly, the detail hardware design and software programming flowchart are described in this paper. Through a series of carefully and detailed experimental tests, first of all, the relationship between the applying force and the FSR sensors are measured and verified. Later, the different type of pinch force measurements are verified by the oscilloscope and compared with the corresponding values and waveform traces in the window interface display panel to obtain the consistency. Finally, a windowing interface pinch force measurement system based on the USB microcontroller is implemented and demonstrated. The experimental results show the verification and feasibility of the designed system.

Compact Modbus TCP/IP protocol for data acquisition systems based on limited hardware resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Q.; Jin, B.; Wang, D.; Wang, Y.; Liu, X.

2018-04-01

The Modbus TCP/IP has been a standard industry communication protocol and widely utilized for establishing sensor-cloud platforms on the Internet. However, numerous existing data acquisition systems built on traditional single-chip microcontrollers without sufficient resources cannot support it, because the complete Modbus TCP/IP protocol always works dependent on a full operating system which occupies abundant hardware resources. Hence, a compact Modbus TCP/IP protocol is proposed in this work to make it run efficiently and stably even on a resource-limited hardware platform. Firstly, the Modbus TCP/IP protocol stack is analyzed and the refined protocol suite is rebuilt by streamlining the typical TCP/IP suite. Then, specific implementation of every hierarchical layer is respectively presented in detail according to the protocol structure. Besides, the compact protocol is implemented in a traditional microprocessor to validate the feasibility of the scheme. Finally, the performance of the proposed scenario is assessed. The experimental results demonstrate that message packets match the frame format of Modbus TCP/IP protocol and the average bandwidth reaches to 1.15 Mbps. The compact protocol operates stably even based on a traditional microcontroller with only 4-kB RAM and 12-MHz system clock, and no communication congestion or frequent packet loss occurs.

Development and deployment of a low-cost, mobile-ready, air quality sensor system: progress toward distributed networks and autonomous aerial sampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hersey, S. P.; DiVerdi, R.; Gadtaula, P.; Sheneman, T.; Flores, K.; Chen, Y. H.; Jayne, J. T.; Cross, E. S.

2017-12-01

Throughout the 2016-2017 academic year, a new partnership between Olin College of Engineering and Aerodyne Research, Inc. developed an affordable, self-contained air quality monitoring instrument called Modulair. The Modulair instrument is based on the same operating principles as Aerodyne's newly-developed ARISense integrated sensor system, employing electrochemical sensors for gas-phase measurements of CO, NO, NO2, and O3 and an off-the-shelf optical particle counter for particle concentration, number, and size distribution information (0.4 < dp < 17 microns). High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) has been used to model the interference derived from relative humidity and temperature as well as the cross-sensitivity of the electrochemical sensors to non-target gas-phase species. The aim of the modeling effort is to provide transparent and robust calibration of electrical signals to pollutant concentrations from a set of electrochemical sensors. Modulair was designed from the ground-up, with custom electronics - including a more powerful microcontroller, a fully re-designed housing and a device-specific backend with a mobile, cloud-based data management system for real-time data posting and analysis. Open source tools and software were utilized in the development of the instrument. All initial work was completed by a team of undergraduate students as part of the Senior Capstone Program in Engineering (SCOPE) at Olin College. Deployment strategies for Modulair include distributed, mobile measurements and drone-based aerial sampling. Design goals for the drone integration include maximizing airborne sampling time and laying the foundation for software integration with the drone's autopilot system to allow for autonomous plume sampling across concentration gradients. Modulair and its flexible deployments enable real-time mapping of air quality data at exposure-relevant spatial scales, as well as regular, autonomous characterization of sources and dispersion of atmospheric pollutants. We will present an overview of the Modulair instrument and results from benchtop and field validation, including mobile and drone-based plume sampling in the Boston area.

Microcontroller based spectrophotometer using compact disc as diffraction grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bano, Saleha; Altaf, Talat; Akbar, Sunila

2010-12-01

This paper describes the design and implementation of a portable, inexpensive and cost effective spectrophotometer. The device combines the use of compact disc (CD) media as diffraction grid and 60 watt bulb as a light source. Moreover it employs a moving slit along with stepper motor for obtaining a monochromatic light, photocell with spectral sensitivity in visible region to determine the intensity of light and an amplifier with a very high gain as well as an advanced virtual RISC (AVR) microcontroller ATmega32 as a control unit. The device was successfully applied to determine the absorbance and transmittance of KMnO4 and the unknown concentration of KMnO4 with the help of calibration curve. For comparison purpose a commercial spectrophotometer was used. There are not significant differences between the absorbance and transmittance values estimated by the two instruments. Furthermore, good results are obtained at all visible wavelengths of light. Therefore, the designed instrument offers an economically feasible alternative for spectrophotometric sample analysis in small routine, research and teaching laboratories, because the components used in the designing of the device are cheap and of easy acquisition.

Universal design of a microcontroller and IoT system to detect the heart rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uwamahoro, Raphael; Mushikiwabeza, Alexie; Minani, Gerard; Mohan Murari, Bhaskar

2017-11-01

Heart rate analysis provides vital information of the present condition of the human body. It helps medical professionals in diagnosis of various malfunctions of the body. The limitation of vision impaired and blind people to access medical devices cause a considerable loss of life. In this paper, we intended to develop a heart rate detection system that is usable for people with normal and abnormal vision. The system is based on a non-invasive method of measuring the variation of the tissue blood flow rate by means of a photo transmitter and detector through fingertip known as photoplethysmography (PPG). The signal detected is firstly passed through active low pass filter and then amplified by a two stages high gain amplifier. The amplified signal is feed into the microcontroller to calculate the heart rate and displays the heart beat via sound systems and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). To distinguish arrhythmia, normal heart rate and abnormal working conditions of the system, recognition is provided in different sounds, LCD readings and Light Emitting Diodes (LED).

Ionizing radiation test results for an automotive microcontroller on board the Schiaparelli Mars lander

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapani Nikkanen, Timo; Hieta, Maria; Schmidt, Walter; Genzer, Maria; Haukka, Harri; Harri, Ari-Matti

2016-04-01

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has delivered a pressure and a humidity instrument for the ESA ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli lander mission. Schiaparelli is scheduled to launch towards Mars with the Trace Gas Orbiter on 14th of March 2016. The DREAMS-P (pressure) and DREAMS-H (Humidity) instruments are operated utilizing a novel FMI instrument controller design based on a commercial automotive microcontroller (MCU). A custom qualification program was implemented to qualify the MCU for the relevant launch, cruise and surface operations environment of a Mars lander. Resilience to ionizing radiation is one of the most critical requirements for a digital component operated in space or at planetary bodies. Thus, the expected Total Ionizing Dose accumulated by the MCU was determined and a sample of these components was exposed to a Co-60 gamma radiation source. Part of the samples was powered during the radiation exposure to include the effect of electrical biasing. All of the samples were verified to withstand the expected total ionizing dose with margin. The irradiated test samples were then radiated until failure to determine their ultimate TID.

Radio Links for the NASA ABTS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeutter, Dean C.

1996-01-01

The closed loop prototype has operational bi-directional wireless links. The Wideband PCM-FSK receiver has been designed and characterized. Now that both links function, communication performance can be addressed. For example, noise problems with the received outlink signal that caused the PC program to lockup were just recently revealed and minimized by software "enhancements" to the Windows based PC program. A similar problem with inlink communication was uncovered several days before this report: A noise spike or dropout (expected events in the animal Habitat) caused an interrupt to the implant microcontroller which halted outlink transmission. Recovery of outlink transmission did not reliably occur. The problem has been defined and implant software is being modified to better recognize noise from data by changing the timing associated with valid data packet identification and by better utilizing the error flags generated by the microcontroller's SCI circuits. Excellent inlink performance will also require improvements in the implant's receiver. The biggest performance improvement can be provided by antenna design for the Habitat. The quarter wavelength whip antennas used with the demo prototype inlink leave much to be desired.

netPICOmag: from Design to Network Implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schofield, I.; Connors, M.; Russell, C.

2009-05-01

netPICOmag is the successful conclusion of a design effort involving networking based on Rabbit microcontrollers, PIC microcontrollers, and pulsed magnetometer sensors. GPS timing allows both timestamping of data and the precision counting of the number of pulses produced by the sensor heads in one second. Power over Ethernet, use of DHCP, and broadcast of UDP packets mean a very simple local installation, with one wire leading to a relatively small integrated sensor package which is vertically placed in the ground. Although we continue to make improvements, including through investigating new sensor types, we regard the design as mature and well tested. Here we focus on the need for yet denser magnetometer networks, technological applications which become practical using sensitive yet inexpensive magnetometers, and deployment methods for large numbers of sensors. With careful calibration, netPICOmags overlap with research grade magnetometers. Without it, they still sensitively detect magnetic variations and can be used for an education or outreach program. Due to their low cost, such an application allows many students to be directly involved in gathering data that can be very relevant to them personally when they witness auroras.

Wireless ZigBee home automation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craciunescu, Razvan; Halunga, Simona; Fratu, Octavian

2015-02-01

The home automation system concept existed for many years but in the last decade, due to the rapid development of sensors and wireless technologies, a large number of various such "intelligent homes" have been developed. The purpose of the present paper is to demonstrate the flexibility, reliability and affordability of home automation projects, based on a simple and affordable implementation. A wireless sensing and control system have been developed and tested, having a number of basic functionalities such as switching on/off the light according to ambient lighting and turning on/off the central heating. The system has been built around low power microcontrollers and ZigBee modems for wireless communication, using a set of Vishay 640 thermistor sensors for temperature measurements and Vishay LDR07 photo-resistor for humidity measurements. A trigger is activated when the temperature or light measurements are above/below a given threshold and a command is transmitted to the central unit through the ZigBee radio module. All the data processing is performed by a low power microcontroller both at the sensing device and at the control unit.

Distributed microscopic actuation analysis of paraboloidal membrane shells of different geometric parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Honghao; Lu, Yifan; Deng, Zongquan; Tzou, Hornsen

2018-03-01

Paraboloidal membrane shells of revolution are commonly used as key components for advanced aerospace structures and aviation mechanical systems. Due to their high flexibility and low damping property, active vibration control is of significant importance for these in-orbit membrane structures. To explore the dynamic control behavior of space flexible paraboloidal membrane shells, precision distributed actuation and control effectiveness of free-floating paraboloidal membrane shells with piezoelectric actuators are investigated. Governing equations of the shell structronic system are presented first. Then, distributed control forces and control actions are formulated. A transverse mode shape function of the paraboloidal shell based on the membrane approximation theory and specified boundary condition is assumed in the modal control force analysis. The actuator induced modal control forces on the paraboloidal shell are derived. The expressions of microscopic local modal control forces are obtained by shrinking the actuator area into infinitesimal and the four control components are investigated respectively to predict the spatial microscopic actuation behavior. Geometric parameter (height-radius ratio and shell thickness) effects on the modal actuation behavior are explored when evaluating the micro-control efficiency. Four different cases are discussed and the results reveal the fact that shallow (e.g., antennas/reflectors) and deep (e.g., rocket/missile fairing) paraboloidal shells exhibit totally different modal actuation behaviors due to their curvature differences. Analytical results in this paper can serve as guidelines for optimal actuator placement for vibration control of different paraboloidal structures.

Rapid and economical data acquisition in ultrafast frequency-resolved spectroscopy using choppers and a microcontroller.

PubMed

Guo, Liang; Monahan, Daniele M; Fleming, Graham

2016-08-08

Spectrometers and cameras are used in ultrafast spectroscopy to achieve high resolution in both time and frequency domains. Frequency-resolved signals from the camera pixels cannot be processed by common lock-in amplifiers, which have only a limited number of input channels. Here we demonstrate a rapid and economical method that achieves the function of a lock-in amplifier using mechanical choppers and a programmable microcontroller. We demonstrate the method's effectiveness by performing a frequency-resolved pump-probe measurement on the dye Nile Blue in solution.

Prehensile control of a hand prosthesis by a microcontroller.

PubMed

Chappell, P H; Kyberd, P J

1991-09-01

The functional replacement of a natural hand and wrist is usually achieved by a split hook or an electrically powered and myoelectrically controlled artificial hand with one degree of freedom. In contrast to the commercial devices, this paper describes an experimental hand with four electric motors, nineteen sensors, and control algorithms which are written for a microcontroller. The hand significantly improves the prehension capabilities of an artificial device and leads to a design which is easily controlled by a user as it mimics the control system of the natural hand.

Design and analysis of microcontroller system using AMBA-Lite bus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suan, Wang Hang; Bahari Jambek, Asral

2017-11-01

Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA) is one of the well-designed on chip communication system. It is designed for right first-time development with many processor and peripherals. In this paper, the different family of AMBA architecture such as AXI, APB, AHB are reviewed. In this work, the AMBA-Lite is used and implemented with a few peripherals and an ARM processor. The work is simulated using Synopsys and demonstrated on the Digilent Nexys4 DDR board and the software use to synthesis the design is Vivado 2016.2.

Sensory System for Implementing a Human—Computer Interface Based on Electrooculography

PubMed Central

Barea, Rafael; Boquete, Luciano; Rodriguez-Ascariz, Jose Manuel; Ortega, Sergio; López, Elena

2011-01-01

This paper describes a sensory system for implementing a human–computer interface based on electrooculography. An acquisition system captures electrooculograms and transmits them via the ZigBee protocol. The data acquired are analysed in real time using a microcontroller-based platform running the Linux operating system. The continuous wavelet transform and neural network are used to process and analyse the signals to obtain highly reliable results in real time. To enhance system usability, the graphical interface is projected onto special eyewear, which is also used to position the signal-capturing electrodes. PMID:22346579

PV based converter with integrated charger for DC micro-grid applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salve, Rima

This thesis presents a converter topology for photovoltaic panels. This topology minimizes the number of switching devices used thereby reducing power losses that arise from high frequency switching operations. The control strategy is implemented using a simple microcontroller that implements the proportional plus integral control. All the control loops are closed feedback loops hence minimizing error instantaneously and adjusting efficiently to system variations. The energy management between three components, namely, the photovoltaic panel, a battery and a DC link for a microgrid is shown distributed over three modes. These modes are dependent on the irradiance from the sunlight. All three modes are simulated. The maximum power point tracking of the system plays a crutial role in this configuration as it is one of the main challenge tackled by the control system. Various methods of MPPT are discussed and the Perturb and Observe method is employed and is described in detail. Experimental results are shown for the maximum power point tracking of this system with a scaled down version of the panel's actual capability.

An Embedded Sensor Node Microcontroller with Crypto-Processors.

PubMed

Panić, Goran; Stecklina, Oliver; Stamenković, Zoran

2016-04-27

Wireless sensor network applications range from industrial automation and control, agricultural and environmental protection, to surveillance and medicine. In most applications, data are highly sensitive and must be protected from any type of attack and abuse. Security challenges in wireless sensor networks are mainly defined by the power and computing resources of sensor devices, memory size, quality of radio channels and susceptibility to physical capture. In this article, an embedded sensor node microcontroller designed to support sensor network applications with severe security demands is presented. It features a low power 16-bitprocessor core supported by a number of hardware accelerators designed to perform complex operations required by advanced crypto algorithms. The microcontroller integrates an embedded Flash and an 8-channel 12-bit analog-to-digital converter making it a good solution for low-power sensor nodes. The article discusses the most important security topics in wireless sensor networks and presents the architecture of the proposed hardware solution. Furthermore, it gives details on the chip implementation, verification and hardware evaluation. Finally, the chip power dissipation and performance figures are estimated and analyzed.

A Smart Voltage and Current Monitoring System for Three Phase Inverters Using an Android Smartphone Application

PubMed Central

Mnati, Mohannad Jabbar; Van den Bossche, Alex; Chisab, Raad Farhood

2017-01-01

In this paper, a new smart voltage and current monitoring system (SVCMS) technique is proposed. It monitors a three phase electrical system using an Arduino platform as a microcontroller to read the voltage and current from sensors and then wirelessly send the measured data to monitor the results using a new Android application. The integrated SVCMS design uses an Arduino Nano V3.0 as the microcontroller to measure the results from three voltage and three current sensors and then send this data, after calculation, to the Android smartphone device of an end user using Bluetooth HC-05. The Arduino Nano V3.0 controller and Bluetooth HC-05 are a cheap microcontroller and wireless device, respectively. The new Android smartphone application that monitors the voltage and current measurements uses the open source MIT App Inventor 2 software. It allows for monitoring some elementary fundamental voltage power quality properties. An effort has been made to investigate what is possible using available off-the-shelf components and open source software. PMID:28420132

TangibleCubes — Implementation of Tangible User Interfaces through the Usage of Microcontroller and Sensor Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setscheny, Stephan

The interaction between human beings and technology builds a central aspect in human life. The most common form of this human-technology interface is the graphical user interface which is controlled through the mouse and the keyboard. In consequence of continuous miniaturization and the increasing performance of microcontrollers and sensors for the detection of human interactions, developers receive new possibilities for realising innovative interfaces. As far as this movement is concerned, the relevance of computers in the common sense and graphical user interfaces is decreasing. Especially in the area of ubiquitous computing and the interaction through tangible user interfaces a highly impact of this technical evolution can be seen. Apart from this, tangible and experience able interaction offers users the possibility of an interactive and intuitive method for controlling technical objects. The implementation of microcontrollers for control functions and sensors enables the realisation of these experience able interfaces. Besides the theories about tangible user interfaces, the consideration about sensors and the Arduino platform builds a main aspect of this work.

An Embedded Sensor Node Microcontroller with Crypto-Processors

PubMed Central

Panić, Goran; Stecklina, Oliver; Stamenković, Zoran

2016-01-01

Wireless sensor network applications range from industrial automation and control, agricultural and environmental protection, to surveillance and medicine. In most applications, data are highly sensitive and must be protected from any type of attack and abuse. Security challenges in wireless sensor networks are mainly defined by the power and computing resources of sensor devices, memory size, quality of radio channels and susceptibility to physical capture. In this article, an embedded sensor node microcontroller designed to support sensor network applications with severe security demands is presented. It features a low power 16-bitprocessor core supported by a number of hardware accelerators designed to perform complex operations required by advanced crypto algorithms. The microcontroller integrates an embedded Flash and an 8-channel 12-bit analog-to-digital converter making it a good solution for low-power sensor nodes. The article discusses the most important security topics in wireless sensor networks and presents the architecture of the proposed hardware solution. Furthermore, it gives details on the chip implementation, verification and hardware evaluation. Finally, the chip power dissipation and performance figures are estimated and analyzed. PMID:27128925

A Smart Voltage and Current Monitoring System for Three Phase Inverters Using an Android Smartphone Application.

PubMed

Mnati, Mohannad Jabbar; Van den Bossche, Alex; Chisab, Raad Farhood

2017-04-15

In this paper, a new smart voltage and current monitoring system (SVCMS) technique is proposed. It monitors a three phase electrical system using an Arduino platform as a microcontroller to read the voltage and current from sensors and then wirelessly send the measured data to monitor the results using a new Android application. The integrated SVCMS design uses an Arduino Nano V3.0 as the microcontroller to measure the results from three voltage and three current sensors and then send this data, after calculation, to the Android smartphone device of an end user using Bluetooth HC-05. The Arduino Nano V3.0 controller and Bluetooth HC-05 are a cheap microcontroller and wireless device, respectively. The new Android smartphone application that monitors the voltage and current measurements uses the open source MIT App Inventor 2 software. It allows for monitoring some elementary fundamental voltage power quality properties. An effort has been made to investigate what is possible using available off-the-shelf components and open source software.

A Microcontroller-Based Device for Monitoring Blood Pressure in the Field

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

Service de sant6 des Forces armies canadiennes. On a mis au point un appareil de mesure des signes vitaux, qui peut mesurer la fr~quence cardiaque et...methods for taking systolic and diastolic pressure readings include the auscultation method, the oscillometric method, and the ultrasonic method...pressures are determined from its output, are the best ways of distinguishing between the three main methods previously listed. The auscultation method

Role of Non-Volatile Memories in Automotive and IoT Markets

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

Role of Non-Volatile Memories in Automotive and IoT Markets Vipin Tiwari Director, Business Development and Product Marketing SST – A Wholly Own...automotive and Internet of Things (IoT) markets . Keywords: Embedded flash; Microcontrollers, Automotive; Internet of Things, IoT; Non-volatile memories...variou s types of non-volatile memories available in the market , bu t the floating-poly based embedded flash memories have been around the longest and

Timing performance of a self-cancelling turn-signal mechanism in motorcycles based on the ATMega328P microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurbuwat, Adzin Kondo; Eryandi, Kholid Yusuf; Estriyanto, Yuyun; Widiastuti, Indah; Pambudi, Nugroho Agung

2018-02-01

The objective of this study is to measure the time performance of a self-cancelling turn signal mechanism based on the In this study the performance of self-cancelling turn signal based on ATMega328P microcontroller is measured at low speed and high speed treatment on motorcycles commonly used in Indonesia. Time performance measurements were made by comparing the self-cancelling turn signal based on ATMega328P microcontroller with standard motor turn time. Measurements of time at low speed treatment were performed at a speed range of 15 km / h, 20 km / h, 25 km / h on the U-turn test trajectory. The angle of the turning angle of the potentiometer is determined at 3°. The limit of steering wheel turning angle at the potentiometer is set at 3°. For high-speed treatment is 30 km / h, 40 km / h, 50km / h, and 60 km / h, on the L-turn test track with a tilt angle (roll angle) read by the L3G4200D gyroscope sensor. Each speed test is repeated 3 replications. Standard time is a reference for self-cancelling turn signal performance. The standard time obtained is 15.68 s, 11.96 s, 9.34 s at low speed and 4.63 s, 4.06 s, 3.61 s, 3.13 s at high speed. The time test of self-cancelling turn signal shows 16.10 s, 12.42 s, 10.24 s at the low speed and 5.18, 4.51, 3.73, 3.21 at the high speed. At a speed of 15 km / h occurs the instability of motion turns motorcycle so that testing is more difficult. Small time deviations indicate the tool works well. The largest time deviation value is 0.9 seconds at low speed and 0.55 seconds at high speed. The conclusion at low velocity of the highest deviation value occurred at the speed of 25 km / h test due to the movement of slope with inclination has started to happen which resulted in slow reading of steering movement. At higher speeds the time slows down due to rapid sensor readings on the tilt when turning fast at ever higher speeds. The timing performance of self-cancelling turn signal decreases as the motorcycle turning characteristics move from the turn using the steering angle to using a tilt angle based on speed, or vice versa.

ASIC or PIC? Implantable stimulators based on semi-custom CMOS technology or low-power microcontroller architecture.

PubMed

Salmons, S; Gunning, G T; Taylor, I; Grainger, S R; Hitchings, D J; Blackhurst, J; Jarvis, J C

2001-01-01

To gain a better understanding of the effects of chronic stimulation on mammalian muscles we needed to generate patterns of greater variety and complexity than simple constant-frequency or burst patterns. We describe here two approaches to the design of implantable neuromuscular stimulators that can satisfy these requirements. Devices of both types were developed and used in long-term experiments. The first device was based on a semi-custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). This approach has the advantage that the circuit can be completely tested at every stage of development and production, assuring a high degree of reliability. It has the drawback of inflexibility: the patterns are produced by state machines implemented in silicon, so each new set of patterns requires a fresh production run, which is costly and time-consuming. The second device was based on a commercial microcontroller (Microchip PIC16C84). The functionality of this type of circuit is specified in software rather than in silicon hardware, allowing a single device to be programmed for different functions. With the use of features designed to improve fault-tolerance we found this approach to be as reliable as that based on ASICs. The encapsulated devices can easily be accommodated subcutaneously on the flank of a rabbit and a recent version is small enough to implant into the peritoneal cavity of rats. The current devices are programmed with a predetermined set of 12 patterns before assembly; the desired pattern is selected after implantation with an electronic flash gun. The operating current drain is less than 40 microA.

Investigations of DC power supplies with optoelectronic transducers and RF energy converters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzowski, B.; Gozdur, R.; Bernacki, L.; Lakomski, M.

2016-04-01

Fiber Distribution Cabinets (FDC) monitoring systems are increasingly popular. However it is difficult to realize such system in passive FDC, due to lack of source of power supply. In this paper investigation of four different DC power supplies with optoelectronic transducers is described. Two converters: photovoltaic power converter and PIN photodiode can convert the light transmitted through the optical fiber to electric energy. Solar cell and antenna RF-PCB are also tested. Results presented in this paper clearly demonstrate that it is possible to build monitoring system in passive FDC. During the tests maximum obtained output power was 11 mW. However all converters provided enough power to excite 32-bit microcontroller with ARM-cores and digital thermometer.

A low cost instrumentation system to analyze different types of milk adulteration.

PubMed

Das, Siuli; Sivaramakrishna, Mulinti; Biswas, Karabi; Goswami, Bhaswati

2015-05-01

In this paper, the design of a complete instrumentation system to detect different types of milk adulteration has been reported. A simple to use indicator type readout device is reported which can be used by milk community people. A low cost microcontroller based automatic sensing system is also reported to detect 'synthetic milk', which has been reconstructed after adulterating the milk with 'liquid-whey'. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microcontroller based fibre-optic visual presentation system for multisensory neuroimaging.

PubMed

Kurniawan, Veldri; Klemen, Jane; Chambers, Christopher D

2011-10-30

Presenting visual stimuli in physical 3D space during fMRI experiments carries significant technical challenges. Certain types of multisensory visuotactile experiments and visuomotor tasks require presentation of visual stimuli in peripersonal space, which cannot be accommodated by ordinary projection screens or binocular goggles. However, light points produced by a group of LEDs can be transmitted through fibre-optic cables and positioned anywhere inside the MRI scanner. Here we describe the design and implementation of a microcontroller-based programmable digital device for controlling fibre-optically transmitted LED lights from a PC. The main feature of this device is the ability to independently control the colour, brightness, and timing of each LED. Moreover, the device was designed in a modular and extensible way, which enables easy adaptation for various experimental paradigms. The device was tested and validated in three fMRI experiments involving basic visual perception, a simple colour discrimination task, and a blocked multisensory visuo-tactile task. The results revealed significant lateralized activation in occipital cortex of all participants, a reliable response in ventral occipital areas to colour stimuli elicited by the device, and strong activations in multisensory brain regions in the multisensory task. Overall, these findings confirm the suitability of this device for presenting complex fibre-optic visual and cross-modal stimuli inside the scanner. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Portable microcontroller-based instrument for near-infrared spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giardini, Mario E.; Corti, Mario; Lago, Paolo; Gelmetti, Andrea

2000-05-01

Near IR Spectroscopy (NIRS) can be employed to noninvasively and continuously measure in-vivo local changes in haemodynamics and oxygenation of human tissues. In particular, the technique can be particularly useful for muscular functional monitoring. We present a portable NIRS research-grade acquisition system prototype, strictly dedicate to low-noise measurements during muscular exercise. The prototype is able to control four LED sources and a detector. Such a number of sources allows for multipoint measurements or for multi-wavelength spectroscopy of tissue constituents other than oxygen, such as cytochrome aa3 oxidation. The LEDs and the detector are mounted on separate probes, which carry also the relevant drivers and preamplifiers. By employing surface-mount technologies, probe size and weight are kept to a minimum. A single-chip mixed-signal RISC microcontroller performs source-to- detector multiplexing with a digital correlation technique. The acquired data are stored on an on-board 64 K EEPROM bank, and can be subsequently uploaded to a personal computer via serial port for further analysis. The resulting instrument is compact and lightweight. Preliminary test of the prototype on oxygen consumption during tourniquet- induced forearm ischaemia show adequate detectivity and time response.

A low-cost, portable, micro-controlled device for multi-channel LED visual stimulation.

PubMed

Pinto, Marcos Antonio da Silva; de Souza, John Kennedy Schettino; Baron, Jerome; Tierra-Criollo, Carlos Julio

2011-04-15

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are extensively used as light sources to investigate visual and visually related function and dysfunction. Here, we describe the design of a compact, low-cost, stand-alone LED-based system that enables the configuration, storage and presentation of elaborate visual stimulation paradigms. The core functionality of this system is provided by a microcontroller whose ultra-low power consumption makes it well suited for long lasting battery applications. The effective use of hardware resources is managed by multi-layered architecture software that provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface. In the configuration mode, different stimulation sequences can be created and memorized for ten channels, independently. LED-driving current output can be set either as continuous or pulse modulated, up to 500 Hz, by duty cycle adjustments. In run mode, multiple-channel stimulus sequences are automatically applied according to the pre-programmed protocol. Steady state visual evoked potentials were successfully recorded in five subjects with no visible electromagnetic interferences from the stimulator, demonstrating the efficacy of combining our prototyped equipment with electrophysiological techniques. Finally, we discuss a number of possible improvements for future development of our project. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A real-time detector system for precise timing of audiovisual stimuli.

PubMed

Henelius, Andreas; Jagadeesan, Sharman; Huotilainen, Minna

2012-01-01

The successful recording of neurophysiologic signals, such as event-related potentials (ERPs) or event-related magnetic fields (ERFs), relies on precise information of stimulus presentation times. We have developed an accurate and flexible audiovisual sensor solution operating in real-time for on-line use in both auditory and visual ERP and ERF paradigms. The sensor functions independently of the used audio or video stimulus presentation tools or signal acquisition system. The sensor solution consists of two independent sensors; one for sound and one for light. The microcontroller-based audio sensor incorporates a novel approach to the detection of natural sounds such as multipart audio stimuli, using an adjustable dead time. This aids in producing exact markers for complex auditory stimuli and reduces the number of false detections. The analog photosensor circuit detects changes in light intensity on the screen and produces a marker for changes exceeding a threshold. The microcontroller software for the audio sensor is free and open source, allowing other researchers to customise the sensor for use in specific auditory ERP/ERF paradigms. The hardware schematics and software for the audiovisual sensor are freely available from the webpage of the authors' lab.

Developing Learning Tool of Control System Engineering Using Matrix Laboratory Software Oriented on Industrial Needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isnur Haryudo, Subuh; Imam Agung, Achmad; Firmansyah, Rifqi

2018-04-01

The purpose of this research is to develop learning media of control technique using Matrix Laboratory software with industry requirement approach. Learning media serves as a tool for creating a better and effective teaching and learning situation because it can accelerate the learning process in order to enhance the quality of learning. Control Techniques using Matrix Laboratory software can enlarge the interest and attention of students, with real experience and can grow independent attitude. This research design refers to the use of research and development (R & D) methods that have been modified by multi-disciplinary team-based researchers. This research used Computer based learning method consisting of computer and Matrix Laboratory software which was integrated with props. Matrix Laboratory has the ability to visualize the theory and analysis of the Control System which is an integration of computing, visualization and programming which is easy to use. The result of this instructional media development is to use mathematical equations using Matrix Laboratory software on control system application with DC motor plant and PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative). Considering that manufacturing in the field of Distributed Control systems (DCSs), Programmable Controllers (PLCs), and Microcontrollers (MCUs) use PID systems in production processes are widely used in industry.

C code generation from Petri-net-based logic controller specification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grobelny, Michał; Grobelna, Iwona; Karatkevich, Andrei

2017-08-01

The article focuses on programming of logic controllers. It is important that a programming code of a logic controller is executed flawlessly according to the primary specification. In the presented approach we generate C code for an AVR microcontroller from a rule-based logical model of a control process derived from a control interpreted Petri net. The same logical model is also used for formal verification of the specification by means of the model checking technique. The proposed rule-based logical model and formal rules of transformation ensure that the obtained implementation is consistent with the already verified specification. The approach is validated by practical experiments.

Data acquisition system of 16-channel EEG based on ATSAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 32-bit microcontroller and ADS1299

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toresano, L. O. H. Z.; Wijaya, S. K.; Prawito, Sudarmaji, A.; Badri, C.

2017-07-01

The prototype of the EEG (electroencephalogram) instrumentation systems has been developed based on 32-bit microcontrollers of Cortex-M3 ATSAM3X8E and Analog Front-End (AFE) ADS1299 (Texas Instruments, USA), and also consists of 16-channel dry-electrodes in the form of EEG head-caps. The ADS1299-AFE has been designed in a double-layer format PCB (Print Circuit Board) with daisy-chain configuration. The communication protocol of the prototype was based on SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) and tested using USB SPI-Logic Analyzer Hantek4032L (Qingdao Hantek Electronic, China). The acquired data of the 16-channel from this prototype has been successfully transferred to a PC (Personal Computer) with accuracy greater than 91 %. The data acquisition system has been visualized with time-domain format in the multi-graph plotter, the frequency-domain based on FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) calculation, and also brain-mapping display of 16-channel. The GUI (Graphical User Interface) has been developed based on OpenBCI (Brain Computer Interface) using Java Processing and also can be stored of data in the *.txt format. Instrumentation systems have been tested in the frequency range of 1-50 Hz using MiniSim 330 EEG Simulator (NETECH, USA). The validation process has been done with different frequency of 0.1 Hz, 2 Hz, 5 Hz, and 50 Hz, and difference voltage amplitudes of 10 µV, 30 µV, 50 µV, 100 µV, 500 µV, 1 mV, 2 mV and 2.5 mV. However, the acquisition system was not optimal at a frequency of 0.1 Hz and for amplitude potentials of over 1 mV had differences of the order 10 µV.

A tele-home care system exploiting the DVB-T technology and MHP.

PubMed

Angius, G; Pani, D; Raffo, L; Randaccio, P; Seruis, S

2008-01-01

The aim of this research work is the development of a low-cost system for telemedicine based on the DVB-T technology. The diffusion of DVB-T standard and the low cost of DVB-T set-top boxes bring the vision of a capillary distribution of tele-home care monitoring systems with easy-to-use patient's interface. Exploiting the potentiality of the DVB-T set-top box, we transformed it into an "on-demand tele-home care interface". The Xlet we developed is able to govern the functionality of an external microcontroller-based unit for the acquisition of the bio-signals of interest. The uplink connection is used to send the exam results to a remote care center. The Xlet providing the patient interface on the set-top box is uploaded by a DVB-T broadcaster without any intervention in the patient's home. A prototypal low-cost base station for the acquisition of the patient's signals (1-lead ECG) has been developed. It is able to be connected to the set-top box via an infrared link. A smart-card-based system is in charge for the customization of the Xlet for every patient. The proposed system, based on a currently widespread infrastructure, is able to allow the patients monitoring from home without any installation procedure. Even untrained (or elderly) people can easily use such system due to their practice with the basic DVB-T home-entertainment equipments.

ArduiPod Box: a low-cost and open-source Skinner box using an iPod Touch and an Arduino microcontroller.

PubMed

Pineño, Oskar

2014-03-01

This article introduces the ArduiPod Box, an open-source device built using two main components (i.e., an iPod Touch and an Arduino microcontroller), developed as a low-cost alternative to the standard operant conditioning chamber, or "Skinner box." Because of its affordability, the ArduiPod Box provides an opportunity for educational institutions with small budgets seeking to set up animal laboratories for research and instructional purposes. A pilot experiment is also presented, which shows that the ArduiPod Box, in spite of its extraordinary simplicity, can be effectively used to study animal learning and behavior.

Capacitively coupled EMG detection via ultra-low-power microcontroller STFT.

PubMed

Roland, Theresa; Baumgartner, Werner; Amsuess, Sebastian; Russold, Michael F

2017-07-01

As motion artefacts are a major problem with electromyography sensors, a new algorithm is developed to differentiate artefacts to contraction EMG. The performance of myoelectric prosthesis is increased with this algorithm. The implementation is done for an ultra-low-power microcontroller with limited calculation resources and memory. Short Time Fourier Transformation is used to enable real-time application. The sum of the differences (SOD) of the currently measured EMG to a reference contraction EMG is calculated. The SOD is a new parameter introduced for EMG classification. The satisfactory error rates are determined by measurements done with the capacitively coupling EMG prototype, recently developed by the research group.

Real time microcontroller implementation of an adaptive myoelectric filter.

PubMed

Bagwell, P J; Chappell, P H

1995-03-01

This paper describes a real time digital adaptive filter for processing myoelectric signals. The filter time constant is automatically selected by the adaptation algorithm, giving a significant improvement over linear filters for estimating the muscle force and controlling a prosthetic device. Interference from mains sources often produces problems for myoelectric processing, and so 50 Hz and all harmonic frequencies are reduced by an averaging filter and differential process. This makes practical electrode placement and contact less critical and time consuming. An economic real time implementation is essential for a prosthetic controller, and this is achieved using an Intel 80C196KC microcontroller.

Low-cost microcontroller platform for studying lymphatic biomechanics in vitro

PubMed Central

Kornuta, Jeffrey A.; Nipper, Matthew E.; Dixon, J. Brandon

2012-01-01

The pumping innate to collecting lymphatic vessels routinely exposes the endothelium to oscillatory wall shear stress and other dynamic forces. However, studying the mechanical sensitivity of the lymphatic endothelium remains a difficult task due to limitations of commercial or custom systems to apply a variety of time-varying stresses in vitro. Current biomechanical in vitro testing devices are very expensive, limited in capability, or highly complex; rendering them largely inaccessible to the endothelial cell biology community. To address these short-comings, the authors propose a reliable, low-cost platform for augmenting the capabilities of commercially available pumps to produce a wide variety of flow rate waveforms. In particular, the Arduino Uno, a microcontroller development board, is used to provide open-loop control of a digital peristaltic pump using precisely-timed serial commands. In addition, the flexibility of this platform is further demonstrated through its support of a custom-built cell-straining device capable of producing oscillatory strains with varying amplitudes and frequencies. Hence, this microcontroller development board is shown to be an inexpensive, precise, and easy-to-use tool for supplementing in vitro assays to quantify the effects of biomechanical forces on lymphatic endothelial cells. PMID:23178036

Low-cost microcontroller platform for studying lymphatic biomechanics in vitro.

PubMed

Kornuta, Jeffrey A; Nipper, Matthew E; Dixon, J Brandon

2013-01-04

The pumping innate to collecting lymphatic vessels routinely exposes the endothelium to oscillatory wall shear stress and other dynamic forces. However, studying the mechanical sensitivity of the lymphatic endothelium remains a difficult task due to limitations of commercial or custom systems to apply a variety of time-varying stresses in vitro. Current biomechanical in vitro testing devices are very expensive, limited in capability, or highly complex; rendering them largely inaccessible to the endothelial cell biology community. To address these shortcomings, the authors propose a reliable, low-cost platform for augmenting the capabilities of commercially available pumps to produce a wide variety of flow rate waveforms. In particular, the Arduino Uno, a microcontroller development board, is used to provide open-loop control of a digital peristaltic pump using precisely timed serial commands. In addition, the flexibility of this platform is further demonstrated through its support of a custom-built cell-straining device capable of producing oscillatory strains with varying amplitudes and frequencies. Hence, this microcontroller development board is shown to be an inexpensive, precise, and easy-to-use tool for supplementing in vitro assays to quantify the effects of biomechanical forces on lymphatic endothelial cells. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Minimalist fault-tolerance techniques for mitigating single-event effects in non-radiation-hardened microcontrollers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldwell, Douglas Wyche

Commercial microcontrollers--monolithic integrated circuits containing microprocessor, memory and various peripheral functions--such as are used in industrial, automotive and military applications, present spacecraft avionics system designers an appealing mix of higher performance and lower power together with faster system-development time and lower unit costs. However, these parts are not radiation-hardened for application in the space environment and Single-Event Effects (SEE) caused by high-energy, ionizing radiation present a significant challenge. Mitigating these effects with techniques which require minimal additional support logic, and thereby preserve the high functional density of these devices, can allow their benefits to be realized. This dissertation uses fault-tolerance to mitigate the transient errors and occasional latchups that non-hardened microcontrollers can experience in the space radiation environment. Space systems requirements and the historical use of fault-tolerant computers in spacecraft provide context. Space radiation and its effects in semiconductors define the fault environment. A reference architecture is presented which uses two or three microcontrollers with a combination of hardware and software voting techniques to mitigate SEE. A prototypical spacecraft function (an inertial measurement unit) is used to illustrate the techniques and to explore how real application requirements impact the fault-tolerance approach. Low-cost approaches which leverage features of existing commercial microcontrollers are analyzed. A high-speed serial bus is used for voting among redundant devices and a novel wire-OR output voting scheme exploits the bidirectional controls of I/O pins. A hardware testbed and prototype software were constructed to evaluate two- and three-processor configurations. Simulated Single-Event Upsets (SEUs) were injected at high rates and the response of the system monitored. The resulting statistics were used to evaluate technical effectiveness. Fault-recovery probabilities (coverages) higher than 99.99% were experimentally demonstrated. The greater than thousand-fold reduction in observed effects provides performance comparable with SEE tolerance of tested, rad-hard devices. Technical results were combined with cost data to assess the cost-effectiveness of the techniques. It was found that a three-processor system was only marginally more effective than a two-device system at detecting and recovering from faults, but consumed substantially more resources, suggesting that simpler configurations are generally more cost-effective.

Design of fiber optic based respiratory sensor for newborn incubator application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhia, Arika; Devara, Kresna; Abuzairi, Tomy; Poespawati, N. R.; Purnamaningsih, Retno W.

2018-02-01

This paper reports the design of respiratory sensor using fiber optic for newborn incubator application. The sensor works based on light intensity losses difference obtained due to thorax movement during respiration. The output of the sensor launched to support electronic circuits to be processed in Arduino Uno microcontroler such that the real-time respiratory rate (breath per minute) can be presented on LCD. Experiment results using thorax expansion of newborn simulator show that the system is able to measure respiratory rate from 10 up to 130 breaths per minute with 0.595% error and 0.2% hysteresis error.

Teaching smartphone and microcontroller systems using "Android Java"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tigrek, Seyitriza

Mobile devices are becoming indispensable tools for many students and educators. Mobile technology is starting a new era in the computing methodologies in many engineering disciplines and laboratories. Microcontroller extension that communicates with mobile devices will take the data acquisition and control process into a new level in the sensing technology and communication. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a framework to incorporate the new mobile platform with robust embedded systems into the engineering curriculum. For this purpose a course material is developed "Introduction to Programming Java on a Mobile Platform" to teach novice programmers how to create applications, specifically on Android. Combining an introductory level programming class with the Android platform can appeal to non-programming individuals in multiple disciplines. The proposed course curriculum reduces the learning time, and allows senior engineering students to use the new framework for their specific needs in the labs such as mobile data acquisition and control projects. This work provides techniques for instructors with modest programming background to teach cutting edge technology, which is smartphone programming. Techniques developed in this work minimize unnecessary information carried into current teaching approaches with hands-on practice. It also helps the students with minimal background requirements overcome the barriers that have evolved around computer programming. The motivation of this thesis is to create a tailored programming introductory course to teach Java programming on Android by incorporating selected efficient methods from extant literature. The mechanism proposed in this thesis is to keep students motivated by an active approach based on student-centered learning with collaborative work. Teamwork through pair programming is adapted in this teaching process. Bloom's taxonomy, along with a knowledge survey, is used as a guide to classify the information and exercise problems. A prototype curriculum is a deliverable of this research that is suitable for novice programmers-such as engineering freshmen students. It also contains advanced material that allows senior students to use mobile phone and a microcontroller system to enhance engineering laboratories.

Development and Comparison of Technical Solutions for Electricity Monitoring Equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potapovs, A.; Obushevs, A.

2017-12-01

The paper focuses on the elaboration of a demand-side management platform for optimal energy management strategies; the topicality is related to the description and comparison of the developed electricity monitoring and control equipment. The article describes two versions based on Atmega328 and STM32 microcontrollers, a lower and higher level of precision, and other distinct performance parameters. At the end of the article, the results of the testing of the two types of equipment are given and their comparison is made.

Development of a system to measure local measurement conditions around textile electrodes.

PubMed

Kim, Saim; Oliveira, Joana; Roethlingshoefer, Lisa; Leonhard, Steffen

2010-01-01

The three main influence factors on the interface between textile electrode an skin are: temperature, contact pressure and relative humidity. This paper presents first results of a prototype, which measures these local measurement conditions around textile electrodes. The wearable prototype is a data acquisition system based on a microcontroller with a flexible sensor sleeve. Validation measurements included variation of ambient temperature, contact pressures and sleeve material. Results show a good correlation with data found in literature.

Implementation of a microcontroller-based semi-automatic coagulator.

PubMed

Chan, K; Kirumira, A; Elkateeb, A

2001-01-01

The coagulator is an instrument used in hospitals to detect clot formation as a function of time. Generally, these coagulators are very expensive and therefore not affordable by a doctors' office and small clinics. The objective of this project is to design and implement a low cost semi-automatic coagulator (SAC) prototype. The SAC is capable of assaying up to 12 samples and can perform the following tests: prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and PT/APTT combination. The prototype has been tested successfully.

Self-activating intelligent home using bluetooth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karthikeyan, P.; Sumanth, N.; Jude, S.

2017-11-01

Homes today need to exploit the various technologies available to make them intelligent. In this paper, a wireless system is proposed to automate home appliances using Bluetooth. This system can be used from a Bluetooth module that is closer than 10 meters to the system. Once in range, various appliances can be self-activated by the software that is built into a microcontroller. It is envisioned to offer automation of doors, lights and various electrical appliances. It also offers a complete user based automation for an improved personal experience.

Bluetooth based function control in a car

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karthikeyan, P.; Sumanth, N.; Jude, S.

2017-11-01

This paper aims to show the various functions that can be controlled in a Car using the Wireless Bluetooth Technology. Due to the portable and wireless nature of this technology, it is easier for the end user to operate the functions in a car. The functions that are built into the system can be used from a distance of 10 meters. The Passive Keyless System and the Remote Keyless System methodologies are adopted. These are operated by the ATMEGA328P microcontroller.

Development of a Low Cost Microcontroller-Enabled Handheld Sunphotometer and Comparison with NASA AERONET and MODIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krintz, I. A.; Ruble, W.; Sherman, J. P.

2017-12-01

Satellite-based measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD), such as those made by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the TERRA and AQUA spacecraft, are often used in studies of aerosol direct radiative forcing (DRF) on regional to global scales due to daily near-global coverage. However, these measurements require validation by ground-based instrumentation, which is limited due to the cost of research-grade instrumentation. Furthermore, satellite-based AOD agreement with "ground-truth" instruments is weaker over mountainous regions (Levy et al., 2010). To aid in satellite validation, a low cost handheld sunphotometer has been developed which will be suitable for deployment to multiple sites to form a citizen science network as part of an upcoming proposal. A microcontroller, along with temperature and pressure sensors, has been included in this design to ease the process of taking measurements and transferring data for processing. Although LED-based sunphotometers have been used for a number of years (Brooks and Mims, 2001), this design uses filtered photodiodes which appear to have less of a temperature dependence. The interface has been designed to be intuitive to citizen scientists of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds, so that deployment to primary schools and international sites will be as seamless as possible. Presented here is the instrument design, as well as initial results of a comparison with NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and MODIS-measured AOD. Future revisions to the instrument design, such as incorporation of surface-mount devices to cut down on circuit board size, will allow for an even smaller and more cost effective solution suitable for a global sunphotometer network.

Deepthi Vaidhynathan | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Complex Systems Simulation and Optimization Group on performance analysis and benchmarking latest . Research Interests High Performance Computing|Embedded System |Microprocessors & Microcontrollers

Method, accuracy and limitation of computer interaction in the operating room by a navigated surgical instrument.

PubMed

Hurka, Florian; Wenger, Thomas; Heininger, Sebastian; Lueth, Tim C

2011-01-01

This article describes a new interaction device for surgical navigation systems--the so-called navigation mouse system. The idea is to use a tracked instrument of a surgical navigation system like a pointer to control the software. The new interaction system extends existing navigation systems with a microcontroller-unit. The microcontroller-unit uses the existing communication line to extract the needed 3D-information of an instrument to calculate positions analogous to the PC mouse cursor and click events. These positions and events are used to manipulate the navigation system. In an experimental setup the reachable accuracy with the new mouse system is shown.

Protective Controller against Cascade Outages with Selective Harmonic Compensation Function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abramovich, B. N.; Kuznetsov, P. A.; Sychev, Yu A.

2018-05-01

The paper presents data on the power quality and development of protective devices for the power networks with distributed generation (DG).The research has shown that power quality requirements for DG networks differ from conventional ones. That is why main tendencies, protective equipment and filters should be modified. There isa developed algorithm for detection and prevention of cascade outages that can lead to the blackoutin DG networks and there was a proposed structural scheme for a new active power filter for selective harmonics compensation. Analysis of these theories and equipment led to the development of protective device that could monitor power balance and cut off non-important consumers. The last part of the article describes a microcontroller prototype developed for connection to the existing power station control center.

Installation of a variable-angle spectrometer system for monitoring diffuse and global solar radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ormachea, O.; Abrahamse, A.; Tolavi, N.; Romero, F.; Urquidi, O.; Pearce, J. M.; Andrews, R.

2013-11-01

We report on the design and installation of a spectrometer system for monitoring solar radiation in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Both the light intensity and the spectral distribution affect the power produced by a photovoltaic device. Local variations in the solar spectrum (especially compared to the AM1.5 standard) may have important implications for device optimization and energy yield estimation. The spectrometer system, based on an Ocean Optics USB4000 (300-900nm) spectrometer, was designed to increase functionality. Typically systems only record the global horizontal radiation. Our system moves a fiber-optic cable 0-90 degrees and takes measurements in 9 degree increments. Additionally, a shadow band allows measurement of the diffuse component of the radiation at each position. The electronic controls utilize an Arduino UNO microcontroller to synchronizes the movement of two PAP bipolar (stepper) motors with the activation of the spectrometer via an external trigger. The spectrometer was factory calibrated for wavelength and calibrated for absolute irradiance using a Sellarnet SL1-Cal light source. We present preliminary results from data taken March-June, 2013, and comment on implications for PV devices in Cochabamba.

An Evaluation of Flash Cells Used in Critical Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Rich; Flowers, David; Bergevin, Keith

2016-01-01

Due to the common use of Flash technology in many commercial and industrial Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) such as FPGAs and mixed-signal microcontrollers, flash technology is being utilized in fuzed munition applications. This presents a long-term reliability issue for both DoD and NASA safety- and mission-critical applications. A thorough understanding of the data retention failure modes and statistics associated with Flash data retention is of vital concern to the fuze safety community. A key retention parameter for a flash cell is the threshold voltage (VTH), which is an indirect indicator of the amount of charge stored on the cells floating gate. Initial test results based on a study of charge loss in flash cells in an FPGA device is presented. Statistical data taken from a small sample set indicates quantifiable charge loss for devices stored at both room temperature and 150 C. Initial evaluation of the distribution of threshold voltage in a large sample set (800 devices) is presented. The magnitude of charge loss from exposure to electrostatic discharge and electromagnetic fields is measured and presented. Simulated data (and measured data as available) resultant from harsh-environment testing (neutron, heavy ion, EMP) is presented.

Development and Performance Assessment of White LED Dimmer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maiti, Pradip Kr.; Roy, Biswanath

2017-10-01

A microcontroller based electronic dimmer is developed using pulse width modulation technique. This dimmer is controllable by infra-red remote within a distance of 4 m and can be electrically connected between LED module and its driver. The performance of a developed LED dimmer is assessed on basis of variation of the photometric parameters of commercially available warm white and cool white LED luminaire used in indoor lighting applications. Four equally spaced dimming levels are considered to measure luminous efficacy, spectral power distribution, CIE 1931 chromaticity coordinates, CIE 1976 CIELUV color difference, correlated color temperature, general color rendering index and one specific color rendering index for saturated red color sample. Variations of above parameters are found out with reference to the values measured at rated voltage without the developed dimmer. Analysis of experimentally measured data shows that the developed LED dimmer is capable to vary light output of the WLED luminaire within a range of 25-100% without appreciable variation of its photometric and color parameters. The only exception is observed for the luminous efficacy parameter where it shows about 17 and 14.7% reduction for warm white and cool white LED luminaire at 25% dimming level.

Multichannel micromanipulator and chamber system for recording multineuronal activity in alert, non-human primates.

PubMed

Gray, Charles M; Goodell, Baldwin; Lear, Alex

2007-07-01

We describe the design and performance of an electromechanical system for conducting multineuron recording experiments in alert non-human primates. The system is based on a simple design, consisting of a microdrive, control electronics, software, and a unique type of recording chamber. The microdrive consists of an aluminum frame, a set of eight linear actuators driven by computer-controlled miniature stepping motors, and two printed circuit boards (PCBs) that provide connectivity to the electrodes and the control electronics. The control circuitry is structured around an Atmel RISC-based microcontroller, which sends commands to as many as eight motor control cards, each capable of controlling eight motors. The microcontroller is programmed in C and uses serial communication to interface with a host computer. The graphical user interface for sending commands is written in C and runs on a conventional personal computer. The recording chamber is low in profile, mounts within a circular craniotomy, and incorporates a removable internal sleeve. A replaceable Sylastic membrane can be stretched across the bottom opening of the sleeve to provide a watertight seal between the cranial cavity and the external environment. This greatly reduces the susceptibility to infection, nearly eliminates the need for routine cleaning, and permits repeated introduction of electrodes into the brain at the same sites while maintaining the watertight seal. The system is reliable, easy to use, and has several advantages over other commercially available systems with similar capabilities.

A microcontroller-based three degree-of-freedom manipulator testbed. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Robert Michael, Jr.

1995-01-01

A wheeled exploratory vehicle is under construction at the Mars Mission Research Center at North Carolina State University. In order to serve as more than an inspection tool, this vehicle requires the ability to interact with its surroundings. A crane-type manipulator, as well as the necessary control hardware and software, has been developed for use as a sample gathering tool on this vehicle. The system is controlled by a network of four Motorola M68HC11 microcontrollers. Control hardware and software were developed in a modular fashion so that the system can be used to test future control algorithms and hardware. Actuators include three stepper motors and one solenoid. Sensors include three optical encoders and one cable tensiometer. The vehicle supervisor computer provides the manipulator system with the approximate coordinates of the target object. This system maps the workspace surrounding the given location by lowering the claw, along a set of evenly spaced vertical lines, until contact occurs. Based on this measured height information and prior knowledge of the target object size, the system determines if the object exists in the searched area. The system can find and retrieve a 1.25 in. diameter by 1.25 in. tall cylinder placed within the 47.5 sq in search area in less than 12 minutes. This manipulator hardware may be used for future control algorithm verification and serves as a prototype for other manipulator hardware.

Development of a mobile robot for the 1995 AUVS competition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Bradley O.; Ruthemeyer, Michael A.; Perdue, David; Hall, Ernest L.

1995-12-01

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have many potential applications in manufacturing, medicine, space and defense. The purpose of this paper is to describe exploratory research on the design of a modular autonomous mobile robot controller. The advantages of a modular system are related to portability and the fact that any vehicle can become autonomous with minimal modifications. A mobile robot test-bed has been constructed using a golf cart base. This cart has full speed control with guidance provided by a vision system and obstacle avoidance using ultrasonic sensors systems. The speed and steering control are supervised by a 486 computer through a 3-axis motion controller. The obstacle avoidance system is based on a micro-controller interfaced with six ultrasonic transducers. The is micro-controller independently handles all timing and distance calculations and sends a steering angle correction back to the computer via the serial line. This design yields a portable independent system, where even computer communication is not necessary. Vision guidance is accomplished with a CCD camera with a zoom lens. The data is collected through a commercial tracking device, communicating with the computer the X,Y coordinates of the lane marker. Testing of these systems yielded positive results by showing that at five mph the vehicle can follow a line and at the same time avoid obstacles. This design, in its modularity, creates a portable autonomous controller applicable for any mobile vehicle with only minor adaptations.

Design of aquaponics water monitoring system using Arduino microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murad, S. A. Z.; Harun, A.; Mohyar, S. N.; Sapawi, R.; Ten, S. Y.

2017-09-01

This paper describes the design of aquaponics water monitoring system using Arduino microcontroller. Arduino Development Environment (IDE) software is used to develop a program for the microcontroller to communicate with multiple sensors and other hardware. The circuit of pH sensor, temperature sensor, water sensor, servo, liquid crystal displays (LCD), peristaltic pump, solar and Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) are constructed and connected to the system. The system powered by a rechargeable battery using solar energy. When the results of pH, temperature and water sensor are out of range, a notification message will be sent to a mobile phone through GSM. If the pH of water is out of range, peristaltic pump is automatic on to maintain back the pH value of water. The water sensor is fixed in the siphon outlet water flow to detect water flow from grow bed to the fish tank. In addition, servo is used to auto feeding the fish for every 12 hours. Meanwhile, the LCD is indicated the pH, temperature, siphon outlet water flow and remaining time for the next feeding cycle. The pH and temperature of water are set in the ranges of 6 to 7 and 25 °C to 30 °C, respectively.

Programmable Ultrasonic Sensing System for Targeted Spraying in Orchards

PubMed Central

Stajnko, Denis; Berk, Peter; Lešnik, Mario; Jejčič, Viktor; Lakota, Miran; Štrancar, Andrej; Hočevar, Marko; Rakun, Jurij

2012-01-01

This research demonstrates the basic elements of a prototype automated orchard sprayer which delivers pesticide spray selectively with respect to the characteristics of the targets. The density of an apple tree canopy was detected by PROWAVE 400EP250 ultrasound sensors controlled by a Cypress PSOC CY8C29466 microcontroller. The ultrasound signal was processed with an embedded computer built around a LPC1343 microcontroller and fed in real time to electro-magnetic valves which open/close spraying nozzles in relation to the canopy structure. The analysis focuses on the detection of appropriate thresholds on 15 cm ultrasound bands, which correspond to maximal response to tree density, and this was selected for accurate spraying guidance. Evaluation of the system was performed in an apple orchard by detecting deposits of tartrazine dye (TD) on apple leaves. The employment of programmable microcontrollers and electro-magnetic valves decreased the amount of spray delivered by up to 48.15%. In contrast, the reduction of TD was only up to 37.7% at some positions within the tree crown and 65.1% in the gaps between trees. For all these reasons, this concept of precise orchard spraying can contribute to a reduction of costs and environmental pollution, while obtaining similar or even better leaf deposits. PMID:23202220

In-camera video-stream processing for bandwidth reduction in web inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jullien, Graham A.; Li, QiuPing; Hajimowlana, S. Hossain; Morvay, J.; Conflitti, D.; Roberts, James W.; Doody, Brian C.

1996-02-01

Automated machine vision systems are now widely used for industrial inspection tasks where video-stream data information is taken in by the camera and then sent out to the inspection system for future processing. In this paper we describe a prototype system for on-line programming of arbitrary real-time video data stream bandwidth reduction algorithms; the output of the camera only contains information that has to be further processed by a host computer. The processing system is built into a DALSA CCD camera and uses a microcontroller interface to download bit-stream data to a XILINXTM FPGA. The FPGA is directly connected to the video data-stream and outputs data to a low bandwidth output bus. The camera communicates to a host computer via an RS-232 link to the microcontroller. Static memory is used to both generate a FIFO interface for buffering defect burst data, and for off-line examination of defect detection data. In addition to providing arbitrary FPGA architectures, the internal program of the microcontroller can also be changed via the host computer and a ROM monitor. This paper describes a prototype system board, mounted inside a DALSA camera, and discusses some of the algorithms currently being implemented for web inspection applications.

Development of TGS2611 methane sensor and SHT11 humidity and temperature sensor for measuring greenhouse gas on peatlands in south kalimantan, indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugriwan, I.; Soesanto, O.

2017-05-01

The research was focused on development of data acquisition system to monitor the content of methane, relative humidity and temperature on peatlands in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Methane is one of greenhouse gases that emitted from peatlands; while humidity and temperature are important parameters of microclimate on peatlands. The content of methane, humidity and temperature are three parameters were monitored digitally, real time, continuously and automatically record by data acquisition systems that interfaced to the personal computer. The hardware of data acquisition system consists of power supply unit, TGS2611 methane gas sensor, SHT11 humidity and temperature sensors, voltage follower, ATMega8535 microcontroller, 16 × 2 LCD character and personal computer. ATMega8535 module is a device to manage all part in measuring instrument. The software which is responsible to take sensor data, calculate characteristic equation and send data to 16 × 2 LCD character are Basic Compiler. To interface between measuring instrument and personal computer is maintained by Delphi 7. The result of data acquisition showed on 16 × 2 LCD characters, PC monitor and database with developed by XAMPP. Methane, humidity, and temperature which release from peatlands are trapped by Closed-Chamber Measurement with dimension 60 × 50 × 40 cm3. TGS2611 methane gas sensor and SHT11 humidity and temperature sensor are calibrated to determine transfer function used to data communication between sensors and microcontroller and integrated into ATMega8535 Microcontroller. Calculation of RS and RL of TGS2611 methane gas sensor refer to data sheet and obtained respectively 1360 ohm and 905 ohm. The characteristic equation of TGS2611 satisfies equation VRL = 0.561 ln n - 2.2641 volt, with n is a various concentrations and VRL in volt. The microcontroller maintained the voltage signal than interfaced it to liquid crystal displays and personal computer (laptop) to display result of the measurement. The result of data acquisition saved on excels and database format.

From wheels to wings with evolutionary spiking circuits.

PubMed

Floreano, Dario; Zufferey, Jean-Christophe; Nicoud, Jean-Daniel

2005-01-01

We give an overview of the EPFL indoor flying project, whose goal is to evolve neural controllers for autonomous, adaptive, indoor micro-flyers. Indoor flight is still a challenge because it requires miniaturization, energy efficiency, and control of nonlinear flight dynamics. This ongoing project consists of developing a flying, vision-based micro-robot, a bio-inspired controller composed of adaptive spiking neurons directly mapped into digital microcontrollers, and a method to evolve such a neural controller without human intervention. This article describes the motivation and methodology used to reach our goal as well as the results of a number of preliminary experiments on vision-based wheeled and flying robots.

QRS peak detection for heart rate monitoring on Android smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pambudi Utomo, Trio; Nuryani, Nuryani; Darmanto

2017-11-01

In this study, Android smartphone is used for heart rate monitoring and displaying electrocardiogram (ECG) graph. Heart rate determination is based on QRS peak detection. Two methods are studied to detect the QRS complex peak; they are Peak Threshold and Peak Filter. The acquisition of ECG data is utilized by AD8232 module from Analog Devices, three electrodes, and Microcontroller Arduino UNO R3. To record the ECG data from a patient, three electrodes are attached to particular body’s surface of a patient. Patient’s heart activity which is recorded by AD8232 module is decoded by Arduino UNO R3 into analog data. Then, the analog data is converted into a voltage value (mV) and is processed to get the QRS complex peak. Heart rate value is calculated by Microcontroller Arduino UNO R3 uses the QRS complex peak. Voltage, heart rate, and the QRS complex peak are sent to Android smartphone by Bluetooth HC-05. ECG data is displayed as the graph by Android smartphone. To evaluate the performance of QRS complex peak detection method, three parameters are used; they are positive predictive, accuracy and sensitivity. Positive predictive, accuracy, and sensitivity of Peak Threshold method is 92.39%, 70.30%, 74.62% and for Peak Filter method are 98.38%, 82.47%, 83.61%, respectively.

Characterisation of a knee-joint energy harvester powering a wireless communication sensing node

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuang, Yang; Zhu, Meiling

2016-05-01

Human-based energy harvesters are attractive as sustainable replacements for batteries to power wearable or implantable devices and body sensor networks. In the work presented here, a knee-joint energy harvester (KEH) was introduced to power a customer-built wireless communication sensing node (WCSN). The KEH used a mechanical plucking technique to provide sufficient frequency up-conversion—from a few Hz to the resonant frequency of the KEH—so as to generate the high power required. It was actuated by a knee-joint simulator, which reproduced the knee-joint motion of human gaits at a walking frequency of 0.9 Hz. The energy generated was first stored in a reservoir capacitor and then released to the WCSN in a burst mode with the help of an energy aware interface. The WCSN was deployed with a three-axis accelerometer, a temperature sensor, and a light detector for data sensing. A Jennic microcontroller was utilised to collect and transmit the measured data to a base station placed at a distance of 4 m. The energy generation by the KEH and the energy distribution in the system was characterised in real time by an in-house-built set-up. The results showed that the KEH generated an average power output of 1.76 mW when powering the WCSN. After charging the reservoir capacitor for 28.4 s, the KEH can power the WCSN for a 46 ms period every 1.25 s. The results also clearly illustrated how the energy generated by the KEH was distributed in the system and highlighted the importance of using a high performance power management approach to improve the performance of the whole system.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahman, Nur Aira Abd, E-mail: nur-aira@nm.gov.my; Lombigit, Lojius; Abdullah, Nor Arymaswati

This paper presents the design of new digital radiation survey meter with LND7121 Geiger Muller tube detector and Atmega328P microcontroller. Development of the survey meter prototype is carried out on Arduino Uno platform. 16-bit Timer1 on the microcontroller is utilized as external pulse counter to produce count per second or CPS measurement. Conversion from CPS to dose rate technique is also performed by Arduino to display results in micro Sievert per hour (μSvhr{sup −1}). Conversion factor (CF) value for conversion of CPM to μSvhr{sup −1} determined from manufacturer data sheet is compared with CF obtained from calibration procedure. The surveymore » meter measurement results are found to be linear for dose rates below 3500 µSv/hr.« less

Developing Control System of Electrical Devices with Operational Expense Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sendari, Siti; Wahyu Herwanto, Heru; Rahmawati, Yuni; Mukti Putranto, Dendi; Fitri, Shofiana

2017-04-01

The purpose of this research is to develop a system that can monitor and record home electrical device’s electricity usage. This system has an ability to control electrical devices in distance and predict the operational expense. The system was developed using micro-controllers and WiFi modules connected to PC server. The communication between modules is arranged by server via WiFi. Beside of reading home electrical devices electricity usage, the unique point of the proposed-system is the ability of micro-controllers to send electricity data to server for recording the usage of electrical devices. The testing of this research was done by Black-box method to test the functionality of system. Testing system run well with 0% error.

Design of a telescope control system using an ARM microcontroller with embedded RTOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peñuela Pico, Cristian R.; Atara Montañez, Fabian A.; Cuervo, Juan C.; Gonzalez-Llorente, Jesus

2014-08-01

This work presents the design of a wireless control system that allows driving all the necessary instruments to control the orientation of an equatorial mounting telescope through a real time operative system (RTOS) that runs over ARM microcontroller. The control system is commanded through a user-interface which works under Android platform giving the user the option to control the tracking mode, right ascension, and declination. The system was successfully deployed and tested during a one-hour observation of the Moon. The frequency measured by the oscilloscope is 66.67 Hz which equals the sidereal speed. The telescope control systems allows the user to have a better precision when locating a star but also to cover long-duration tracking processes

Data collection system for a wide range of gas-discharge proportional neutron counters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oskomov, V.; Sedov, A.; Saduyev, N.; Kalikulov, O.; Kenzhina, I.; Tautaev, E.; Mukhamejanov, Y.; Dyachkov, V.; Utey, Sh

2017-12-01

This article describes the development and creation of a universal system of data collection to measure the intensity of pulsed signals. As a result of careful analysis of time conditions and operating conditions of software and hardware complex circuit solutions were selected that meet the required specifications: frequency response is optimized in order to obtain the maximum ratio signal/noise; methods and modes of operation of the microcontroller were worked out to implement the objectives of continuous measurement of signal amplitude at the output of amplifier and send the data to a computer; function of control of high voltage source was implemented. The preliminary program has been developed for microcontroller in its simplest form, which works on a particular algorithm.

Inverting the Pendulum Using Fuzzy Control (Center Director's Discretionary Fund (Project 93-02)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kissel, R. R.; Sutherland, W. T.

1997-01-01

A single pendulum was simulated in software and then built on a rotary base. A fuzzy controller was used to show its advantages as a nonlinear controller since bringing the pendulum inverted is extremely nonlinear. The controller was implemented in a Motorola 6811 microcontroller. A double pendulum was simulated and fuzzy control was used to hold it in a vertical position. The double pendulum was not built into hardware for lack of time. This project was for training and to show advantages of fuzzy control.

[An automatic system controlled by microcontroller for carotid sinus perfusion].

PubMed

Yi, X L; Wang, M Y; Fan, Z Z; He, R R

2001-08-01

To establish a new method for controlling automatically the carotid perfusion pressure. A cheap practical automatic perfusion unit based on AT89C2051 micro controller was designed. The unit, LDB-M perfusion pump and the carotid sinus of an animal constituted an automatic perfusion system. This system was able to provide ramp and stepwise updown perfusion pattern and has been used in the research of baroreflex. It can insure the precision and reproducibility of perfusion pressure curve, and improve the technical level in corresponding medical field.

Using SDI-12 with ST microelectronics MCU's

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saari, Alexandra; Hinzey, Shawn Adrian; Frigo, Janette Rose

2015-09-03

ST Microelectronics microcontrollers and processors are readily available, capable and economical processors. Unfortunately they lack a broad user base like similar offerings from Texas Instrument, Atmel, or Microchip. All of these devices could be useful in economical devices for remote sensing applications used with environmental sensing. With the increased need for environmental studies, and limited budgets, flexibility in hardware is very important. To that end, and in an effort to increase open support of ST devices, I am sharing my teams' experience in interfacing a common environmental sensor communication protocol (SDI-12) with ST devices.

A miniature Hopkinson experiment device based on multistage reluctance coil electromagnetic launch.

PubMed

Huang, Wenkai; Huan, Shi; Xiao, Ying

2017-09-01

A set of seven-stage reluctance miniaturized Hopkinson bar electromagnetic launcher has been developed in this paper. With the characteristics of high precision, small size, and little noise pollution, the device complies with the requirements of miniaturized Hopkinson bar for high strain rate. The launcher is a seven-stage accelerating device up to 65.5 m/s. A high performance microcontroller is used to control accurately the discharge of capacitor sets, by means of which the outlet velocity of the projectile can be controlled within a certain velocity range.

A miniature Hopkinson experiment device based on multistage reluctance coil electromagnetic launch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wenkai; Huan, Shi; Xiao, Ying

2017-09-01

A set of seven-stage reluctance miniaturized Hopkinson bar electromagnetic launcher has been developed in this paper. With the characteristics of high precision, small size, and little noise pollution, the device complies with the requirements of miniaturized Hopkinson bar for high strain rate. The launcher is a seven-stage accelerating device up to 65.5 m/s. A high performance microcontroller is used to control accurately the discharge of capacitor sets, by means of which the outlet velocity of the projectile can be controlled within a certain velocity range.

[Communication subsystem design of tele-screening system for diabetic retinopathy].

PubMed

Chen, Jian; Pan, Lin; Zheng, Shaohua; Yu, Lun

2013-12-01

A design scheme of a tele-screening system for diabetic retinopathy (DR) has been proposed, especially the communication subsystem. The scheme uses serial communication module consisting of ARM 7 microcontroller and relays to connect remote computer and fundus camera, and also uses C++ programming language based on MFC to design the communication software consisting of therapy and diagnostic information module, video/audio surveillance module and fundus camera control module. The scheme possesses universal property in some remote medical treatment systems which are similar to the system.

Urban search mobile platform modeling in hindered access conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barankova, I. I.; Mikhailova, U. V.; Kalugina, O. B.; Barankov, V. V.

2018-05-01

The article explores the control system simulation and the design of the experimental model of the rescue robot mobile platform. The functional interface, a structural functional diagram of the mobile platform control unit, and a functional control scheme for the mobile platform of secure robot were modeled. The task of design a mobile platform for urban searching in hindered access conditions is realized through the use of a mechanical basis with a chassis and crawler drive, a warning device, human heat sensors and a microcontroller based on Arduino platforms.

Distributed communications and control network for robotic mining

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schiffbauer, William H.

1989-01-01

The application of robotics to coal mining machines is one approach pursued to increase productivity while providing enhanced safety for the coal miner. Toward that end, a network composed of microcontrollers, computers, expert systems, real time operating systems, and a variety of program languages are being integrated that will act as the backbone for intelligent machine operation. Actual mining machines, including a few customized ones, have been given telerobotic semiautonomous capabilities by applying the described network. Control devices, intelligent sensors and computers onboard these machines are showing promise of achieving improved mining productivity and safety benefits. Current research using these machines involves navigation, multiple machine interaction, machine diagnostics, mineral detection, and graphical machine representation. Guidance sensors and systems employed include: sonar, laser rangers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, clinometers, and accelerometers. Information on the network of hardware/software and its implementation on mining machines are presented. Anticipated coal production operations using the network are discussed. A parallelism is also drawn between the direction of present day underground coal mining research to how the lunar soil (regolith) may be mined. A conceptual lunar mining operation that employs a distributed communication and control network is detailed.

Inexpensive DAQ based physics labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Benjamin; Clark, Shane

2015-11-01

Quality Data Acquisition (DAQ) based physics labs can be designed using microcontrollers and very low cost sensors with minimal lab equipment. A prototype device with several sensors and documentation for a number of DAQ-based labs is showcased. The device connects to a computer through Bluetooth and uses a simple interface to control the DAQ and display real time graphs, storing the data in .txt and .xls formats. A full device including a larger number of sensors combined with software interface and detailed documentation would provide a high quality physics lab education for minimal cost, for instance in high schools lacking lab equipment or students taking online classes. An entire semester’s lab course could be conducted using a single device with a manufacturing cost of under $20.

Performance of Control System Using Microcontroller for Sea Water Circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indriani, A.; Witanto, Y.; Pratama, A. S.; Supriyadi; Hendra; Tanjung, A.

2018-02-01

Now a day control system is very important rule for any process. Control system have been used in the automatic system. Automatic system can be seen in the industrial filed, mechanical field, electrical field and etc. In industrial and mechanical field, control system are used for control of motion component such as motor, conveyor, machine, control of process made of product, control of system and soon. In electrical field, control system can met for control of electrical system as equipment or part electrical like fan, rice cooker, refrigerator, air conditioner and etc. Control system are used for control of temperature and circulation gas, air and water. Control system of temperature and circulation of water also can be used for fisher community. Control system can be create by using microcontroller, PLC and other automatic program [1][2]. In this paper we will focus on the close loop system by using microcontroller Arduino Mega to control of temperature and circulation of sea water for fisher community. Performance control system is influenced by control equipment, sensor sensitivity, test condition, environment and others. The temperature sensor is measured using the DS18S20 and the sea water clarity sensor for circulation indicator with turbidity sensor. From the test results indicated that this control system can circulate sea water and maintain the temperature and clarity of seawater in a short time.

ARM-microcontroller based portable nitrite electrochemical analyzer using cytochrome c reductase biofunctionalized onto screen printed carbon electrode.

PubMed

Santharaman, Paulraj; Venkatesh, Krishna Arun; Vairamani, Kanagavel; Benjamin, Alby Robson; Sethy, Niroj K; Bhargava, Kalpana; Karunakaran, Chandran

2017-04-15

Nitrite (NO 2 - ) supplementation limits hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and activates the alternate NO pathway which may partially account for the nitrite-mediated cardioprotection. So, sensitive and selective biosensors with point-of-care devices need to be explored to detect the physiological nitrite level due to its important role in human pathophysiology. In this work, cytochrome c reductase (CcR) biofunctionalized self assembled monolayer (SAM) functionalized on gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposite onto the screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was investigated as a biosensor for the detection of nitrite based on its electrochemical and catalytic properties. CcR was covalently coupled with SAM layers on GNPs by using EDC and NHS. Direct electrochemical response of CcR biofunctionalized electrodes showed a couple of well-defined and nearly reversible cyclic voltammetric peaks at -0.34 and -0.45 vs. Ag/AgCl. Under optimal conditions, the biosensor could be used for the determination of NO 2 - with a linear range from 0.1-1600µm and a detection limit of 60nM with a sensitivity of 0.172µAµM -1 cm -2 . Further, we have designed and developed a novel and cost effective portable electrochemical analyzer for the measurement of NO 2 - in hypoxia induced H9c2 cardiac cells using ARM microcontroller. The results obtained here using the developed portable electrochemical nitrite analyzer were also compared with the standard cyclic voltammetry instrument and found in agreement with each other. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Digital Motion Control System for Large Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunter, T. R.; Wilson, R. W.; Kimberk, R.; Leiker, P. S.

2001-05-01

We have designed and programmed a digital motion control system for large telescopes, in particular, the 6-meter antennas of the Submillimeter Array on Mauna Kea. The system consists of a single robust, high-reliability microcontroller board which implements a two-axis velocity servo while monitoring and responding to critical safety parameters. Excellent tracking performance has been achieved with this system (0.3 arcsecond RMS at sidereal rate). The 24x24 centimeter four-layer printed circuit board contains a multitude of hardware devices: 40 digital inputs (for limit switches and fault indicators), 32 digital outputs (to enable/disable motor amplifiers and brakes), a quad 22-bit ADC (to read the motor tachometers), four 16-bit DACs (that provide torque signals to the motor amplifiers), a 32-LED status panel, a serial port to the LynxOS PowerPC antenna computer (RS422/460kbps), a serial port to the Palm Vx handpaddle (RS232/115kbps), and serial links to the low-resolution absolute encoders on the azimuth and elevation axes. Each section of the board employs independent ground planes and power supplies, with optical isolation on all I/O channels. The processor is an Intel 80C196KC 16-bit microcontroller running at 20MHz on an 8-bit bus. This processor executes an interrupt-driven, scheduler-based software system written in C and assembled into an EPROM with user-accessible variables stored in NVSRAM. Under normal operation, velocity update requests arrive at 100Hz from the position-loop servo process running independently on the antenna computer. A variety of telescope safety checks are performed at 279Hz including routine servicing of a 6 millisecond watchdog timer. Additional ADCs onboard the microcontroller monitor the winding temperature and current in the brushless three-phase drive motors. The PID servo gains can be dynamically changed in software. Calibration factors and software filters can be applied to the tachometer readings prior to the application of the servo gains in the torque computations. The Palm pilot handpaddle displays the complete status of the telescope and allows full local control of the drives in an intuitive, touchscreen user interface which is especially useful during reconfigurations of the antenna array.

Multipurpose microcontroller design for PUGAS 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, David M.; Deckard, Todd W.

1987-01-01

This paper will report on the past year's work on the development of the microcontroller design for the second Purdue University small self-contained payload. A first report on this effort was given at last year's conference by Ritter (1985). At that time, the project was still at the conceptual stage. Now a specific design has been set, prototyping has begun, and layout of the two-sided circuit board using CAD-techniques is nearing completion. A redesign of the overall concept of the circuit board was done to take advantage of the facilities available to students. An additional controller has been added to take large quantities of data concerning the shuttle environment during takeoff. The importance of setting a design time-line is discussed along with the electrical design considerations given to the controllers.

Arbitrary digital pulse sequence generator with delay-loop timing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hošák, Radim; Ježek, Miroslav

2018-04-01

We propose an idea of an electronic multi-channel arbitrary digital sequence generator with temporal granularity equal to two clock cycles. We implement the generator with 32 channels using a low-cost ARM microcontroller and demonstrate its capability to produce temporal delays ranging from tens of nanoseconds to hundreds of seconds, with 24 ns timing granularity and linear scaling of delay with respect to the number of delay loop iterations. The generator is optionally synchronized with an external clock source to provide 100 ps jitter and overall sequence repeatability within the whole temporal range. The generator is fully programmable and able to produce digital sequences of high complexity. The concept of the generator can be implemented using different microcontrollers and applied for controlling of various optical, atomic, and nuclear physics measurement setups.

Propulsion System with Pneumatic Artificial Muscles for Powering Ankle-Foot Orthosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veneva, Ivanka; Vanderborght, Bram; Lefeber, Dirk; Cherelle, Pierre

2013-12-01

The aim of this paper is to present the design of device for control of new propulsion system with pneumatic artificial muscles. The propulsion system can be used for ankle joint articulation, for assisting and rehabilitation in cases of injured ankle-foot complex, stroke patients or elderly with functional weakness. Proposed device for control is composed by microcontroller, generator for muscles contractions and sensor system. The microcontroller receives the control signals from sensors and modulates ankle joint flex- ion and extension during human motion. The local joint control with a PID (Proportional-Integral Derivative) position feedback directly calculates desired pressure levels and dictates the necessary contractions. The main goal is to achieve an adaptation of the system and provide the necessary joint torque using position control with feedback.

Development of a time-variable nuclear pulser for half life measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zahn, Guilherme S.; Domienikan, Claudio; Carvalhaes, Roberto P. M.

2013-05-06

In this work a time-variable pulser system with an exponentially-decaying pulse frequency is presented, which was developed using the low-cost, open-source Arduino microcontroler plataform. In this system, the microcontroller produces a TTL signal in the selected rate and a pulse shaper board adjusts it to be entered in an amplifier as a conventional pulser signal; both the decay constant and the initial pulse rate can be adjusted using a user-friendly control software, and the pulse amplitude can be adjusted using a potentiometer in the pulse shaper board. The pulser was tested using several combinations of initial pulse rate and decaymore » constant, and the results show that the system is stable and reliable, and is suitable to be used in half-life measurements.« less

A novel real-time data acquisition using an Excel spreadsheet in pendulum experiment tool with light-based timer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhitama, Egy; Fauzi, Ahmad

2018-05-01

In this study, a pendulum experimental tool with a light-based timer has been developed to measure the period of a simple pendulum. The obtained data was automatically recorded in an Excel spreadsheet. The intensity of monochromatic light, sensed by a 3DU5C phototransistor, dynamically changes as the pendulum swings. The changed intensity varies the resistance value and was processed by the microcontroller, ATMega328, to obtain a signal period as a function of time and brightness when the pendulum crosses the light. Through the experiment, using calculated average periods, the gravitational acceleration value has been accurately and precisely determined.

Long-range wireless mesh network for weather monitoring in unfriendly geographic conditions.

PubMed

Toledano-Ayala, Manuel; Herrera-Ruiz, Gilberto; Soto-Zarazúa, Genaro M; Rivas-Araiza, Edgar A; Bazán Trujillo, Rey D; Porrás-Trejo, Rafael E

2011-01-01

In this paper a long-range wireless mesh network system is presented. It consists of three main parts: Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), Base Terminal Units (BTUs) and a Central Server (CS). The RTUs share a wireless network transmitting in the industrial, scientific and medical applications ISM band, which reaches up to 64 Km in a single point-to-point communication. A BTU controls the traffic within the network and has as its main task interconnecting it to a Ku-band satellite link using an embedded microcontroller-based gateway. Collected data is stored in a CS and presented to the final user in a numerical and a graphical form in a web portal.

Wearable System for Acquisition and Monitoring of Biological Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piccinini, D. J.; Andino, N. B.; Ponce, S. D.; Roberti, MA; López, y. N.

2016-04-01

This paper presents a modular, wearable system for acquisition and wireless transmission of biological signals. Configurable slaves for different signals (such as ECG, EMG, inertial sensors, and temperature) based in the ADS1294 Medical Analog Front End are connected to a Master, based in the CC3200 microcontroller, both from Texas Instruments. The slaves are configurable according to the specific application, providing versatility to the wearable system. The battery consumption is reduced, through a couple of Li-ion batteries and the circuit has also a battery charger. A custom made box was designed and fabricated in a 3D printer, preserving the requirements of low cost, low weight and safety recommendations.

Distributed microscopic actuation analysis of deformable plate membrane mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yifan; Yue, Honghao; Deng, Zongquan; Tzou, Hornsen

2018-02-01

To further reduce the areal density of optical mirrors used in space telescopes and other space-borne optical structures, the concept of flexible membrane deformable mirror has been proposed. Because of their high flexibility, poor stiffness and low damping properties, environmental excitations such as orbital maneuver, path changing, and non-uniform heating may induce unexpected vibrations and thus reduce working performance. Therefore, active vibration control is essential for these membrane mirrors. In this paper, two different mirror models, i.e., the plate membrane model and pure membrane model, are studied respectively. In order to investigate the modal vibration characteristics of the mirror, a piezoelectric layer is fully laminated on its non-reflective side to serve as actuators. Dynamic equations of the mirror laminated with piezoelectric actuators are presented first. Then, the actuator induced modal control force is defined. When the actuator area shrinks to infinitesimal, the expressions of microscopic local modal control force and its two components are obtained to predict the spatial microscopic actuation behavior of the mirror. Different membrane pretension forces are also applied to reveal the tension effects on the actuation of the mirror. Analyses indicate that the spatial distribution of modal micro-control forces is exactly the same with the sensing signals distribution of the mirror, which provides crucial guidelines for optimal actuator placement of membrane deformable mirrors.

Advanced Wireless Sensor Nodes - MSFC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Varnavas, Kosta; Richeson, Jeff

2017-01-01

NASA field center Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, AL), has invested in advanced wireless sensor technology development. Developments for a wireless microcontroller back-end were primarily focused on the commercial Synapse Wireless family of devices. These devices have many useful features for NASA applications, good characteristics and the ability to be programmed Over-The-Air (OTA). The effort has focused on two widely used sensor types, mechanical strain gauges and thermal sensors. Mechanical strain gauges are used extensively in NASA structural testing and even on vehicle instrumentation systems. Additionally, thermal monitoring with many types of sensors is extensively used. These thermal sensors include thermocouples of all types, resistive temperature devices (RTDs), diodes and other thermal sensor types. The wireless thermal board will accommodate all of these types of sensor inputs to an analog front end. The analog front end on each of the sensors interfaces to the Synapse wireless microcontroller, based on the Atmel Atmega128 device. Once the analog sensor output data is digitized by the onboard analog to digital converter (A/D), the data is available for analysis, computation or transmission. Various hardware features allow custom embedded software to manage battery power to enhance battery life. This technology development fits nicely into using numerous additional sensor front ends, including some of the low-cost printed circuit board capacitive moisture content sensors currently being developed at Auburn University.

Arctic Glass: Innovative Consumer Technology in Support of Arctic Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruthkoski, T.

2015-12-01

The advancement of cyberinfrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska is drastically limited by location-specific conditions, including: unique geophysical features, remoteness of location, and harsh climate. The associated cost of maintaining this unique cyberinfrastructure also becomes a limiting factor. As a result, field experiments conducted in this region have historically been at a technological disadvantage. The Arctic Glass project explored a variety of scenarios where innovative consumer-grade technology was leveraged as a lightweight, rapidly deployable, sustainable, alternatives to traditional large-scale Arctic cyberinfrastructure installations. Google Glass, cloud computing services, Internet of Things (IoT) microcontrollers, miniature LIDAR, co2 sensors designed for HVAC systems, and portable network kits are several of the components field-tested at the Toolik Field Station as part of this project. Region-specific software was also developed, including a multi featured, voice controlled Google Glass application named "Arctic Glass". Additionally, real-time sensor monitoring and remote control capability was evaluated through the deployment of a small cluster of microcontroller devices. Network robustness was analyzed as the devices delivered streams of abiotic data to a web-based dashboard monitoring service in near real time. The same data was also uploaded synchronously by the devices to Amazon Web Services. A detailed overview of solutions deployed during the 2015 field season, results from experiments utilizing consumer sensors, and potential roles consumer technology could play in support of Arctic science will be discussed.

IMAPS Device Packaging Conference 2017 - Engineered Micro Systems & Devices Track

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Varnavas, Kosta

2017-01-01

NASA field center Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, AL), has invested in advanced wireless sensor technology development. Developments for a wireless microcontroller back-end were primarily focused on the commercial Synapse Wireless family of devices. These devices have many useful features for NASA applications, good characteristics and the ability to be programmed Over-The-Air (OTA). The effort has focused on two widely used sensor types, mechanical strain gauges and thermal sensors. Mechanical strain gauges are used extensively in NASA structural testing and even on vehicle instrumentation systems. Additionally, thermal monitoring with many types of sensors is extensively used. These thermal sensors include thermocouples of all types, resistive temperature devices (RTDs), diodes and other thermal sensor types. The wireless thermal board will accommodate all of these types of sensor inputs to an analog front end. The analog front end on each of the sensors interfaces to the Synapse wireless microcontroller, based on the Atmel Atmega128 device. Once the analog sensor output data is digitized by the onboard analog to digital converter (A/D), the data is available for analysis, computation or transmission. Various hardware features allow custom embedded software to manage battery power to enhance battery life. This technology development fits nicely into using numerous additional sensor front ends, including some of the low-cost printed circuit board capacitive moisture content sensors currently being developed at Auburn University.

Closed loop adaptive control of spectrum-producing step using neural networks

DOEpatents

Fu, Chi Yung

1998-01-01

Characteristics of the plasma in a plasma-based manufacturing process step are monitored directly and in real time by observing the spectrum which it produces. An artificial neural network analyzes the plasma spectrum and generates control signals to control one or more of the process input parameters in response to any deviation of the spectrum beyond a narrow range. In an embodiment, a plasma reaction chamber forms a plasma in response to input parameters such as gas flow, pressure and power. The chamber includes a window through which the electromagnetic spectrum produced by a plasma in the chamber, just above the subject surface, may be viewed. The spectrum is conducted to an optical spectrometer which measures the intensity of the incoming optical spectrum at different wavelengths. The output of optical spectrometer is provided to an analyzer which produces a plurality of error signals, each indicating whether a respective one of the input parameters to the chamber is to be increased or decreased. The microcontroller provides signals to control respective controls, but these lines are intercepted and first added to the error signals, before being provided to the controls for the chamber. The analyzer can include a neural network and an optional spectrum preprocessor to reduce background noise, as well as a comparator which compares the parameter values predicted by the neural network with a set of desired values provided by the microcontroller.

Closed loop adaptive control of spectrum-producing step using neural networks

DOEpatents

Fu, C.Y.

1998-11-24

Characteristics of the plasma in a plasma-based manufacturing process step are monitored directly and in real time by observing the spectrum which it produces. An artificial neural network analyzes the plasma spectrum and generates control signals to control one or more of the process input parameters in response to any deviation of the spectrum beyond a narrow range. In an embodiment, a plasma reaction chamber forms a plasma in response to input parameters such as gas flow, pressure and power. The chamber includes a window through which the electromagnetic spectrum produced by a plasma in the chamber, just above the subject surface, may be viewed. The spectrum is conducted to an optical spectrometer which measures the intensity of the incoming optical spectrum at different wavelengths. The output of optical spectrometer is provided to an analyzer which produces a plurality of error signals, each indicating whether a respective one of the input parameters to the chamber is to be increased or decreased. The microcontroller provides signals to control respective controls, but these lines are intercepted and first added to the error signals, before being provided to the controls for the chamber. The analyzer can include a neural network and an optional spectrum preprocessor to reduce background noise, as well as a comparator which compares the parameter values predicted by the neural network with a set of desired values provided by the microcontroller. 7 figs.

The Drifter Platform for Measurements in Small Rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruger, A.; Niemeier, J. J.; Ceynar, D. L.

2011-12-01

Researchers at The University of Iowa have been developing a small, inexpensive floating sensor platform to enable a variety of measurements in small rivers. The platform, dubbed "drifters" consists of a PVC housing and small inflatable rubber tube, data collection electronics, and several sensors. Upon release at strategic locations and times in a river network, drifters interrogate their GPS modules for position, time, and velocity. Researchers then collect the drifters and download and analyze position and velocity data. While our primary interest is to observe river network surface water flows, drifters have the broader application of serving as instrumentation platforms for other sensors such a temperature and turbidity. The drifters are structured as follows. A temperature-compensated MEMS clock provides accurate time information. A GPS disciplines this clock and provides georeference information. A low-power microcontroller orchestrates the data collection on the drifter. The standard sensor configuration of the drifter incorporates the GPS, air- and water temperature sensors, a water turbidity sensor, and an accelerometer. The microcontroller stores the collected data on a high-capacity, non-volatile Flash memory card. Each drifter has a bar code sticker, a small RFID tag, and a unique electronic ID embedded in the electronics. These allow us to manage a fleet of drifters and the data they collect. Each drifter has contact information in case a drifter is lost, and an inexpensive short-range radio and a beeper. These allow for determining the locations of the drifters at the conclusion of an experiment as follows. The microcontroller periodically turns on the receiver and listens for the instruction to turn on the beeper. The beeper, when activated, generates a piercing sound that helps operators locate the drifter. The microcontroller also blinks a super bright LED. Two AA-size alkaline batteries typically power the system. The maximum data collection period is dependent on the number of sensors a user activates, the type of battery utilized (alkaline, lithium, NiMH, etc.), the sample rate, and ranges from 12-72 hours. We have collected several data sets in Iowa.

netPICOMAG: a low-cost turn-key magnetometer for aurora detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schofield, I.; Connors, M.

2008-12-01

Previous work on development of a compact, low-cost, fluxgate magnetometer, dubbed PICOMAG, yielded a 1-nanotesla resolution, 1-second cadence instrument, suitable for research or teaching solar/terrestrial physics. With a low-cost magnetic instrument and the wider availability of Internet connectivity in the auroral zone (of Canada for example), the potential exists to fill gaps in spatial coverage that still plague auroral geomagnetic research. Thus, the ability to widely distribute accurate, low cost magnetometers was the motivating factor to develop PICOMAG. NetPICOMAG was developed in the effort to refine PICOMAG into a turn-key magnetometer data collection system that is self contained, simple to install and requires zero-maintenance. Once the unit is placed in the ground and connected to the Internet, it locks onto a GPS time signal and begins to transmit magnetic field measurements back to a central data repository, where it is archived, processed and plotted for public viewing via the World Wide Web. It is envisaged (among many other uses) that science teachers can use real scientific data provided by netPICOMAG in teaching the interactions between the sun and the Earth's magnetic field, manifesting itself in the phenomenon known as the northern lights. As such, netPICOMAG can be aptly described and is being promoted as an aurora detector. The netPICOMAG unit is based around three spatially oriented Speake and Company FGM-3/3h series magnetic field sensors that each emit a pulse stream whose frequency is related to the magnetic field along these three axes, and is nearly linearly related to magnetic field perturbations relevant to auroral studies. The individual pulse frequencies are measured by two PIC18F252 programmable microcontrollers. The measurements are combined with a GPS timestamp from a Garmin GPS 18 LVC GPS receiver, and transmitted as plain text as UDP datagrams by a Rabbit Semiconductor RCM4010 8-bit, networked microcontroller module. The self-contained magnetometer unit is encased in a weatherproof 4-inch diameter 3-foot long ABS pipe. It receives power and network over a category 5e cable using a Power-over-Ethernet transmitter/receiver units, permitting it to be stationed as far as 300 feet away from a network access port.

a Continuous Health Monitoring Guided Wave Fmd System for Retrofit to Existing Offshore Oilrigs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mijarez, R.; Solis, L.; Martinez, F.

2010-02-01

An automatic health monitoring guided wave flood member detection (FMD) system, for retrofit to existing offshore oilrigs is presented. The system employs a microcontroller piezoelectric (PZT) based transmitter and a receiver instrumentation package composed of a PZT 40 kHz ultrasound transducer and a digital signal processor (DSP) module connected to a PC via USB for monitoring purposes. The transmitter and receiver were attached, non-intrusively, to the external wall of a steel tube; 1 m×27 cm×2 mm. Experiments performed in the laboratory have successfully identified automatically flooded tubes.

PWM Switching Strategy for Torque Ripple Minimization in BLDC Motor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salah, Wael A.; Ishak, Dahaman; Hammadi, Khaleel J.

2011-05-01

This paper describes a new PWM switching strategy to minimize the torque ripples in BLDC motor which is based on sensored rotor position control. The scheme has been implemented using a PIC microcontroller to generate a modified Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals for driving power inverter bridge. The modified PWM signals are successfully applied to the next up-coming phase current such that its current rise is slightly delayed during the commutation instant. Experimental results show that the current waveforms of the modified PWM are smoother than that in conventional PWM technique. Hence, the output torque exhibits lower ripple contents.

Application of neural network for real-time measurement of electrical resistivity in cold crucible

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Votava, Pavel; Poznyak, Igor

2017-08-01

The article describes use of an Induction furnace with cold crucible as a tool for real-time measurement of a melted material electrical resistivity. The measurement is based on an inverse problem solution of a 2D mathematical model, possibly implementable in a microcontroller or a FPGA in a form of a neural network. The 2D mathematical model results has been provided as a training set for the neural network. At the end, the implementation results are discussed together with uncertainty of measurement, which is done by the neural network implementation itself.

Autonomous Mobile Platform for Research in Cooperative Robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daemi, Ali; Pena, Edward; Ferguson, Paul

1998-01-01

This paper describes the design and development of a platform for research in cooperative mobile robotics. The structure and mechanics of the vehicles are based on R/C cars. The vehicle is rendered mobile by a DC motor and servo motor. The perception of the robot's environment is achieved using IR sensors and a central vision system. A laptop computer processes images from a CCD camera located above the testing area to determine the position of objects in sight. This information is sent to each robot via RF modem. Each robot is operated by a Motorola 68HC11E micro-controller, and all actions of the robots are realized through the connections of IR sensors, modem, and motors. The intelligent behavior of each robot is based on a hierarchical fuzzy-rule based approach.

Screw-actuated displacement micropumps for thermoplastic microfluidics.

PubMed

Han, J Y; Rahmanian, O D; Kendall, E L; Fleming, N; DeVoe, D L

2016-10-05

The fabrication of on-chip displacement pumps integrated into thermoplastic chips is explored as a simple and low cost method for achieving precise and programmable flow control for disposable microfluidic systems. The displacement pumps consist of stainless steel screws inserted into threaded ports machined into a thermoplastic substrate which also serve as on-chip reagent storage reservoirs. Three different methods for pump sealing are investigated to enable high pressure flows without leakage, and software-defined control of multiple pumps is demonstrated in a self-contained platform using a compact and self-contained microcontroller for operation. Using this system, flow rates ranging from 0.5-40 μl min -1 are demonstrated. The pumps are combined with on-chip burst valves to fully seal multiple reagents into fabricated chips while providing on-demand fluid distribution in a downstream microfluidic network, and demonstrated for the generation of size-tunable water-in-oil emulsions.

Design and implementation of a prototype micropositioning and fusion of optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vega, Fabio; Torres, Cesar; Mattos, Lorenzo

2011-09-01

We developed an automated system in micro and optical fiber fusion, using stepper motors of 3.6 ° (1.8 ° Medium step) with a threaded system for displacements in the order of microns, a LM016 LCD for User message management, a PIC16F877A microcontroller to control the prototype. We also used internal modules: TMR0, EEPROM, PWM (pulse width modulation) control using a pulse opto-cupped the discharge circuit high voltage (20 to 35 kilovolt transformer for FLYBACK fusion) The USART (Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) for serial interface with the PC. The software platform developed under Visual Basic 6.0, which lets you manipulate the prototype from the PC. The entire program is optimized for microcontroller interrupt, macro-functions and is written in MPLAB 7.31. The prototype is now finished.

A Universal Portable Appliance for Stellarator W7-X Power Supply Controlling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Wei-hua; Wolfgang, Foerster; Guenter, Mueller

2001-06-01

In the project Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), the popular fieldbus Profibus has been determined as a uniform connection between the central control system and all the subordinate systems. A universal embedded control system has been developed for W7-X power supply controlling. Siemens 80C167CR microcontroller is used as the central control unit of the system. With a user-defined printed circuit board (PCB) several control buses, i.e., Profibus, CAN, IEEE 488, RS485 and RS 232 have been connected to the microcontroller. The corresponding hardware interfaces for the control buses have been designed. A graphic liquid crystal display(LCD) and a user-defined keyboard are used as user interface. The control software will be developed with a C-like language, i.e., C166 for the controller.

Backside imaging of a microcontroller with common-path digital holography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkeldey, Markus; Göring, Lena; Schellenberg, Falk; Gerhardt, Nils C.; Hofmann, Martin

2017-03-01

The investigation of integrated circuits (ICs), such as microcontrollers (MCUs) and system on a chip (SoCs) devices is a topic with growing interests. The need for fast and non-destructive imaging methods is given by the increasing importance of hardware Trojans, reverse engineering and further security related analysis of integrated cryptographic devices. In the field of side-channel attacks, for instance, the precise spot for laser fault attacks is important and could be determined by using modern high resolution microscopy methods. Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is a promising technique to achieve high resolution phase images of surface structures. These phase images provide information about the change of the refractive index in the media and the topography. For enabling a high phase stability, we use the common-path geometry to create the interference pattern. The interference pattern, or hologram, is captured with a water cooled sCMOS camera. This provides a fast readout while maintaining a low level of noise. A challenge for these types of holograms is the interference of the reflected waves from the different interfaces inside the media. To distinguish between the phase signals from the buried layer and the surface reflection we use specific numeric filters. For demonstrating the performance of our setup we show results with devices under test (DUT), using a 1064 nm laser diode as light source. The DUTs are modern microcontrollers thinned to different levels of thickness of the Si-substrate. The effect of the numeric filter compared to unfiltered images is analyzed.

Multimodal backside imaging of a microcontroller using confocal laser scanning and optical-beam-induced current imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkeldey, Markus; Göring, Lena; Schellenberg, Falk; Brenner, Carsten; Gerhardt, Nils C.; Hofmann, Martin

2017-02-01

Microscopy imaging with a single technology is usually restricted to a single contrast mechanism. Multimodal imaging is a promising technique to improve the structural information that could be obtained about a device under test (DUT). Due to the different contrast mechanisms of laser scanning microscopy (LSM), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and optical beam induced current microscopy (OBICM), a combination could improve the detection of structures in integrated circuits (ICs) and helps to reveal their layout. While OBIC imaging is sensitive to the changes between differently doped areas and to semiconductor-metal transitions, CLSM imaging is mostly sensitive to changes in absorption and reflection. In this work we present the implementation of OBIC imaging into a CLSM. We show first results using industry standard Atmel microcontrollers (MCUs) with a feature size of about 250nm as DUTs. Analyzing these types of microcontrollers helps to improve in the field of side-channel attacks to find hardware Trojans, possible spots for laser fault attacks and for reverse engineering. For the experimental results the DUT is placed on a custom circuit board that allows us to measure the current while imaging it in our in-house built stage scanning microscope using a near infrared (NIR) laser diode as light source. The DUT is thinned and polished, allowing backside imaging through the Si-substrate. We demonstrate the possibilities using this optical setup by evaluating OBIC, LSM and CLSM images above and below the threshold of the laser source.

Equipping an automated wheelchair with an infrared encoder wheel odometer - biomed 2011.

PubMed

Schultz, D; Allen, M; Barrett, S F

2011-01-01

Assistive technology is a rapidly growing field that provides a degree of freedom and self-sufficiency to people of limited mobility. Smart wheelchairs are a subset of assistive technology, and are designed to be operated by people who are unable to use a traditional control system. Instead, smart wheelchairs are equipped with a combination of automated functionality and steering mechanisms specialized to meet a person’s individual needs. One feature common to the automated capabilities of smart wheelchairs is the tracking system. The wheelchair’s microcontroller needs to know how far the chair has travelled, its speed, and the rotational direction of its wheels in order to successfully navigate through an environment. The purpose of this research was to develop an odometer to track the motion of a motorized wheelchair. Due to federal regulations that prohibit changing the structure or internal mechanics of a medical device, the odometer had to be designed as a separate, removable part. The final design for the odometer consisted of two infrared sensors that measure edge transitions of a segmented black and white encoder wheel. The sensor output was then run through two comparator op amps and a high pass filter to produce a clean, crisp square wave signal output. The signal was then fed to an Atmel ATmega164P microcontroller. The microcontroller was programmed to compare the sensor signal with its internal clock, sense edge transitions, and thereby extrapolate the speed, travelled distance, and rotational direction of the wheelchair.

iSANLA: intelligent sensor and actuator network for life science applications.

PubMed

Schloesser, Mario; Schnitzer, Andreas; Ying, Hong; Silex, Carmen; Schiek, Michael

2008-01-01

In the fields of neurological rehabilitation and neurophysiological research there is a strong need for miniaturized, multi channel, battery driven, wireless networking DAQ systems enabling real-time digital signal processing and feedback experiments. For the scientific investigation on the passive auditory based 3D-orientation of Barn Owls and the scientific research on vegetative locomotor coordination of Parkinson's disease patients during rehabilitation we developed our 'intelligent Sensor and Actuator Network for Life science Application' (iSANLA) system. Implemented on the ultra low power microcontroller MSP430 sample rates up to 96 kHz have been realised for single channel DAQ. The system includes lossless local data storage up to 4 GB. With its outer dimensions of 20mm per rim and less than 15 g of weight including the Lithium-Ion battery our modular designed sensor node is thoroughly capable of up to eight channel recordings with 8 kHz sample rate each and provides sufficient computational power for digital signal processing ready to start our first mobile experiments. For wireless mobility a compact communication protocol based on the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standard with net data rates up to 141 kbit/s has been implemented. To merge the lossless acquired data of the distributed iNODEs a time synchronization protocol has been developed preserving causality. Hence the necessary time synchronous start of the data acquisition inside a network of multiple sensors with a precision better than the highest sample rate has been realized.

Respiratory monitoring system based on fiber optic macro bending

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purnamaningsih, Retno Wigajatri; Widyakinanti, Astari; Dhia, Arika; Gumelar, Muhammad Raditya; Widianto, Arif; Randy, Muhammad; Soedibyo, Harry

2018-02-01

We proposed a respiratory monitoring system for living activities in human body based on fiber optic macro-bending for laboratory scale. The respiration sensor consists of a single-mode optical fiber and operating on a wavelength at around 1550 nm. The fiber optic was integrated into an elastic fabric placed on the chest and stomach of the monitored human subject. Deformations of the flexible textile involving deformations of the fiber optic bending curvature, which was proportional to the chest and stomach expansion. The deformation of the fiber was detected using photodetector and processed using microcontroller PIC18F14K50. The results showed that this system able to display various respiration pattern and rate for sleeping, and after walking and running activities in real time.

Position control of an electro-pneumatic system based on PWM technique and FLC.

PubMed

Najjari, Behrouz; Barakati, S Masoud; Mohammadi, Ali; Futohi, Muhammad J; Bostanian, Muhammad

2014-03-01

In this paper, modeling and PWM based control of an electro-pneumatic system, including the four 2-2 valves and a double acting cylinder are studied. Dynamic nonlinear behavior of the system, containing fast switching solenoid valves and a pneumatic cylinder, as well as electrical, magnetic, mechanical, and fluid subsystems are modeled. A DC-DC power converter is employed to improve solenoid valve performance and suppress system delay. Among different position control methods, a proportional integrator derivative (PID) controller and fuzzy logic controller (FLC) are evaluated. An experimental setup, using an AVR microcontroller is implemented. Simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategies. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Tracking Resonance Frequency Method for Photoacoustic Measurements Based on the Phase Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suchenek, Mariusz

2017-04-01

One of the major issues in the use of the resonant photoacoustic cell is the resonance frequency of the cell. The frequency is not stable, and its changes depend mostly on temperature and gas mixture. This paper presents a new method for tracking resonance frequency, where both the amplitude and phase are calculated from the input samples. The stimulating frequency can be adjusted to the resonance frequency of the cell based on the phase. This method was implemented using a digital measurement system with an analog to digital converter, field programmable gate array (FPGA) and a microcontroller. The resonance frequency was changed by the injection of carbon dioxide into the cell. A theoretical description and experimental results are also presented.

PM2.5 monitoring system based on ZigBee wireless sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Lukai; Li, Xiangshun; Gu, Weiying

2017-06-01

In the view of the haze problem, aiming at improving the deficiency of the traditional PM2.5 monitoring methods, such as the insufficient real-time monitoring, limited transmission distance, high cost and the difficulty to maintain, the atmosphere PM2.5 monitoring system based on ZigBee technology is designed. The system combines the advantages of ZigBee’s low cost, low power consumption, high reliability and GPRS/Internet’s capability of remote transmission of data. Furthermore, it adopts TI’s Z-Stack protocol stack, and selects CC2530 chip and TI’s MSP430 microcontroller as the core, which establishes the air pollution monitoring network that is helpful for the early prediction of major air pollution disasters.

Design and realization of an autonomous solar system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaga, A.; Diouri, O.; Es-sbai, N.; Errahimi, F.

2017-03-01

The aim of this work is the design and realization of an autonomous solar system, with MPPT control, a regulator charge/discharge of batteries, an H-bridge multi-level inverter with acquisition system and supervising based on a microcontroller. The proposed approach is based on developing a software platform in the LabVIEW environment which gives the system a flexible structure for controlling, monitoring and supervising the whole system in real time while providing power maximization and best quality of energy conversion from DC to AC power. The reliability of the proposed solar system is validated by the simulation results on PowerSim and experimental results achieved with a solar panel, a Lead acid battery, solar regulator and an H-bridge cascaded topology of single-phase inverter.

Laser-Beam-Alignment Controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krasowski, M. J.; Dickens, D. E.

1995-01-01

In laser-beam-alignment controller, images from video camera compared to reference patterns by fuzzy-logic pattern comparator. Results processed by fuzzy-logic microcontroller, which sends control signals to motor driver adjusting lens and pinhole in spatial filter.

Mobile based Appliances switching using Bluetooth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Sureshchandra J., Dr; Desai, Kalp; Gaikawad, Deepak; Pawar, Vijay N.; Gangal, Devendranath R.

2008-04-01

How many times do you have to get up from your desk to switch on your Air conditioner or fan when you are completely into your table work? How many times do you feel lazy to get off your comfort to switch on/off your home appliances in different rooms? How much energy do you lose in a day for operating your appliances? The solution is either a large amount of manual work—or the idea that is presented over here: APP-CON (APP-CON stands for appliances control). Here the ordinary cell phone with bluetooth capability acts as remote designed in such a manner that it acts as a helping hand to human by reducing its manual work and therefore saving human energy. The cell phone control of APP-CON units lets you access many of your home appliances situated in different rooms by using just a single remote from distance. Electronics hobbyists would love to make such a remote control themselves. But they find it difficult due to complex circuitry rather than the high cost because of using a number of frequency counting techniques and decade counters. The APP-CON system given here overcomes the aforesaid problems by using a single microcontroller and moreover a simple program or software for bluetooth enabled cell phone and employing simple coding and decoding of remote signals. Here the mobile based remote control is used to operate a number of home appliances basically consists of Bluetooth technology. The unit consists of a transmitter and a receiver consisting of a microcontroller. The importance of bluetooth technology is that the signal to be transmitted from transmitter to the receiver is done without requiring line of sight.

Driving platform for OLED lighting investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogel, Uwe; Elgner, Andreas; Kreye, Daniel; Amelung, Jörg; Scholles, Michael

2006-08-01

OLED technology may be excellently suitable for lighting applications by combining high efficiency, cost effective manufacturing and the use of low cost materials. Certain issues remain to be solved so far, including OLED brightness, color, lifetime, large area uniformity and encapsulation. Another aspect, that might be capable in addressing some of the mentioned issues, is OLED lighting electrical driving. We report on the design of a driving platform for OLED lighting test panels or substrates. It is intended for being a test environment for lighting substrates as well as demonstration/presentation environment. It is based on a 128-channel passive-matrix driver/controller ASIC OC2. Its key component is an MSP430-compatible 16-bit micro-controller core including embedded Flash memory (program), EEPROM (parameter), and RAM (data memory). A significant feature of the device is an electronic approach for improving the lifetime/uniformity behavior of connected OLED. The embedded micro-controller is the key to the high versatility of OC2, since by firmware modification it can be adapted to various applications and conditions. Here its application for an OLED lighting driving platform is presented. Major features of this platform are PC-control mode (via USB interface), stand-alone mode (no external control necessary, just power supply), on-board OLED panel parameter storage, flat geometry of OLED lighting panel carrier (board), AC and DC driving regimes, adjustable reverse voltage, dedicated user SW (PC/Windows-based), sub-tile patterning and single sub-tile control, combination of multiple channels for increasing driving current. This publication contains results of the project "High Brightness OLEDs for ICT & Next Generation Lighting Applications" (OLLA), funded by the European Commission.

Implementation of the RS232 communication trainer using computers and the ATMEGA microcontroller for interface engineering Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amelia, Afritha; Julham; Viyata Sundawa, Bakti; Pardede, Morlan; Sutrisno, Wiwinta; Rusdi, Muhammad

2017-09-01

RS232 of serial communication is the communication system in the computer and microcontroller. This communication was studied in Department of Electrical Engineering and Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics Department at Politeknik Negeri Medan. Recently, an application of simulation was installed on the computer which used for teaching and learning process. The drawback of this system is not useful for communication method between learner and trainer. Therefore, this study was created method of 10 stage to which divided into 7 stages and 3 major phases. It can be namely the analysis of potential problems and data collection, trainer design, and empirical testing and revision. After that, the trainer and module were tested in order to get feedback from the learner. The result showed that 70.10% of feedback which wide reasonable from the learner of questionnaire.

Design and realization of sort manipulator of crystal-angle sort machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ming-shun; Chen, Shu-ping; Guan, Shou-ping; Zhang, Yao-wei

2005-12-01

It is a current tendency of development in automation technology to replace manpower with manipulators in working places where dangerous, harmful, heavy or repetitive work is involved. The sort manipulator is installed in a crystal-angle sort machine to take the place of manpower, and engaged in unloading and sorting work. It is the outcome of combing together mechanism, electric transmission, and pneumatic element and micro-controller control. The step motor makes the sort manipulator operate precisely. The pneumatic elements make the sort manipulator be cleverer. Micro-controller's software bestows some simple artificial intelligence on the sort manipulator, so that it can precisely repeat its unloading and sorting work. The combination of manipulator's zero position and step motor counting control puts an end to accumulating error in long time operation. A sort manipulator's design in the practice engineering has been proved to be correct and reliable.

[3D-TV health assessment system by the multi-modal physiological signals].

PubMed

Li, Zhongqiang; Xing, Lidong; Qian, Zhiyu; Wang, Xiao; Yu, Defei; Liu, Baoyu; Jin, Shuai

2014-03-01

In order to meet the requirements of the multi-physiological signal measurement of the 3D-TV health assessment, try to find the suitable biological acquisition chips and design the hardware system which can detect different physiological signals in real time. The systems mainly uses ARM11/S3C6410 microcontroller to control the EEG/EOG acquisition chip RHA2116 and the ECG acquisition chip ADS1298, and then the microcontroller transfer the data collected by the chips to the PC software by the USB port which can display and save the experimental data in real time, then use the Matlab software for further processing of the data, finally make a final health assessment. In the meantime, for the different varieties in the different brain regions of watching 3D-TV, developed the special brain electrode placement and the experimental data processing methods, then effectively disposed the multi-signal data in the multilevel.

Human grasp assist device and method of use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linn, Douglas Martin (Inventor); Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor); Diftler, Myron A. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A grasp assist device includes a glove portion having phalange rings, contact sensors for measuring a grasping force applied by an operator wearing the glove portion, and a tendon drive system (TDS). The device has flexible tendons connected to the phalange rings for moving the rings in response to feedback signals from the sensors. The TDS is connected to each of the tendons, and applies an augmenting tensile force thereto via a microcontroller adapted for determining the augmenting tensile force as a function of the grasping force. A method of augmenting a grasping force of an operator includes measuring the grasping force using the sensors, encoding the grasping force as the feedback signals, and calculating the augmenting tensile force as a function of the feedback signals using the microcontroller. The method includes energizing at least one actuator of a tendon drive system (TDS) to thereby apply the augmenting tensile force.

A wireless breathing-training support system for kinesitherapy.

PubMed

Tawa, Hiroki; Yonezawa, Yoshiharu; Maki, Hiromichi; Ogawa, Hidekuni; Ninomiya, Ishio; Sada, Kouji; Hamada, Shingo; Caldwell, W Morton

2009-01-01

We have developed a new wireless breathing-training support system for kinesitherapy. The system consists of an optical sensor, an accelerometer, a microcontroller, a Bluetooth module and a laptop computer. The optical sensor, which is attached to the patient's chest, measures chest circumference. The low frequency components of circumference are mainly generated by breathing. The optical sensor outputs the circumference as serial digital data. The accelerometer measures the dynamic acceleration force produced by exercise, such as walking. The microcontroller sequentially samples this force. The acceleration force and chest circumference are sent sequentially via Bluetooth to a physical therapist's laptop computer, which receives and stores the data. The computer simultaneously displays these data so that the physical therapist can monitor the patient's breathing and acceleration waveforms and give instructions to the patient in real time during exercise. Moreover, the system enables a quantitative training evaluation and calculation the volume of air inspired and expired by the lungs.

Comparing Geophysical Methods for Determining the Thickness of Arctic Sea Ice: Is There a Correlation Between Thickness and Surface Temperature?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, R.; Bowman, T.; Eagle, J. L.; Fisher, L.; Mankowski, K.; McGrady, N.; Schrecongost, N.; Voll, H.; Zulfiqar, A.; Herman, R. B.

2016-12-01

Several small geophysical surveys were conducted on the Chukchi Sea ice just offshore from the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory near Barrow, Alaska, in March, 2016. The goal was to investigate a possible correlation between the surface temperature and the thickness of the sea ice, as well as to test a potential new method for more accurately determining ice thickness. Surveys were conducted using a capacitively coupled resistivity array, a custom built thermal sensor array sled, ground penetrating radar (GPR), and an ice drill. The thermal sensor array was based on an Arduino microcontroller. It used an infrared (IR) sensor to determine surface temperature, and thermistor-based sensors to determine vertical air temperatures at 6 evenly spaced heights up to a maximum of 1.5 meters. Surface temperature (IR) data show possible correlations with ice drill, resistivity, and GPR data. The vertical air sensors showed almost no variation for any survey line which we postulate is due to the constant wind during each survey. Ice drill data show ice thickness along one 200 meter line varied from 79-95 cm, with an average of 87 cm. The thickness appears to be inversely correlated to surface temperatures. Resistivity and IR data both showed abrupt changes when crossing from the shore to the sea ice along a 400 meter line. GPR and IR data showed similar changes along a separate 900 meter line, suggesting that surface temperature and subsurface composition are related. Resistivity data were obtained in two locations by using the array in an expanding dipole-dipole configuration with 2.5 meter dipoles. The depth to the ice/water boundary was calculated using a "cumulative resistivity" plot and matched the depths obtained via the ice drill to within 2%. This has initiated work to develop a microcontroller-based resistivity array specialized for thickness measurements of thin ice.

An Arduino-Controlled Photogate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galeriu, Calin

2013-03-01

It is hard to imagine teaching physics without doing experimental measurements of position as a function of time. These measurements, needed for the determination of velocity and acceleration, are most easily performed with the help of photogates.1,2 Unfortunately, commercial photogates are rather expensive. Many require the purchase of an additional matching timer or other electronic device. Sometimes special software is also needed. The total bill can easily become prohibitive. For this reason physics teachers have shown considerable interest for cheaper, in-house designed and manufactured photogates.3-6 The photogate systems described in the literature have their limitations. Some rely on a digital stopwatch and therefore cannot measure time with a precision higher than 0.01 seconds. Some use photoresistors that have a slower response than phototransistors. Some are based on the computer microphone port and therefore cannot handle more than two photogates (two audio channels) at the same time. Extracting the time information from an audio file can also be a challenge for some students. We describe here a photogate system that matches the performance of a commercial one but at a fraction of the cost. The key to this success is the use of an Arduino microcontroller for data collection. The Arduino platform, initially developed for electronics and robotics educational projects, has recently been incorporated in physics labs.7 The Arduino microcontroller, because of its low cost and because it provides a broad exposure to electronics and computer programming, is an ideal tool for integrated STEM projects.

Fuzzy control of battery chargers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aldridge, Jack

1996-03-01

The increasing reliance on battery power for portable terrestrial purposes, such as portable tools, portable computers, and telecommunications, provides motivation to optimize the battery charging process with respect to speed of charging and charging cycle lifetime of the battery. Fuzzy control, implemented on a small microcomputer, optimizes charging in the presence of nonlinear effects and large uncertainty in the voltage vs. charge state characteristics for the battery. Use of a small microcontroller makes possible a small, capable, and affordable package for the charger. Microcontroller-based chargers provide improved performance by adjusting both charging voltage and charging current during the entire charging process depending on a current estimate of the state of charge of the battery. The estimate is derived from the zero-current voltage of the battery and the temperature and their rates of change. All of these quantities are uncertain due to the variation in condition between the individual cells in a battery, the rapid and nonlinear dependence of the fundamental electrochemistry on the internal temperature, and the placement of a single temperature sensor within the battery package. While monitoring the individual cell voltages and temperatures would be desirable, cost and complexity considerations preclude the practice. NASA has developed considerable technology in batteries for supplying significant amounts of power for spacecraft and in fuzzy control techniques for the space applications. In this paper, we describe how we are using both technologies to build an optimal charger prototype as a precursor to a commercial version.

A customized metal oxide semiconductor-based gas sensor array for onion quality evaluation: system development and characterization.

PubMed

Konduru, Tharun; Rains, Glen C; Li, Changying

2015-01-12

A gas sensor array, consisting of seven Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) sensors that are sensitive to a wide range of organic volatile compounds was developed to detect rotten onions during storage. These MOS sensors were enclosed in a specially designed Teflon chamber equipped with a gas delivery system to pump volatiles from the onion samples into the chamber. The electronic circuit mainly comprised a microcontroller, non-volatile memory chip, and trickle-charge real time clock chip, serial communication chip, and parallel LCD panel. User preferences are communicated with the on-board microcontroller through a graphical user interface developed using LabVIEW. The developed gas sensor array was characterized and the discrimination potential was tested by exposing it to three different concentrations of acetone (ketone), acetonitrile (nitrile), ethyl acetate (ester), and ethanol (alcohol). The gas sensor array could differentiate the four chemicals of same concentrations and different concentrations within the chemical with significant difference. Experiment results also showed that the system was able to discriminate two concentrations (196 and 1964 ppm) of methlypropyl sulfide and two concentrations (145 and 1452 ppm) of 2-nonanone, two key volatile compounds emitted by rotten onions. As a proof of concept, the gas sensor array was able to achieve 89% correct classification of sour skin infected onions. The customized low-cost gas sensor array could be a useful tool to detect onion postharvest diseases in storage.

Haptics using a smart material for eyes-free interaction in personal devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Huihui; Lane, William Brian; Pappas, Devin; Duque, Bryam; Leong, John

2014-03-01

In this paper we present a prototype using a dry ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) in interactive personal devices such as bracelet, necklace, pocket key chain or mobile devices for haptic interaction when audio or visual feedback is not possible or practical. This prototype interface is an electro-mechanical system that realizes a shape-changing haptic display for information communication. A dry IPMC will change its dimensions due to the electrostatic effect when an electrical potential is provided to them. The IPMC can operate at a lower voltage (less than 2.5V) which is compatible with requirements for personal electrical devices or mobile devices. The prototype consists of the addressable arrays of the IPMCs with different dimensions which are deformable to different shapes with proper handling or customization. 3D printing technology will be used to form supporting parts. Microcontrollers (about 3cm square) from DigiKey will be imbedded into this personal device. An Android based mobile APP will be developed to talk with microcontrollers to control IPMCs. When personal devices receive information signals, the original shape of the prototype will change to another shape related to the specific sender or types of information sources. This interactive prototype can simultaneously realize multiple methods for conveying haptic information such as dimension, force, and texture due to the flexible array design. We conduct several studies of user experience to explore how users' respond to shape change information.

Hydroponic system design with real time OS based on ARM Cortex-M microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atmadja, Wiedjaja; Liawatimena, Suryadiputra; Lukas, Jonathan; Nata, Eka Putra Leo; Alexander, Ivan

2017-12-01

Hydroponic is the process of growing plants without soil, plant root flooded or moist with nutrient-rich solutions in inert material. Hydroponics has become a reality for greenhouse growers in virtually all climates. Large hydroponic installations exist throughout the world for growing flowers, vegetables and some short period fruit like tomato and cucumber. In soilless culture, we must maintain stable pH and conductivity level of nutrient solution to make plant grow well, large variation of pH of certain time will poisoned plant. This paper describes development complete automation hydroponic system, from maintaining stable nutrient composition (conductivity and pH), grow light, and monitor plant environment such as CO2, temperature and humidity. The heart of our automation is ARM Cortex-M4 from ST Microelectronic running ARM mbed OS, the official Real Time Operating System (RTOS) for ARM Cortex-M microcontroller. Using RTOS gives us flexibility to have multithreaded process. Results show that system capable to control desired concentration level with variation of less than 3%, pH sensor show good accuracy 5.83% from pH value 3.23-10. Growing light intensity measurement show result 105 μmol/m2/s therefore we need turn on the light at least 17 hours/day to fulfil plant light requirement. RTOS give good performance with latency and jitter less than 15 us, system overall show good performance and accuracy for automating hydroponic plant in vegetative phase of growth.

A Customized Metal Oxide Semiconductor-Based Gas Sensor Array for Onion Quality Evaluation: System Development and Characterization

PubMed Central

Konduru, Tharun; Rains, Glen C.; Li, Changying

2015-01-01

A gas sensor array, consisting of seven Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) sensors that are sensitive to a wide range of organic volatile compounds was developed to detect rotten onions during storage. These MOS sensors were enclosed in a specially designed Teflon chamber equipped with a gas delivery system to pump volatiles from the onion samples into the chamber. The electronic circuit mainly comprised a microcontroller, non-volatile memory chip, and trickle-charge real time clock chip, serial communication chip, and parallel LCD panel. User preferences are communicated with the on-board microcontroller through a graphical user interface developed using LabVIEW. The developed gas sensor array was characterized and the discrimination potential was tested by exposing it to three different concentrations of acetone (ketone), acetonitrile (nitrile), ethyl acetate (ester), and ethanol (alcohol). The gas sensor array could differentiate the four chemicals of same concentrations and different concentrations within the chemical with significant difference. Experiment results also showed that the system was able to discriminate two concentrations (196 and 1964 ppm) of methlypropyl sulfide and two concentrations (145 and 1452 ppm) of 2-nonanone, two key volatile compounds emitted by rotten onions. As a proof of concept, the gas sensor array was able to achieve 89% correct classification of sour skin infected onions. The customized low-cost gas sensor array could be a useful tool to detect onion postharvest diseases in storage. PMID:25587975

Illumination-compensated non-contact imaging photoplethysmography via dual-mode temporally coded illumination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amelard, Robert; Scharfenberger, Christian; Wong, Alexander; Clausi, David A.

2015-03-01

Non-contact camera-based imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG) is useful for measuring heart rate in conditions where contact devices are problematic due to issues such as mobility, comfort, and sanitation. Existing iPPG methods analyse the light-tissue interaction of either active or passive (ambient) illumination. Many active iPPG methods assume the incident ambient light is negligible to the active illumination, resulting in high power requirements, while many passive iPPG methods assume near-constant ambient conditions. These assumptions can only be achieved in environments with controlled illumination and thus constrain the use of such devices. To increase the number of possible applications of iPPG devices, we propose a dual-mode active iPPG system that is robust to changes in ambient illumination variations. Our system uses a temporally-coded illumination sequence that is synchronized with the camera to measure both active and ambient illumination interaction for determining heart rate. By subtracting the ambient contribution, the remaining illumination data can be attributed to the controlled illuminant. Our device comprises a camera and an LED illuminant controlled by a microcontroller. The microcontroller drives the temporal code via synchronizing the frame captures and illumination time at the hardware level. By simulating changes in ambient light conditions, experimental results show our device is able to assess heart rate accurately in challenging lighting conditions. By varying the temporal code, we demonstrate the trade-off between camera frame rate and ambient light compensation for optimal blood pulse detection.

Radiation characterization report for the GPS Receiver microcontroller chip. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-06-20

The overall objective of this characterization test was to determine the sensitivity of the Motorola 68332 32-bit microcontroller to radiation induced single event upset and latch-up (SEU/SEL). The microcontroller is a key component of the GPS Receiver which will be a subsystem of the satellite required for the {open_quotes}FORTE{close_quotes} experiment. Testing was conducted at the Single Event Effects Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The results obtained included a latch-up (SEL) threshold LET (Linear Energy Transfer) of 20 MeV-CM{sub 2}/mg and an upset (SEU) threshold LET of 5 MeV-CM{sup 2}/mg. The SEU threshold is typical of this technology, commercial 0.8{mu}m HCMOS.more » Some flow errors were observed that were not reset by the internal watchdog timer of the 68332. It is important that the Receiver design include a monitor of the device, such as an external watch-dog timer, that would initiate a reset of the program when this type of upset occurs. The SEL threshold is lower than would be expected for this 12{mu}m epi layer process and suggests the need for a strategy that would allow for a hard reset of the controller when a latch-up event occurs. Analysis of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum for the FORTE orbit was done and the results indicate a worst case latch-up rate for this device of 6.3 {times} 10{sup {minus}5} latch-ups per device day or roughly one latch-up per 43.5 device years.« less

Development of a Prototype Algal Reactor for Removing CO2 from Cabin Air

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patel, Vrajen; Monje, Oscar

2013-01-01

Controlling carbon dioxide in spacecraft cabin air may be accomplished using algal photobioreactors (PBRs). The purpose of this project was to evaluate the use of a commercial microcontroller, the Arduino Mega 2560, for measuring key photioreactor variables: dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, light, and carbon dioxide. The Arduino platform is an opensource physical computing platform composed of a compact microcontroller board and a C++/C computer language (Arduino 1.0.5). The functionality of the Arduino platform can be expanded by the use of numerous add-ons or 'shields'. The Arduino Mega 2560 was equipped with the following shields: datalogger, BNC shield for reading pH sensor, a Mega Moto shield for controlling CO2 addition, as well as multiple sensors. The dissolved oxygen (DO) probe was calibrated using a nitrogen bubbling technique and the pH probe was calibrated via an Omega pH simulator. The PBR was constructed using a 2 L beaker, a 66 L box for addition of CO2, a micro porous membrane, a diaphragm pump, four 25 watt light bulbs, a MasterFiex speed controller, and a fan. The algae (wild type Synechocystis PCC6803) was grown in an aerated flask until the algae was dense enough to used in the main reactor. After the algae was grown, it was transferred to the 2 L beaker where CO2 consumption and O2 production was measured using the microcontroller sensor suite. The data was recorded via the datalogger and transferred to a computer for analysis.

Two Undergraduate Projects for Data Acquisition and Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiersche, Kelly; Pena, Tara; Grogan, Tanner; Wright, Matthew

We are designing two separate instruments for use in our undergraduate laboratory. In the first project, a Raspberry Pi is used to simultaneously monitor a large number of current and voltage readings and store them in a database. In our second project, we are constructing our own microcontrollers to work as a general-purpose interface based off work carried out in Review of Scientific Instruments 84, 103101 (2013). It was designed for low cost and simple construction, making it ideal for undergraduate level work. This circuit has room for two interchangeable daughter boards, giving it the capability to work as a general lab interface, lock-in detector, or waveform generator.

Design of automatic mobile trolley using ultrasonic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodi Suryanto, Eka; Siagian, Hendrik; Perangin-Angin, Despaleri; Sashanti, Rahayu; Yogen, Suthes

2018-04-01

An automatic mobile trolley was a prototype of wheel robot that serves as a trolley or shopping cart. This paper proposed an automatic mobile trolley using ultrasonic sensors. It can follow human movement automatically. It did not need to be encouraged or withdrawn. It would make an easier shopping for people as customers. The trolley controlled by a microcontroller module unit. It can stop, turn right, turn left, forward and backward. It can follow wherever they go, during they were in range. Based on the test results, the trolley succeeded to move forward by 80%, move backward 80%, turn left, 70%, turn right 70%, and stop 80%.

High performance protection circuit for power electronics applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tudoran, Cristian D.; Dǎdârlat, Dorin N.; Toşa, Nicoleta; Mişan, Ioan

2015-12-01

In this paper we present a high performance protection circuit designed for the power electronics applications where the load currents can increase rapidly and exceed the maximum allowed values, like in the case of high frequency induction heating inverters or high frequency plasma generators. The protection circuit is based on a microcontroller and can be adapted for use on single-phase or three-phase power systems. Its versatility comes from the fact that the circuit can communicate with the protected system, having the role of a "sensor" or it can interrupt the power supply for protection, in this case functioning as an external, independent protection circuit.

Handheld colorimeter for determination of heavy metal concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López Ruiz, N.; Ariza, M.; Martínez Olmos, A.; Vukovic, J.; Palma, A. J.; Capitan-Vallvey, L. F.

2011-08-01

A portable instrument that measures heavy metal concentration from a colorimetric sensor array is presented. The use of eight sensing membranes, placed on a plastic support, allows to obtain the hue component of the HSV colour space of each one in order to determinate the concentration of metals present in a solution. The developed microcontroller-based system captures, in an ambient light environment, an image of the sensor array using an integrated micro-camera and shows the picture in a touch micro-LCD screen which acts as user interface. After image-processing of the regions of interest selected by the user, colour and concentration information are displayed on the screen.

Interface For MIL-STD-1553B Data Bus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davies, Bryan L.; Osborn, Stephen H.; Sullender, Craig C.

1993-01-01

Electronic control-logic subsystem acts as interface between microcontroller and MIL-STD-1553B data bus. Subsystem made of relatively small number of integrated circuits. Advantages include low power, few integrated-circuit chips, and little need for control signals.

A low power flash-FPGA based brain implant micro-system of PID control.

PubMed

Lijuan Xia; Fattah, Nabeel; Soltan, Ahmed; Jackson, Andrew; Chester, Graeme; Degenaar, Patrick

2017-07-01

In this paper, we demonstrate that a low power flash FPGA based micro-system can provide a low power programmable interface for closed-loop brain implant inter- faces. The proposed micro-system receives recording local field potential (LFP) signals from an implanted probe, performs closed-loop control using a first order control system, then converts the signal into an optogenetic control stimulus pattern. Stimulus can be implemented through optoelectronic probes. The long term target is for both fundamental neuroscience applications and for clinical use in treating epilepsy. Utilizing our device, closed-loop processing consumes only 14nJ of power per PID cycle compared to 1.52μJ per cycle for a micro-controller implementation. Compared to an application specific digital integrated circuit, flash FPGA's are inherently programmable.

Stabilisation problem in biaxial platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindner, Tymoteusz; Rybarczyk, Dominik; Wyrwał, Daniel

2016-12-01

The article describes investigation of rolling ball stabilization problem on a biaxial platform. The aim of the control system proposed here is to stabilize ball moving on a plane in equilibrium point. The authors proposed a control algorithm based on cascade PID and they compared it with another control method. The article shows the results of the accuracy of ball stabilization and influence of applied filter on the signal waveform. The application used to detect the ball position measured by digital camera has been written using a cross platform .Net wrapper to the OpenCV image processing library - EmguCV. The authors used the bipolar stepper motor with dedicated electronic controller. The data between the computer and the designed controller are sent with use of the RS232 standard. The control stand is based on ATmega series microcontroller.

Synchronous wearable wireless body sensor network composed of autonomous textile nodes.

PubMed

Vanveerdeghem, Peter; Van Torre, Patrick; Stevens, Christiaan; Knockaert, Jos; Rogier, Hendrik

2014-10-09

A novel, fully-autonomous, wearable, wireless sensor network is presented, where each flexible textile node performs cooperative synchronous acquisition and distributed event detection. Computationally efficient situational-awareness algorithms are implemented on the low-power microcontroller present on each flexible node. The detected events are wirelessly transmitted to a base station, directly, as well as forwarded by other on-body nodes. For each node, a dual-polarized textile patch antenna serves as a platform for the flexible electronic circuitry. Therefore, the system is particularly suitable for comfortable and unobtrusive integration into garments. In the meantime, polarization diversity can be exploited to improve the reliability and energy-efficiency of the wireless transmission. Extensive experiments in realistic conditions have demonstrated that this new autonomous, body-centric, textile-antenna, wireless sensor network is able to correctly detect different operating conditions of a firefighter during an intervention. By relying on four network nodes integrated into the protective garment, this functionality is implemented locally, on the body, and in real time. In addition, the received sensor data are reliably transferred to a central access point at the command post, for more detailed and more comprehensive real-time visualization. This information provides coordinators and commanders with situational awareness of the entire rescue operation. A statistical analysis of measured on-body node-to-node, as well as off-body person-to-person channels is included, confirming the reliability of the communication system.

A small, cheap, and portable reconnaissance robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenyon, Samuel H.; Creary, D.; Thi, Dan; Maynard, Jeffrey

2005-05-01

While there is much interest in human-carriable mobile robots for defense/security applications, existing examples are still too large/heavy, and there are not many successful small human-deployable mobile ground robots, especially ones that can survive being thrown/dropped. We have developed a prototype small short-range teleoperated indoor reconnaissance/surveillance robot that is semi-autonomous. It is self-powered, self-propelled, spherical, and meant to be carried and thrown by humans into indoor, yet relatively unstructured, dynamic environments. The robot uses multiple channels for wireless control and feedback, with the potential for inter-robot communication, swarm behavior, or distributed sensor network capabilities. The primary reconnaissance sensor for this prototype is visible-spectrum video. This paper focuses more on the software issues, both the onboard intelligent real time control system and the remote user interface. The communications, sensor fusion, intelligent real time controller, etc. are implemented with onboard microcontrollers. We based the autonomous and teleoperation controls on a simple finite state machine scripting layer. Minimal localization and autonomous routines were designed to best assist the operator, execute whatever mission the robot may have, and promote its own survival. We also discuss the advantages and pitfalls of an inexpensive, rapidly-developed semi-autonomous robotic system, especially one that is spherical, and the importance of human-robot interaction as considered for the human-deployment and remote user interface.

Synchronous Wearable Wireless Body Sensor Network Composed of Autonomous Textile Nodes

PubMed Central

Vanveerdeghem, Peter; Van Torre, Patrick; Stevens, Christiaan; Knockaert, Jos; Rogier, Hendrik

2014-01-01

A novel, fully-autonomous, wearable, wireless sensor network is presented, where each flexible textile node performs cooperative synchronous acquisition and distributed event detection. Computationally efficient situational-awareness algorithms are implemented on the low-power microcontroller present on each flexible node. The detected events are wirelessly transmitted to a base station, directly, as well as forwarded by other on-body nodes. For each node, a dual-polarized textile patch antenna serves as a platform for the flexible electronic circuitry. Therefore, the system is particularly suitable for comfortable and unobtrusive integration into garments. In the meantime, polarization diversity can be exploited to improve the reliability and energy-efficiency of the wireless transmission. Extensive experiments in realistic conditions have demonstrated that this new autonomous, body-centric, textile-antenna, wireless sensor network is able to correctly detect different operating conditions of a firefighter during an intervention. By relying on four network nodes integrated into the protective garment, this functionality is implemented locally, on the body, and in real time. In addition, the received sensor data are reliably transferred to a central access point at the command post, for more detailed and more comprehensive real-time visualization. This information provides coordinators and commanders with situational awareness of the entire rescue operation. A statistical analysis of measured on-body node-to-node, as well as off-body person-to-person channels is included, confirming the reliability of the communication system. PMID:25302808

Fast wire per wire X-ray data acquisition system for time-resolved small angle scattering experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epstein, A.; Briquet-Laugier, F.; Sheldon, S.; Boulin, C.

2000-04-01

Most of the X-ray multi-wire gas detectors used at the EMBL Hamburg outstation for time-resolved studies of biological samples are readout, using the delay line method. The main disadvantage of such readout systems is their event rate limitation introduced by the delay line and the required time to digital conversion step. They also lack the possibility to deal with multiple events. To overcome these limitations, a new approach for the complete readout system was introduced. The new linear detection system is based on the wire per wire approach where each individual wire is associated to preamplifier/discriminator/counter electronics channel. High-density, front-end electronics were designed around a fast current sensitive preamplifier. An eight-channel board was designed to include the preamplifiers-discriminators and the differential ECL drivers output stages. The detector front-end consists of 25 boards directly mounted inside the detector assembly. To achieve a time framing resolution as short as 10 /spl mu/s, very fast histogramming is required. The only way to implement this for a high number of channels (200 in our case) is by using a distributed system. The digital part of the system consists of a crate controller, up to 16 acquisition boards (capable of handling fast histogramming for up to 32-channels each) and an optical-link board (based on the Cypress "Hot-Link" chip set). Both the crate controller and the acquisition boards are based on a standard RISC microcontroller (IDT R3081) plug-in board. At present, a dedicated CAMAC module which we developed is used to interface the digital front-end acquisition crate to the host via the optical link.

Development of an Inertial Measurement Unit for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

Tri-axis accelerometers Dual Angular rate gyros Micro-Controller board Battery Rubber isolation stands wireless comunication module (XBee...University. Special thanks to Mr. Jesse McAvoy & Mr. Laith Sahawneh for all the support and valuable scientific contributions. gxk gyk gzk gxb

A Reward-Based Behavioral Platform to Measure Neural Activity during Head-Fixed Behavior.

PubMed

Micallef, Andrew H; Takahashi, Naoya; Larkum, Matthew E; Palmer, Lucy M

2017-01-01

Understanding the neural computations that contribute to behavior requires recording from neurons while an animal is behaving. This is not an easy task as most subcellular recording techniques require absolute head stability. The Go/No-Go sensory task is a powerful decision-driven task that enables an animal to report a binary decision during head-fixation. Here we discuss how to set up an Ardunio and Python based platform system to control a Go/No-Go sensory behavior paradigm. Using an Arduino micro-controller and Python-based custom written program, a reward can be delivered to the animal depending on the decision reported. We discuss the various components required to build the behavioral apparatus that can control and report such a sensory stimulus paradigm. This system enables the end user to control the behavioral testing in real-time and therefore it provides a strong custom-made platform for probing the neural basis of behavior.

Three Realizations and Comparison of Hardware for Piezoresistive Tactile Sensors

PubMed Central

Vidal-Verdú, Fernando; Oballe-Peinado, Óscar; Sánchez-Durán, José A.; Castellanos-Ramos, Julián; Navas-González, Rafael

2011-01-01

Tactile sensors are basically arrays of force sensors that are intended to emulate the skin in applications such as assistive robotics. Local electronics are usually implemented to reduce errors and interference caused by long wires. Realizations based on standard microcontrollers, Programmable Systems on Chip (PSoCs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been proposed by the authors for the case of piezoresistive tactile sensors. The solution employing FPGAs is especially relevant since their performance is closer to that of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) than that of the other devices. This paper presents an implementation of such an idea for a specific sensor. For the purpose of comparison, the circuitry based on the other devices is also made for the same sensor. This paper discusses the implementation issues, provides details regarding the design of the hardware based on the three devices and compares them. PMID:22163797

Attitude determination for small satellites using GPS signal-to-noise ratio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Daniel

An embedded system for GPS-based attitude determination (AD) using signal-to-noise (SNR) measurements was developed for CubeSat applications. The design serves as an evaluation testbed for conducting ground based experiments using various computational methods and antenna types to determine the optimum AD accuracy. Raw GPS data is also stored to non-volatile memory for downloading and post analysis. Two low-power microcontrollers are used for processing and to display information on a graphic screen for real-time performance evaluations. A new parallel inter-processor communication protocol was developed that is faster and uses less power than existing standard protocols. A shorted annular patch (SAP) antenna was fabricated for the initial ground-based AD experiments with the testbed. Static AD estimations with RMS errors in the range of 2.5° to 4.8° were achieved over a range of off-zenith attitudes.

Embedded system based on PWM control of hydrogen generator with SEPIC converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fall, Cheikh; Setiawan, Eko; Habibi, Muhammad Afnan; Hodaka, Ichijo

2017-09-01

The objective of this paper is to design and to produce a micro electrical plant system based on fuel cell for teaching material-embedded systems in technical vocational training center. Based on this, the student can experience generating hydrogen by fuel cells, controlling the rate of hydrogen generation by the duty ration of single-ended primary-inductor converter(SEPIC), drawing the curve rate of hydrogen to duty ratio, generating electrical power by using hydrogen, and calculating the fuel cell efficiency when it is used as electrical energy generator. This project is of great importance insofar as students will need to acquire several skills to be able to realize it such as continuous DC DC conversion and the scientific concept behind the converter, the regulation of systems with integral proportional controllers, the installation of photovoltaic cells, the use of high-tech sensors, microcontroller programming, object-oriented programming, mastery of the fuel cell syste

The Temperature Fuzzy Control System of Barleythe Malt Drying Based on Microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xiaoyang; Bi, Yang; Zhang, Lili; Chen, Jingjing; Yun, Jianmin

The control strategy of temperature and humidity in the beer barley malt drying chamber based on fuzzy logic control was implemented.Expounded in this paper was the selection of parameters for the structure of the regulatory device, as well as the essential design from control rules based on the existing experience. A temperature fuzzy controller was thus constructed using relevantfuzzy logic, and humidity control was achieved by relay, ensured the situation of the humidity to control the temperature. The temperature's fuzzy control and the humidity real-time control were all processed by single chip microcomputer with assembly program. The experimental results showed that the temperature control performance of this fuzzy regulatory system,especially in the ways of working stability and responding speed and so on,was better than normal used PID control. The cost of real-time system was inquite competitive position. It was demonstrated that the system have a promising prospect of extensive application.

[Design of a Front-end Device of Heart Rate Variability Analysis System Based on Photoplethysmography].

PubMed

Shi, Lei; Sun, Peng; Pang, Yu; Luo, Zhiyong; Wang, Wei; Wang, Yanxiang

2016-02-01

Heart rate variability (HRV) is the difference between the successive changes in the heartbeat cycle, and it is produced in the autonomic nervous system modulation of the sinus node of the heart. The HRV is a valuable indicator in predicting the sudden cardiac death and arrhythmic events. Traditional analysis of HRV is based on a multielectrocardiogram (ECG), but the ECG signal acquisition is complex, so we have designed an HRV analysis system based on photoplethysmography (PPG). PPG signal is collected by a microcontroller from human's finger, and it is sent to the terminal via USB-Serial module. The terminal software not only collects the data and plot waveforms, but also stores the data for future HRV analysis. The system is small in size, low in power consumption, and easy for operation. It is suitable for daily care no matter whether it is used at home or in a hospital.

A Compact Energy Harvesting System for Outdoor Wireless Sensor Nodes Based on a Low-Cost In Situ Photovoltaic Panel Characterization-Modelling Unit

PubMed Central

Antolín, Diego; Calvo, Belén; Martínez, Pedro A.

2017-01-01

This paper presents a low-cost high-efficiency solar energy harvesting system to power outdoor wireless sensor nodes. It is based on a Voltage Open Circuit (VOC) algorithm that estimates the open-circuit voltage by means of a multilayer perceptron neural network model trained using local experimental characterization data, which are acquired through a novel low cost characterization system incorporated into the deployed node. Both units—characterization and modelling—are controlled by the same low-cost microcontroller, providing a complete solution which can be understood as a virtual pilot cell, with identical characteristics to those of the specific small solar cell installed on the sensor node, that besides allows an easy adaptation to changes in the actual environmental conditions, panel aging, etc. Experimental comparison to a classical pilot panel based VOC algorithm show better efficiency under the same tested conditions. PMID:28777330

Prototype of smart office system using based security system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasetyo, T. F.; Zaliluddin, D.; Iqbal, M.

2018-05-01

Creating a new technology in the modern era gives a positive impact on business and industry. Internet of Things (IoT) as a new communication technology is very useful in realizing smart systems such as: smart home, smart office, smart parking and smart city. This study presents a prototype of the smart office system which was designed as a security system based on IoT. Smart office system development method used waterfall model. IoT-based smart office system used platform (project builder) cayenne so that. The data can be accessed and controlled through internet network from long distance. Smart office system used arduino mega 2560 microcontroller as a controller component. In this study, Smart office system is able to detect threats of dangerous objects made from metals, earthquakes, fires, intruders or theft and perform security monitoring outside the building by using raspberry pi cameras on autonomous robots in real time to the security guard.

A Compact Energy Harvesting System for Outdoor Wireless Sensor Nodes Based on a Low-Cost In Situ Photovoltaic Panel Characterization-Modelling Unit.

PubMed

Antolín, Diego; Medrano, Nicolás; Calvo, Belén; Martínez, Pedro A

2017-08-04

This paper presents a low-cost high-efficiency solar energy harvesting system to power outdoor wireless sensor nodes. It is based on a Voltage Open Circuit (VOC) algorithm that estimates the open-circuit voltage by means of a multilayer perceptron neural network model trained using local experimental characterization data, which are acquired through a novel low cost characterization system incorporated into the deployed node. Both units-characterization and modelling-are controlled by the same low-cost microcontroller, providing a complete solution which can be understood as a virtual pilot cell, with identical characteristics to those of the specific small solar cell installed on the sensor node, that besides allows an easy adaptation to changes in the actual environmental conditions, panel aging, etc. Experimental comparison to a classical pilot panel based VOC algorithm show better efficiency under the same tested conditions.

Development of an optical instrument to determine the pesticide residues in vegetables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Zhengjun; Fang, Hui; Li, Weimin; He, Yong

2005-12-01

An optical instrument was developed to determine the pesticide residues in vegetables based on the inhibition rate of organophosphates against acrtyl-cholinesterase (AChE). The instrument consists mainly of a solid light source with 410nm wavelength, a sampling container to store the liquid, an optical sensor to test the intensity of transmission light, a temperature sensor, and a MCU based data acquisition board. The light illuminates the liquid in the sampling container, and the absorptivity was determined by the amount of the pesticide residues in the liquid. This paper involves the design of optical testing system, the data acquisition and calibration of the optical sensor, the design of microcontroller-based electrical board. Tests show that the absorption rate is related to the pesticide residues and it can be concluded that the pesticide residues exceed the normal level when the inhibition rate is over 50 percent.

Silhouette-based approach of 3D image reconstruction for automated image acquisition using robotic arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azhar, N.; Saad, W. H. M.; Manap, N. A.; Saad, N. M.; Syafeeza, A. R.

2017-06-01

This study presents the approach of 3D image reconstruction using an autonomous robotic arm for the image acquisition process. A low cost of the automated imaging platform is created using a pair of G15 servo motor connected in series to an Arduino UNO as a main microcontroller. Two sets of sequential images were obtained using different projection angle of the camera. The silhouette-based approach is used in this study for 3D reconstruction from the sequential images captured from several different angles of the object. Other than that, an analysis based on the effect of different number of sequential images on the accuracy of 3D model reconstruction was also carried out with a fixed projection angle of the camera. The effecting elements in the 3D reconstruction are discussed and the overall result of the analysis is concluded according to the prototype of imaging platform.

Intelligent Home Control System Based on Single Chip Microcomputer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Libo

2017-12-01

Intelligent home as a way to achieve the realization of the family information has become an important part of the development of social information, Internet of Things because of its huge application prospects, will be smart home industry in the development process of a more realistic breakthrough in the smart home industry development has great significance. This article is based on easy to implement, easy to operate, close to the use of the design concept, the use of STC89C52 microcontroller as the control core for the control terminal, and including infrared remote control, buttons, Web interface, including multiple control sources to control household appliances. The second chapter of this paper describes the design of the hardware and software part of the specific implementation, the fifth chapter is based on the design of a good function to build a specific example of the environment.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cho, M; Kim, T; Kang, S

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to develop a new patient set-up monitoring system using force sensing resistor (FSR) sensors that can confirm pressure of contact surface and evaluate its feasibility. Methods: In this study, we focused on develop the patient set-up monitoring system to compensate for the limitation of existing optical based monitoring system, so the developed system can inform motion in the radiation therapy. The set-up monitoring system was designed consisting of sensor units (FSR sensor), signal conditioning devices (USB cable/interface electronics), a control PC, and a developed analysis software. The sensor unit was made by attachingmore » FSR sensor and dispersing pressure sponge to prevent error which is caused by concentrating specific point. Measured signal from the FSR sensor was sampled to arduino mega 2560 microcontroller, transferred to control PC by using serial communication. The measured data went through normalization process. The normalized data was displayed through the developed graphic user interface (GUI) software. The software was designed to display a single sensor unit intensity (maximum 16 sensors) and display 2D pressure distribution (using 16 sensors) according to the purpose. Results: Changes of pressure value according to motion was confirmed by the developed set-up monitoring system. Very small movement such as little physical change in appearance can be confirmed using a single unit and using 2D pressure distribution. Also, the set-up monitoring system can observe in real time. Conclusion: In this study, we developed the new set-up monitoring system using FSR sensor. Especially, we expect that the new set-up monitoring system is suitable for motion monitoring of blind area that is hard to confirm existing optical system and compensate existing optical based monitoring system. As a further study, an integrated system will be constructed through correlation of existing optical monitoring system. This work was supported by the Industrial R&D program of MOTIE/KEIT. [10048997, Development of the core technology for integrated therapy devices based on real-time MRI guided tumor tracking] and the Mid-career Researcher Program (2014R1A2A1A10050270) through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT&Future Planning.« less

Realization of the variant for management of AzT-2 telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shavlovskyi, V. I.; Puha, S. P.; Vidmachenko, A. P.; Volovyk, D. V.; Puha, G. P.; Obolonskyi, V. O.; Kratko, O. O.; Stefurak, M. V.

2018-05-01

For the control system of the focus of the secondary mirror of the telescope AZT-2 we developed, manufactured and installed on the tube of the telescope a special shield for the addressable microcontroller. To manage its work with using a personal computer, a special control program was written. The tests of this system showed the ability to control the motor of focus unit both from the staff manual console and from the controller. To supply a stabilized voltage of 110 volts to the appropriate consumers, for a network of supplying control signals from a personal computer to the executive nodes via RS485 port, a series of distribution boxes were installed on the column and on the tube of the telescope. The developed software was also adapted to the algorithm of the existing manual system with manual operation. The control system of the telescope AZT-2 was tested in July-September 2017 at observations with the layout of filter polarimeter.

Design of real-time encryption module for secure data protection of wearable healthcare devices.

PubMed

Kim, Jungchae; Lee, Byuck Jin; Yoo, Sun K

2013-01-01

Wearable devices for biomedical instrumentation could generate the medical data and transmit to a repository on cloud service through wireless networks. In this process, the private medical data will be disclosed by man in the middle attack. Thus, the archived data for healthcare services would be protected by non-standardized security policy by healthcare service provider (HSP) because HIPAA only defines the security rules. In this paper, we adopted the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for security framework on wearable devices, so healthcare applications using this framework could support the confidentiality easily. The framework developed as dynamic loadable module targeted for lightweight microcontroller such as msp430 within embedded operating system. The performance was shown that the module can support the real-time encryption using electrocardiogram and photoplethysmogram. In this regard, the processing load for enabling security is distributed to wearable devices, and the customized data protection method could be composed by HSP for a trusted healthcare service.

A new kind of universal smart home security safety monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Biqing; Li, Zhao

2018-04-01

With the current level of social development, improved quality of life, existence and security issues of law and order has become an important issue. This graduation project adopts the form of wireless transmission, to STC89C52 microcontroller as the host control human infrared induction anti-theft monitoring system. The system mainly consists of main control circuit, power supply circuit, activities of the human body detection module, sound and light alarm circuit, record and display circuit. The main function is to achieve exploration activities on the human body, then the information is transmitted to the control panel, according to the system microcontroller program control sound and light alarm circuit, while recording the alarm location and time, and always check the record as required, and ultimately achieve the purpose of monitoring. The advantage of using pyroelectric infrared sensor can be installed in a hidden place, not easy to find, and low cost, good detection results, and has broad prospects for development.

Instrumentino: An Open-Source Software for Scientific Instruments.

PubMed

Koenka, Israel Joel; Sáiz, Jorge; Hauser, Peter C

2015-01-01

Scientists often need to build dedicated computer-controlled experimental systems. For this purpose, it is becoming common to employ open-source microcontroller platforms, such as the Arduino. These boards and associated integrated software development environments provide affordable yet powerful solutions for the implementation of hardware control of transducers and acquisition of signals from detectors and sensors. It is, however, a challenge to write programs that allow interactive use of such arrangements from a personal computer. This task is particularly complex if some of the included hardware components are connected directly to the computer and not via the microcontroller. A graphical user interface framework, Instrumentino, was therefore developed to allow the creation of control programs for complex systems with minimal programming effort. By writing a single code file, a powerful custom user interface is generated, which enables the automatic running of elaborate operation sequences and observation of acquired experimental data in real time. The framework, which is written in Python, allows extension by users, and is made available as an open source project.

Development of a Handheld Line Information Reader and Generator for Efficient Management of Optical Communication Lines

PubMed Central

Lee, Jaeyul; Kwon, Hyungwoo; Song, Jaewon; Jeon, Mansik; Kim, Jeehyun

2017-01-01

A handheld line information reader and a line information generator were developed for the efficient management of optical communication lines. The line information reader consists of a photo diode, trans-impedance amplifier, voltage amplifier, microcontroller unit, display panel, and communication modules. The line information generator consists of a laser diode, laser driving circuits, microcontroller unit, and communication modules. The line information reader can detect the optical radiation field of the test line by bending the optical fiber. To enhance the sensitivity of the line information reader, an additional lens was used with a focal length of 4.51 mm. Moreover, the simulation results obtained through BeamPROP® software from Synopsys, Inc. demonstrated a stronger optical radiation field of the fiber due to a longer transmission wavelength and larger bending angle of the fiber. Therefore, the developed devices can be considered as useful tools for the efficient management of optical communication lines. PMID:28837058

A microcontroller system for investigating the catch effect: functional electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve.

PubMed

Hart, D J; Taylor, P N; Chappell, P H; Wood, D E

2006-06-01

Correction of drop foot in hemiplegic gait is achieved by electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve with a series of pulses at a fixed frequency. However, during normal gait, the electromyographic signals from the tibialis anterior muscle indicate that muscle force is not constant but varies during the swing phase. The application of double pulses for the correction of drop foot may enhance the gait by generating greater torque at the ankle and thereby increase the efficiency of the stimulation with reduced fatigue. A flexible controller has been designed around the Odstock Drop Foot Stimulator to deliver different profiles of pulses implementing doublets and optimum series. A peripheral interface controller (PIC) microcontroller with some external circuits has been designed and tested to accommodate six profiles. Preliminary results of the measurements from a normal subject seated in a multi-moment chair (an isometric torque measurement device) indicate that profiles containing doublets and optimum spaced pulses look favourable for clinical use.

GSM module for wireless radiation monitoring system via SMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Nur Aira Abd; Hisyam Ibrahim, Noor; Lombigit, Lojius; Azman, Azraf; Jaafar, Zainudin; Arymaswati Abdullah, Nor; Hadzir Patai Mohamad, Glam

2018-01-01

A customised Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) module is designed for wireless radiation monitoring through Short Messaging Service (SMS). This module is able to receive serial data from radiation monitoring devices such as survey meter or area monitor and transmit the data as text SMS to a host server. It provides two-way communication for data transmission, status query, and configuration setup. The module hardware consists of GSM module, voltage level shifter, SIM circuit and Atmega328P microcontroller. Microcontroller provides control for sending, receiving and AT command processing to GSM module. The firmware is responsible to handle task related to communication between device and host server. It process all incoming SMS, extract, and store new configuration from Host, transmits alert/notification SMS when the radiation data reach/exceed threshold value, and transmits SMS data at every fixed interval according to configuration. Integration of this module with radiation survey/monitoring device will create mobile and wireless radiation monitoring system with prompt emergency alert at high-level radiation.

Utilization of sonar technology and microcontroller towards reducing aviation hazards during ground handling of aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khanam, Mosammat Samia; Biswas, Debasish; Rashid, Mohsina; Salam, Md Abdus

2017-12-01

Safety is one of the most important factors in the field of aviation. Though, modern aircraft are equipped with many instruments/devices to enhance the flight safety but it is seen that accidents/incidents are never reduced to zero. Analysis of the statistical summary of Commercial Jet Airplane accidents highlights that fatal accidents that occurred worldwide from 2006 through 2015 is 11% during taxing, loading/unloading, parking and towing. Human, handling the aircrafts is one of the most important links in aircraft maintenance and hence play a significant role in aviation safety. Effort has been made in this paper to obviate human error in aviation and outline an affordable system that monitors the uneven surface &obstacles for safe "towing in" and "towing out" of an aircraft by the ground crew. The system revolves around implementation of sonar technology by microcontroller. Ultrasonic sensors can be installed on aircraft wings and tail section to identify the uneven surface &obstacles ahead and provide early warning to the maintenance ground crews.

Bioinspired decision architectures containing host and microbiome processing units.

PubMed

Heyde, K C; Gallagher, P W; Ruder, W C

2016-09-27

Biomimetic robots have been used to explore and explain natural phenomena ranging from the coordination of ants to the locomotion of lizards. Here, we developed a series of decision architectures inspired by the information exchange between a host organism and its microbiome. We first modeled the biochemical exchanges of a population of synthetically engineered E. coli. We then built a physical, differential drive robot that contained an integrated, onboard computer vision system. A relay was established between the simulated population of cells and the robot's microcontroller. By placing the robot within a target-containing a two-dimensional arena, we explored how different aspects of the simulated cells and the robot's microcontroller could be integrated to form hybrid decision architectures. We found that distinct decision architectures allow for us to develop models of computation with specific strengths such as runtime efficiency or minimal memory allocation. Taken together, our hybrid decision architectures provide a new strategy for developing bioinspired control systems that integrate both living and nonliving components.

A Simple Accelerometer Calibrator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salam, R. A.; Islamy, M. R. F.; Munir, M. M.; Latief, H.; Irsyam, M.; Khairurrijal

2016-08-01

High possibility of earthquake could lead to the high number of victims caused by it. It also can cause other hazards such as tsunami, landslide, etc. In that case it requires a system that can examine the earthquake occurrence. Some possible system to detect earthquake is by creating a vibration sensor system using accelerometer. However, the output of the system is usually put in the form of acceleration data. Therefore, a calibrator system for accelerometer to sense the vibration is needed. In this study, a simple accelerometer calibrator has been developed using 12 V DC motor, optocoupler, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and AVR 328 microcontroller as controller system. The system uses the Pulse Wave Modulation (PWM) form microcontroller to control the motor rotational speed as response to vibration frequency. The frequency of vibration was read by optocoupler and then those data was used as feedback to the system. The results show that the systems could control the rotational speed and the vibration frequencies in accordance with the defined PWM.

Realization of guitar audio effects using methods of digital signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buś, Szymon; Jedrzejewski, Konrad

2015-09-01

The paper is devoted to studies on possibilities of realization of guitar audio effects by means of methods of digital signal processing. As a result of research, some selected audio effects corresponding to the specifics of guitar sound were realized as the real-time system called Digital Guitar Multi-effect. Before implementation in the system, the selected effects were investigated using the dedicated application with a graphical user interface created in Matlab environment. In the second stage, the real-time system based on a microcontroller and an audio codec was designed and realized. The system is designed to perform audio effects on the output signal of an electric guitar.

[A magnetic therapy apparatus with an adaptable electromagnetic spectrum for the treatment of prostatitis and gynecopathies].

PubMed

Kuz'min, A A; Meshkovskiĭ, D V; Filist, S A

2008-01-01

Problems of engineering and algorithm development of magnetic therapy apparatuses with pseudo-random radiation spectrum within the audio range for treatment of prostatitis and gynecopathies are considered. A typical design based on a PIC 16F microcontroller is suggested. It includes a keyboard, LCD indicator, audio amplifier, inducer, and software units. The problem of pseudo-random signal generation within the audio range is considered. A series of rectangular pulses is generated on a random-length interval on the basis of a three-component random vector. This series provides the required spectral characteristics of the therapeutic magnetic field and their adaptation to the therapeutic conditions and individual features of the patient.

Design of smart home terminal controller based on ZigBee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Biqing; Li, Zhao; Zhang, Hongyan

2018-04-01

With the development in scienc and technology, and the improvement of living conditions, people pay more and more attention to the comfort of household life. Therefore, smart home has become the development trend of the future furniture. This design is composed of three blocks: transmitting module, receiving module and data acquisition module. ZigBee and STC89C52 belong to launch module as well as belong to receive module. Launch module contains ZigBee, serial communication module and monolithic STC89C52. The receiving module contains light control parts, curtain control part, ZigBee and microcontroller STC89C52. Data acquisition module includes temperature and humidity detection.

Design of coin sorter counter based on MCU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yahan; Si, Xu

2018-04-01

With unmanned tickets, vending machines promotion, greatly increased the circulation of coins, especially bus companies, the financial sector need to classify a large number of coins every day, inventory, a huge workload. The design of the microcontroller as the control center, combined with the sensor technology and the corresponding mechanical structure to complete the separation of coins and finishing the packaging work and real-time monitoring and display of the type and number of coins function, this article details the system hardware and software design, and The test adjustment shows that the system can achieve the function of separating and sorting coins and monitoring the type and quantity of coins displayed on the coin.

Design of an Inertial-Sensor-Based Data Glove for Hand Function Evaluation.

PubMed

Lin, Bor-Shing; Lee, I-Jung; Yang, Shu-Yu; Lo, Yi-Chiang; Lee, Junghsi; Chen, Jean-Lon

2018-05-13

Capturing hand motions for hand function evaluations is essential in the medical field. Various data gloves have been developed for rehabilitation and manual dexterity assessments. This study proposed a modular data glove with 9-axis inertial measurement units (IMUs) to obtain static and dynamic parameters during hand function evaluation. A sensor fusion algorithm is used to calculate the range of motion of joints. The data glove is designed to have low cost, easy wearability, and high reliability. Owing to the modular design, the IMU board is independent and extensible and can be used with various microcontrollers to realize more medical applications. This design greatly enhances the stability and maintainability of the glove.

A digital intensity stabilization system for HeNe laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Zhimeng; Lu, Guangfeng; Yang, Kaiyong; Long, Xingwu; Huang, Yun

2012-02-01

A digital intensity stabilization system for HeNe laser is developed. Based on a switching power IC to design laser power supply and a general purpose microcontroller to realize digital PID control, the system constructs a closed loop to stabilize the laser intensity by regulating its discharge current. The laser tube is made of glass ceramics and its integrated structure is steady enough to eliminate intensity fluctuations at high frequency and attenuates all intensity fluctuations, and this makes it easy to tune the control loop. The control loop between discharge current and photodiode voltage eliminates the long-term drifts. The intensity stability of the HeNe laser with this system is 0.014% over 12 h.

High performance protection circuit for power electronics applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tudoran, Cristian D., E-mail: cristian.tudoran@itim-cj.ro; Dădârlat, Dorin N.; Toşa, Nicoleta

2015-12-23

In this paper we present a high performance protection circuit designed for the power electronics applications where the load currents can increase rapidly and exceed the maximum allowed values, like in the case of high frequency induction heating inverters or high frequency plasma generators. The protection circuit is based on a microcontroller and can be adapted for use on single-phase or three-phase power systems. Its versatility comes from the fact that the circuit can communicate with the protected system, having the role of a “sensor” or it can interrupt the power supply for protection, in this case functioning as anmore » external, independent protection circuit.« less

Oxygen sensor signal validation for the safety of the rebreather diver.

PubMed

Sieber, Arne; L'abbate, Antonio; Bedini, Remo

2009-03-01

In electronically controlled, closed-circuit rebreather diving systems, the partial pressure of oxygen inside the breathing loop is controlled with three oxygen sensors, a microcontroller and a solenoid valve - critical components that may fail. State-of-the-art detection of sensor failure, based on a voting algorithm, may fail under circumstances where two or more sensors show the same but incorrect values. The present paper details a novel rebreather controller that offers true sensor-signal validation, thus allowing efficient and reliable detection of sensor failure. The core components of this validation system are two additional solenoids, which allow an injection of oxygen or diluent gas directly across the sensor membrane.

Automated Microscopy: Macro Language Controlling a Confocal Microscope and its External Illumination: Adaptation for Photosynthetic Organisms.

PubMed

Steinbach, Gábor; Kaňa, Radek

2016-04-01

Photosynthesis research employs several biophysical methods, including the detection of fluorescence. Even though fluorescence is a key method to detect photosynthetic efficiency, it has not been applied/adapted to single-cell confocal microscopy measurements to examine photosynthetic microorganisms. Experiments with photosynthetic cells may require automation to perform a large number of measurements with different parameters, especially concerning light conditions. However, commercial microscopes support custom protocols (through Time Controller offered by Olympus or Experiment Designer offered by Zeiss) that are often unable to provide special set-ups and connection to external devices (e.g., for irradiation). Our new system combining an Arduino microcontroller with the Cell⊕Finder software was developed for controlling Olympus FV1000 and FV1200 confocal microscopes and the attached hardware modules. Our software/hardware solution offers (1) a text file-based macro language to control the imaging functions of the microscope; (2) programmable control of several external hardware devices (light sources, thermal controllers, actuators) during imaging via the Arduino microcontroller; (3) the Cell⊕Finder software with ergonomic user environment, a fast selection method for the biologically important cells and precise positioning feature that reduces unwanted bleaching of the cells by the scanning laser. Cell⊕Finder can be downloaded from http://www.alga.cz/cellfinder. The system was applied to study changes in fluorescence intensity in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 cells under long-term illumination. Thus, we were able to describe the kinetics of phycobilisome decoupling. Microscopy data showed that phycobilisome decoupling appears slowly after long-term (>1 h) exposure to high light.

Development of a low-cost soil moisture sensor for in-situ data collection by citizen scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajasekaran, E.; Jeyaram, R.; Lohrli, C.; Das, N.; Podest, E.; Hovhannesian, H.; Fairbanks, G.

2017-12-01

Soil moisture (SM) is identified as an Essential Climate Variable and it exerts a strong influence on agriculture, hydrology and land-atmosphere interaction. The aim of this project is to develop an affordable (low-cost), durable, and user-friendly, sensor and an associated mobile app to measure in-situ soil moisture by the citizen scientists or any K-12 students. The sensor essentially measures the electrical resistance between two metallic rods and the resistance is converted into SM based on soil specific calibration equations. The sensor is controlled by a micro-controller (Arduino) and a mobile app (available both for iOS and Android) reads the resistance from the micro-controller and converts it into SM for the soil type selected by the user. Extensive laboratory tests are currently being carried out to standardize the sensor and to calibrate the sensor for various soil types. The sensor will also be tested during field campaigns and recalibrated for field conditions. In addition to the development of the sensor and the mobile app, supporting documentation and videos are also being developed that show the step-by-step process of building the sensor from scratch and measurement protocols. Initial laboratory calibration and validation of the prototype suggested that the sensor is able to satisfactorily measure SM for sand, loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam type of soils. The affordable and simple sensor will help citizen scientists to understand the dynamics of SM at their site and the in-situ data will further be utilized for validation of the satellite observations from the SMAP mission.

Microcontroller based system for electrical breakdown time delay measurement in gas-filled devices.

PubMed

Pejović, Milić M; Denić, Dragan B; Pejović, Momčilo M; Nešić, Nikola T; Vasović, Nikola

2010-10-01

This paper presents realization of a digital embedded system for measuring electrical breakdown time delay. The proposed system consists of three major parts: dc voltage supply, analog subsystem, and a digital subsystem. Any dc power source with the range from 100 to 1000 V can be used in this application. The analog subsystem should provide fast and accurate voltage switching on the testing device as well as transform the signals that represent the voltage pulse on the device and the device breakdown into the form suitable for detection by a digital subsystem. The insulated gate bipolar transistor IRG4PH40KD driven by TC429 MOSFET driver is used for high voltage switching on the device. The aim of a digital subsystem is to detect the signals from the analog subsystem and to measure the elapsed time between their occurrences. Moreover, the digital subsystem controls various parameters that influence time delay and provides fast data storage for a large number of measured data. For this propose, we used the PIC18F4550 microcontroller with a full-speed compatible universal serial bus (USB) engine. Operation of this system is verified on different commercial and custom made gas devices with different structure and breakdown mechanisms. The electrical breakdown time delay measurements have been carried out as a function of several parameters, which dominantly influence electrical breakdown time delay. The obtained results have been verified using statistical methods, and they show good agreement with the theory. The proposed system shows good repeatability, sensitivity, and stability for measuring the electrical breakdown time delay.

A ROIC for Mn(TPP)Cl-DOP-THF-Polyhema PVC membrane modified n-channel Si3N4 ISFET sensitive to histamine.

PubMed

Samah, N L M A; Lee, Khuan Y; Sulaiman, S A; Jarmin, R

2017-07-01

Intolerance of histamine could lead to scombroid poisoning with fatal consequences. Current detection methods for histamine are wet laboratory techniques which employ expensive equipment that depends on skills of seasoned technicians and produces delayed test analysis result. Previous works from our group has established that ISFETs can be adapted for detecting histamine with the use of a novel membrane. However, work to integrate ISFETs with a readout interfacing circuit (ROIC) circuit to display the histamine concentration has not been reported so far. This paper concerns the development of a ROIC specifically to integrate with a Mn(TPP)Cl-DOP-THF-Polyhema PVC membrane modified n-channel Si3N4 ISFET to display the histamine concentration. It embodies the design of constant voltage constant current (CVCC) circuit, amplification circuit and micro-controller based display circuit. A DC millivolt source is used to substitute the membrane modified ISFET as preliminary work. Input is histamine concentration corresponding to the safety level designated by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). Results show the CVCC circuit makes the output follows the input and keeps VDS constant. The amplification circuit amplifies the output from the CVCC circuit to the range 2.406-4.888V to integrate with the microcontroller, which is programmed to classify and display the histamine safety level and its corresponding voltage on a LCD panel. The ROIC could be used to produce direct output voltages corresponding to histamine concentrations, for in-situ applications.

Exogrip: assisted hand strength glove - biomed 2011.

PubMed

Best, Jade E; Bostick, Nehemiah F; Connelly, John R; Dunn, Michael G; Gelles, Richard A; Norvell, Elizabeth K; Waugaman, William B; Mims, Capt Willie H

2011-01-01

A large number of American troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq have received wounds in their upper extremities leading to significant nerve damage and loss of strength. These injuries impair their ability to perform day-to-day tasks such as lifting a cup of coffee or opening a door. Although the cause of some injuries in service-people is often unique to their employment, civilian employees in other industries are also plagued with similar physical damage due to other kinds of injuries. Our goal is to develop a device to augment the strength of injured troops and civilian workers so they can perform everyday tasks despite their physical limitations. The ExoGrip is a glove designed to provide this necessary strength augmentation. The ExoGrip consists primarily of pressure sensors, linear actuators, and a microcontroller to provide a force multiplier based on a person’s strength. The goal of the first phase of the project was to conduct research and also produce a working prototype of one finger. This goal was achieved by a group of classmates who started the project a year before. Their research and feasibility analysis ended in the mechanical movement of a single finger when the sensors were activated. The next phase of this project is to design and integrate a working prototype that manipulates all four fingers, while keeping the thumb in a fixed position. This paper describes the integration of new microcontrollers, linear actuators utilizing pulse width modulation technology, and improved pressure sensors needed to manipulate the fingers, as well as laying the foundation for future testing and development of a final product.

Microcontroller based system for electrical breakdown time delay measurement in gas-filled devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pejovic, Milic M.; Denic, Dragan B.; Pejovic, Momcilo M.

2010-10-15

This paper presents realization of a digital embedded system for measuring electrical breakdown time delay. The proposed system consists of three major parts: dc voltage supply, analog subsystem, and a digital subsystem. Any dc power source with the range from 100 to 1000 V can be used in this application. The analog subsystem should provide fast and accurate voltage switching on the testing device as well as transform the signals that represent the voltage pulse on the device and the device breakdown into the form suitable for detection by a digital subsystem. The insulated gate bipolar transistor IRG4PH40KD driven bymore » TC429 MOSFET driver is used for high voltage switching on the device. The aim of a digital subsystem is to detect the signals from the analog subsystem and to measure the elapsed time between their occurrences. Moreover, the digital subsystem controls various parameters that influence time delay and provides fast data storage for a large number of measured data. For this propose, we used the PIC18F4550 microcontroller with a full-speed compatible universal serial bus (USB) engine. Operation of this system is verified on different commercial and custom made gas devices with different structure and breakdown mechanisms. The electrical breakdown time delay measurements have been carried out as a function of several parameters, which dominantly influence electrical breakdown time delay. The obtained results have been verified using statistical methods, and they show good agreement with the theory. The proposed system shows good repeatability, sensitivity, and stability for measuring the electrical breakdown time delay.« less

Development of an interface for an ultrareliable fault-tolerant control system and an electronic servo-control unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaver, Charles; Williamson, Michael

1986-01-01

The NASA Ames Research Center sponsors a research program for the investigation of Intelligent Flight Control Actuation systems. The use of artificial intelligence techniques in conjunction with algorithmic techniques for autonomous, decentralized fault management of flight-control actuation systems is explored under this program. The design, development, and operation of the interface for laboratory investigation of this program is documented. The interface, architecturally based on the Intel 8751 microcontroller, is an interrupt-driven system designed to receive a digital message from an ultrareliable fault-tolerant control system (UFTCS). The interface links the UFTCS to an electronic servo-control unit, which controls a set of hydraulic actuators. It was necessary to build a UFTCS emulator (also based on the Intel 8751) to provide signal sources for testing the equipment.

Measurement system for nitrous oxide based on amperometric gas sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siswoyo, S.; Persaud, K. C.; Phillips, V. R.; Sneath, R.

2017-03-01

It has been well known that nitrous oxide is an important greenhouse gas, so monitoring and control of its concentration and emission is very important. In this work a nitrous oxide measurement system has been developed consisting of an amperometric sensor and an appropriate lab-made potentiostat that capable measuring picoampere current ranges. The sensor was constructed using a gold microelectrode as working electrode surrounded by a silver wire as quasi reference electrode, with tetraethyl ammonium perchlorate and dimethylsulphoxide as supporting electrolyte and solvent respectively. The lab-made potentiostat was built incorporating a transimpedance amplifier capable of picoampere measurements. This also incorporated a microcontroller based data acquisition system, controlled by a host personal computer using a dedicated computer program. The system was capable of detecting N2O concentrations down to 0.07 % v/v.

Design and construction of smart cane using infrared laser-based tracking system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Chi Fung; Phitagragsakul, Narikorn; Jornsamer, Patcharaporn; Kaewmeesri, Pimsin; Jantakot, Pimsunan; Locharoenrat, Kitsakorn

2018-06-01

Our work is aimed to design and construct the smart cane. The infrared laser-based sensor was used as a distance detector and Arduino board was used as a microcontroller. On the other hand, Bluetooth was used as a wireless communicator and MP3 module together with the headset were used as a voice alert player. Our smart cane is a very effective device for the users under the indoor guidance. That is, the obstacle was detectable 3,000 cm away from the blind people. The white cane was assembled with the laser distance sensor and distance alert sensor served as the compact and light-weight device. Distance detection was very fast and precise when the smart cane was tested for the different obstacles, such as human, wall and wooden table under the indoor area.

Modification and fixed-point analysis of a Kalman filter for orientation estimation based on 9D inertial measurement unit data.

PubMed

Brückner, Hans-Peter; Spindeldreier, Christian; Blume, Holger

2013-01-01

A common approach for high accuracy sensor fusion based on 9D inertial measurement unit data is Kalman filtering. State of the art floating-point filter algorithms differ in their computational complexity nevertheless, real-time operation on a low-power microcontroller at high sampling rates is not possible. This work presents algorithmic modifications to reduce the computational demands of a two-step minimum order Kalman filter. Furthermore, the required bit-width of a fixed-point filter version is explored. For evaluation real-world data captured using an Xsens MTx inertial sensor is used. Changes in computational latency and orientation estimation accuracy due to the proposed algorithmic modifications and fixed-point number representation are evaluated in detail on a variety of processing platforms enabling on-board processing on wearable sensor platforms.

Full autonomous microline trace robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Deer; Lu, Si; Yan, Yingbai; Jin, Guofan

2000-10-01

Optoelectric inspection may find applications in robotic system. In micro robotic system, smaller optoelectric inspection system is preferred. However, as miniaturizing the size of the robot, the number of the optoelectric detector becomes lack. And lack of the information makes the micro robot difficult to acquire its status. In our lab, a micro line trace robot has been designed, which autonomous acts based on its optoelectric detection. It has been programmed to follow a black line printed on the white colored ground. Besides the optoelectric inspection, logical algorithm in the microprocessor is also important. In this paper, we propose a simply logical algorithm to realize robot's intelligence. The robot's intelligence is based on a AT89C2051 microcontroller which controls its movement. The technical details of the micro robot are as follow: dimension: 30mm*25mm*35*mm; velocity: 60mm/s.

Using the Arduino with MakerPlot Software for the Display of Electrical Device Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkin, Keith

2017-01-01

This paper shows how very simple circuitry attached to an Arduino microcontroller with MakerPlot software can be used for the display of electrical characteristic curves of three commonly available devices: an ohmic resistor, an LED, and a tungsten-filament bulb.

A Virtual Embedded Microcontroller Laboratory for Undergraduate Education: Development and Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Jeffrey J.; Adamo-Villani, Nicoletta

2010-01-01

Laboratory instruction is a major component of the engineering and technology undergraduate curricula. Traditional laboratory instruction is hampered by several factors including limited access to resources by students and high laboratory maintenance cost. A photorealistic 3D computer-simulated laboratory for undergraduate instruction in…

A new type of temperature and humidity detection-control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Lian-Bo; Lou, Shu-Hui

This paper introduces a new type of intelligent multichannel system for the detection and control of temperature and humidity. In this paper, the integration of the hardware with the software is discussed. Additionally, the function of the single-chip microcomputer (microcontroller) is described fully.

Using the Arduino with MakerPlot software for the display of electrical device characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atkin, Keith

2017-11-01

This paper shows how very simple circuitry attached to an Arduino microcontroller with MakerPlot software can be used for the display of electrical characteristic curves of three commonly available devices: an ohmic resistor, an LED, and a tungsten-filament bulb.

Modular Integrated Stackable Layers (MISL) MI_MSP430A Board Design Document (BDD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yim, Hester

2013-01-01

This is a board-level design document for Modular Integrated Stackable Layers (MISL) MI_MSP430A board (PIN MSP430F5438A). The Board Design Document (BDD) contains the description, features of microcontroller, electrical and mechanical design, and drawings.

Using microcontrollers to study emergence rhythms of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An important aspect of pollination is phenological overlap of natural events, such as peak flower bloom coinciding with pollinator emergence. Pollinator emergence can be impacted by environmental cues that inform their internal clocks. The alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata is a solitary, ...

Designing of smart home automation system based on Raspberry Pi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saini, Ravi Prakash; Singh, Bhanu Pratap; Sharma, Mahesh Kumar; Wattanawisuth, Nattapol; Leeprechanon, Nopbhorn

2016-03-01

Locally networked or remotely controlled home automation system becomes a popular paradigm because of the numerous advantages and is suitable for academic research. This paper proposes a method for an implementation of Raspberry Pi based home automation system presented with an android phone access interface. The power consumption profile across the connected load is measured accurately through programming. Users can access the graph of total power consumption with respect to time worldwide using their Dropbox account. An android application has been developed to channelize the monitoring and controlling operation of home appliances remotely. This application facilitates controlling of operating pins of Raspberry Pi by pressing the corresponding key for turning "on" and "off" of any desired appliance. Systems can range from the simple room lighting control to smart microcontroller based hybrid systems incorporating several other additional features. Smart home automation systems are being adopted to achieve flexibility, scalability, security in the sense of data protection through the cloud-based data storage protocol, reliability, energy efficiency, etc.

Designing of smart home automation system based on Raspberry Pi

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saini, Ravi Prakash; Singh, Bhanu Pratap; Sharma, Mahesh Kumar

Locally networked or remotely controlled home automation system becomes a popular paradigm because of the numerous advantages and is suitable for academic research. This paper proposes a method for an implementation of Raspberry Pi based home automation system presented with an android phone access interface. The power consumption profile across the connected load is measured accurately through programming. Users can access the graph of total power consumption with respect to time worldwide using their Dropbox account. An android application has been developed to channelize the monitoring and controlling operation of home appliances remotely. This application facilitates controlling of operating pinsmore » of Raspberry Pi by pressing the corresponding key for turning “on” and “off” of any desired appliance. Systems can range from the simple room lighting control to smart microcontroller based hybrid systems incorporating several other additional features. Smart home automation systems are being adopted to achieve flexibility, scalability, security in the sense of data protection through the cloud-based data storage protocol, reliability, energy efficiency, etc.« less

The Art of Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horowitz, Paul; Hill, Winfield

2015-04-01

1. Foundations; 2. Bipolar transistors; 3. Field effect transistors; 4. Operational amplifiers; 5. Precision circuits; 6. Filters; 7. Oscillators and timers; 8. Low noise techniques and transimpedance; 9. Power regulation; 10. Digital electronics; 11. Programmable logic devices; 12. Logical interfacing; 13. Digital meets analog; 14. Computers, controllers, and data links; 15. Microcontrollers.

MICROFABRICATED ELECTROCHEMICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM FOR HEAVY METAL DETECTION. (R825511C047)

EPA Science Inventory

A low power, hand-held system has been developed for the measurement of heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions. The system consists of an electrode array sensor, a high performance single chip potentiostat and a microcontroller circuit. The sensor is a microfabricated array of ...

Implementation monitoring temperature, humidity and mositure soil based on wireless sensor network for e-agriculture technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumarudin, A.; Ghozali, A. L.; Hasyim, A.; Effendi, A.

2016-04-01

Indonesian agriculture has great potensial for development. Agriculture a lot yet based on data collection for soil or plant, data soil can use for analys soil fertility. We propose e-agriculture system for monitoring soil. This system can monitoring soil status. Monitoring system based on wireless sensor mote that sensing soil status. Sensor monitoring utilize soil moisture, humidity and temperature. System monitoring design with mote based on microcontroler and xbee connection. Data sensing send to gateway with star topology with one gateway. Gateway utilize with mini personal computer and connect to xbee cordinator mode. On gateway, gateway include apache server for store data based on My-SQL. System web base with YII framework. System done implementation and can show soil status real time. Result the system can connection other mote 40 meters and mote lifetime 7 hours and minimum voltage 7 volt. The system can help famer for monitoring soil and farmer can making decision for treatment soil based on data. It can improve the quality in agricultural production and would decrease the management and farming costs.

Passive UHF RFID Tag for Multispectral Assessment

PubMed Central

Escobedo, Pablo; Carvajal, Miguel A.; Capitán-Vallvey, Luis F.; Fernández-Salmerón, José; Martínez-Olmos, Antonio; Palma, Alberto J.

2016-01-01

This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a passive printed radiofrequency identification tag in the ultra-high-frequency band with multiple optical sensing capabilities. This tag includes five photodiodes to cover a wide spectral range from near-infrared to visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. The tag antenna and circuit connections have been screen-printed on a flexible polymeric substrate. An ultra-low-power microcontroller-based switch has been included to measure the five magnitudes issuing from the optical sensors, providing a spectral fingerprint of the incident electromagnetic radiation from ultraviolet to infrared, without requiring energy from a battery. The normalization procedure has been designed applying illuminants, and the entire system was tested by measuring cards from a colour chart and sensing fruit ripening. PMID:27428973

Passive UHF RFID Tag for Multispectral Assessment.

PubMed

Escobedo, Pablo; Carvajal, Miguel A; Capitán-Vallvey, Luis F; Fernández-Salmerón, José; Martínez-Olmos, Antonio; Palma, Alberto J

2016-07-14

This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a passive printed radiofrequency identification tag in the ultra-high-frequency band with multiple optical sensing capabilities. This tag includes five photodiodes to cover a wide spectral range from near-infrared to visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. The tag antenna and circuit connections have been screen-printed on a flexible polymeric substrate. An ultra-low-power microcontroller-based switch has been included to measure the five magnitudes issuing from the optical sensors, providing a spectral fingerprint of the incident electromagnetic radiation from ultraviolet to infrared, without requiring energy from a battery. The normalization procedure has been designed applying illuminants, and the entire system was tested by measuring cards from a colour chart and sensing fruit ripening.

Investigation of signal processing algorithms for an embedded microcontroller-based wearable pulse oximeter.

PubMed

Johnston, W S; Mendelson, Y

2006-01-01

Despite steady progress in the miniaturization of pulse oximeters over the years, significant challenges remain since advanced signal processing must be implemented efficiently in real-time by a relatively small size wearable device. The goal of this study was to investigate several potential digital signal processing algorithms for computing arterial oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) and heart rate (HR) in a battery-operated wearable reflectance pulse oximeter that is being developed in our laboratory for use by medics and first responders in the field. We found that a differential measurement approach, combined with a low-pass filter (LPF), yielded the most suitable signal processing technique for estimating SpO(2), while a signal derivative approach produced the most accurate HR measurements.

Design of temperature detection device for drum of belt conveyor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Li; He, Rongjun

2018-03-01

For difficult wiring and big measuring error existed in the traditional temperature detection method for drum of belt conveyor, a temperature detection device for drum of belt conveyor based on Radio Frequency(RF) communication is designed. In the device, detection terminal can collect temperature data through tire pressure sensor chip SP370 which integrates temperature detection and RF emission. The receiving terminal which is composed of RF receiver chip and microcontroller receives the temperature data and sends it to Controller Area Network(CAN) bus. The test results show that the device meets requirements of field application with measuring error ±3.73 ° and single button battery can provide continuous current for the detection terminal over 1.5 years.

Embedded image processing engine using ARM cortex-M4 based STM32F407 microcontroller

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samaiya, Devesh, E-mail: samaiya.devesh@gmail.com

2014-10-06

Due to advancement in low cost, easily available, yet powerful hardware and revolution in open source software, urge to make newer, more interactive machines and electronic systems have increased manifold among engineers. To make system more interactive, designers need easy to use sensor systems. Giving the boon of vision to machines was never easy, though it is not impossible these days; it is still not easy and expensive. This work presents a low cost, moderate performance and programmable Image processing engine. This Image processing engine is able to capture real time images, can store the images in the permanent storagemore » and can perform preprogrammed image processing operations on the captured images.« less

Microcontroller - Based System for Electrogastrography Monitoring Through Wireless Transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haddab, S.; Laghrouche, M.

2009-01-01

Electrogastrography (EGG) is a non-invasive method for recording the electrical activity of the stomach. This paper presents a system designed for monitoring the EGG physiological variables of a patient outside the hospital environment. The signal acquisition is achieved by means of an ambulatory system carried by the patient and connected to him through skin electrodes. The acquired signal is transmitted via the Bluetooth to a mobile phone where the data are stored into the memory and then transferred via the GSM network to the processing and diagnostic unit in the hospital. EGG is usually contaminated by artefacts and other signals, which are sometimes difficult to remove. We have used a neural network method for motion artefacts removal and biological signal separation.

Research of pulse signal processing based on sleep-monitoring alarm system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kaisheng; Zeng, Yuan

2009-07-01

From pulse diagnosis of Chinese herbalist doctor to the research of cardiovascular system by modem iatrology,they all have showed and proved that human pulse has a good affinity with diseases,especially cardiovascular diseases. Human pulse contains much physical information, and it will be propitious to know the human healthy state early so as to get therapy and recovery early when pulse signal is often detected and analyzed. study how to use the embedded microcontroller to transmit physiological signal from human to personal computer by infrared communication, and the normal sphygmic parameter in one's sleeping is compared with the one measured in order to judge whether one's sleeping condition is normal, finally ascertain the best control plan.

Measurement of greenhouse gases in UAE by using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abou-Elnour, Ali; Odeh, Mohamed; Abdelrhman, Mohammed; Balkis, Ahmed; Amira, Abdelraouf

2017-04-01

In the present work, a reliable and low cost system has been designed and implemented to measure greenhouse gases (GHG) in United Arab Emirates (UAE) by using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A set of accurate gas, temperature, pressure, humidity sensors are integrated together with a wireless communication system on a microcontroller based platform to continuously measure the required data. The system instantaneously sends the measured data to a center monitoring unit via the wireless communication system. In addition, the proposed system has the features that all measurements are recorded directly in a storage device to allow effective monitoring in regions with weak or no wireless coverage. The obtained data will be used in all further sophisticated calculations for environmental research and monitoring purposes.

Multifunctional microcontrollable interface module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spitzer, Mark B.; Zavracky, Paul M.; Rensing, Noa M.; Crawford, J.; Hockman, Angela H.; Aquilino, P. D.; Girolamo, Henry J.

2001-08-01

This paper reports the development of a complete eyeglass- mounted computer interface system including display, camera and audio subsystems. The display system provides an SVGA image with a 20 degree horizontal field of view. The camera system has been optimized for face recognition and provides a 19 degree horizontal field of view. A microphone and built-in pre-amp optimized for voice recognition and a speaker on an articulated arm are included for audio. An important feature of the system is a high degree of adjustability and reconfigurability. The system has been developed for testing by the Military Police, in a complete system comprising the eyeglass-mounted interface, a wearable computer, and an RF link. Details of the design, construction, and performance of the eyeglass-based system are discussed.

A low cost PSD-based monocular motion capture system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Young Kee; Oh, Choonsuk

2007-10-01

This paper describes a monocular PSD-based motion capture sensor to employ with commercial video game systems such as Microsoft's XBOX and Sony's Playstation II. The system is compact, low-cost, and only requires a one-time calibration at the factory. The system includes a PSD(Position Sensitive Detector) and active infrared (IR) LED markers that are placed on the object to be tracked. The PSD sensor is placed in the focal plane of a wide-angle lens. The micro-controller calculates the 3D position of the markers using only the measured intensity and the 2D position on the PSD. A series of experiments were performed to evaluate the performance of our prototype system. From the experimental results we see that the proposed system has the advantages of the compact size, the low cost, the easy installation, and the high frame rates to be suitable for high speed motion tracking in games.

Nanoporous-Gold-Based Hybrid Cantilevered Actuator Dealloyed and Driven by A Modified Rotary Triboelectric Nanogenerator

PubMed Central

Li, Xuequan; Liu, Mengmeng; Huang, Baisheng; Liu, Hong; Hu, Weiguo; Shao, Li-Hua; Wang, Zhong Lin

2016-01-01

We firstly designed an electrochemical system for dealloying to synthesize nanoporous gold (NPG) and also driving the novel NPG based actuator by utilizing a modified rotary triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Compared to the previous reported TENG whose outputs decline due to temperature rising resulting from electrodes friction, the modified TENG with a cooling system has stable output current and voltage increased by 14% and 20%, respectively. The novel cantilevered hybrid actuator characterised by light-weight (ca. 3 mg) and small volume (ca. 30 mm × 2 mm × 10 μm) is driven by a microcontroller modulated TENG with the displacement of 2.2 mm, which is about 106 times larger than that of traditional cantilever using planar surfaces. The energy conversion efficiencies defined as the energy consumed during dealloying and actuation compared with the output of TENG are 47% and 56.7%, respectively. PMID:27063987

Intelligent RF-Based Gesture Input Devices Implemented Using e-Textiles †

PubMed Central

Hughes, Dana; Profita, Halley; Radzihovsky, Sarah; Correll, Nikolaus

2017-01-01

We present an radio-frequency (RF)-based approach to gesture detection and recognition, using e-textile versions of common transmission lines used in microwave circuits. This approach allows for easy fabrication of input swatches that can detect a continuum of finger positions and similarly basic gestures, using a single measurement line. We demonstrate that the swatches can perform gesture detection when under thin layers of cloth or when weatherproofed, providing a high level of versatility not present with other types of approaches. Additionally, using small convolutional neural networks, low-level gestures can be identified with a high level of accuracy using a small, inexpensive microcontroller, allowing for an intelligent fabric that reports only gestures of interest, rather than a simple sensor requiring constant surveillance from an external computing device. The resulting e-textile smart composite has applications in controlling wearable devices by providing a simple, eyes-free mechanism to input simple gestures. PMID:28125010

Microcontroller based driver alertness detection systems to detect drowsiness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adenin, Hasibah; Zahari, Rahimi; Lim, Tiong Hoo

2018-04-01

The advancement of embedded system for detecting and preventing drowsiness in a vehicle is a major challenge for road traffic accident systems. To prevent drowsiness while driving, it is necessary to have an alert system that can detect a decline in driver concentration and send a signal to the driver. Studies have shown that traffc accidents usually occur when the driver is distracted while driving. In this paper, we have reviewed a number of detection systems to monitor the concentration of a car driver and propose a portable Driver Alertness Detection System (DADS) to determine the level of concentration of the driver based on pixelated coloration detection technique using facial recognition. A portable camera will be placed at the front visor to capture facial expression and the eye activities. We evaluate DADS using 26 participants and have achieved 100% detection rate with good lighting condition and a low detection rate at night.

3D electrode localization on wireless sensor networks for wearable BCI.

PubMed

Figueiredo, C P; Dias, N S; Hoffmann, K P; Mendes, P M

2008-01-01

This paper presents a solution for electrode localization on wearable BCI radio-enabled electrodes. Electrode positioning is a common issue in any electrical physiological recording. Although wireless node localization is a very active research topic, a precise method with few centimeters of range and a resolution in the order of millimeters is still to be found, since far-field measurements are very prone to error. The calculation of 3D coordinates for each electrode is based on anchorless range-based localization algorithms such as Multidimensional Scaling and Self-Positioning Algorithm. The implemented solution relies on the association of a small antenna to measure the magnetic field and a microcontroller to each electrode, which will be part of the wireless sensor network module. The implemented solution is suitable for EEG applications, namely the wearable BCI, with expected range of 20 cm and resolution of 5 mm.

Monitoring eating habits using a piezoelectric sensor-based necklace.

PubMed

Kalantarian, Haik; Alshurafa, Nabil; Le, Tuan; Sarrafzadeh, Majid

2015-03-01

Maintaining appropriate levels of food intake and developing regularity in eating habits is crucial to weight loss and the preservation of a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, awareness of eating habits is an important step towards portion control and weight loss. In this paper, we introduce a novel food-intake monitoring system based around a wearable wireless-enabled necklace. The proposed necklace includes an embedded piezoelectric sensor, small Arduino-compatible microcontroller, Bluetooth LE transceiver, and Lithium-Polymer battery. Motion in the throat is captured and transmitted to a mobile application for processing and user guidance. Results from data collected from 30 subjects indicate that it is possible to detect solid and liquid foods, with an F-measure of 0.837 and 0.864, respectively, using a naive Bayes classifier. Furthermore, identification of extraneous motions such as head turns and walking are shown to significantly reduce the false positive rate of swallow detection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An embedded measurement system for the electrical characterization of EGFET as a pH sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diniz Batista, Pablo

2014-02-01

This work presents the development of an electronic system for the electrical characterization of pH sensors based on the extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET). We designed an electronic circuit with a microcontroller (PIC15F14K50) as the main component in order to provide two programmable output voltages as well as circuits to measure electric current and voltages. The instrument performance analysis was carried out using a glass electrode as a sensitive membrane for investigating the EGFET operation as a pH sensor. The results show that the system is an alternative to the commercial equipment for the electrical characterization of sensors based on field effect devices. In addition, some of the key features expected of this electronic module are: low cost, flexibility, portability and communication with a personal computer using a USB port.

Solutions for acceleration measurement in vehicle crash tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dima, D. S.; Covaciu, D.

2017-10-01

Crash tests are useful for validating computer simulations of road traffic accidents. One of the most important parameters measured is the acceleration. The evolution of acceleration versus time, during a crash test, form a crash pulse. The correctness of the crash pulse determination depends on the data acquisition system used. Recommendations regarding the instrumentation for impact tests are given in standards, which are focused on the use of accelerometers as impact sensors. The goal of this paper is to present the device and software developed by authors for data acquisition and processing. The system includes two accelerometers with different input ranges, a processing unit based on a 32-bit microcontroller and a data logging unit with SD card. Data collected on card, as text files, is processed with a dedicated software running on personal computers. The processing is based on diagrams and includes the digital filters recommended in standards.

Intelligent RF-Based Gesture Input Devices Implemented Using e-Textiles.

PubMed

Hughes, Dana; Profita, Halley; Radzihovsky, Sarah; Correll, Nikolaus

2017-01-24

We present an radio-frequency (RF)-based approach to gesture detection and recognition, using e-textile versions of common transmission lines used in microwave circuits. This approach allows for easy fabrication of input swatches that can detect a continuum of finger positions and similarly basic gestures, using a single measurement line. We demonstrate that the swatches can perform gesture detection when under thin layers of cloth or when weatherproofed, providing a high level of versatility not present with other types of approaches. Additionally, using small convolutional neural networks, low-level gestures can be identified with a high level of accuracy using a small, inexpensive microcontroller, allowing for an intelligent fabric that reports only gestures of interest, rather than a simple sensor requiring constant surveillance from an external computing device. The resulting e-textile smart composite has applications in controlling wearable devices by providing a simple, eyes-free mechanism to input simple gestures.

Design and Development of a Portable WiFi enabled BIA device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Križaj, D.; Baloh, M.; Brajkovič, R.; Žagar, T.

2013-04-01

A bioimpedance device (BIA) for evaluation of sarcopenia - age related muscle mass loss - is designed, developed and evaluated. The requirements were based on lightweight design, flexible and user enabled incorporation of measurement protocols and WiFi protocol for remote device control, full internet integration and fast development and usage of measurement protocols. The current design is based on usage of a microcontroller with integrated AD/DA converters. The prototype system was assembled and the operation and connectivity to different handheld devices and laptop computers was successfully tested. The designed BIA device can be accessed using TCP sockets and once the connection is established the data transfer runs successfully at the specified speed. The accuracy of currently developed prototype is about 5% for the impedance modulus and 5 deg. for the phase for the frequencies below 20 kHz with an unfiltered excitation signal and no additional amplifiers employed.

Transforming PC Power Supplies into Smart Car Battery Conditioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez-Ascariz, J. M.; Boquete-Vazquez, L.

2011-01-01

This paper describes a laboratory project consisting of a PC power supply modification into an intelligent car-battery conditioner with both wireless and wired networking capabilities. Adding a microcontroller to an average PC power supply transforms it into a flexible, intelligent device that can be configured and that is suitable to keep car…

Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) responses to microcontroller-buzzer communication signals of potential use in vibration traps

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Monitoring of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama populations is an important component of efforts to reduce damage caused by huanglongbing, a devastating disease it vectors in citrus groves. Currently, D. citri is monitored primarily by unbaited sticky traps or visual inspection of trees. A potentially more ...

Design of a Solar Tracking Interactive Kiosk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, Nathaniel R.; Brunskill, Jeffrey C.

2017-01-01

A two-axis solar tracker and its interactive kiosk were designed by an interdisciplinary team of students and faculty. The objective was to develop a publicly accessible kiosk that would facilitate the study of energy usage and production on campus. Tracking is accomplished by an open-loop algorithm, microcontroller, and ham radio rotator. Solar…

Comparison of Radio Frequency Distinct Native Attribute and Matched Filtering Techniques for Device Discrimination and Operation Identification

DTIC Science & Technology

identification. URE from ten MSP430F5529 16-bit microcontrollers were analyzed using: 1) RF distinct native attributes (RF-DNA) fingerprints paired with multiple...discriminant analysis/maximum likelihood (MDA/ML) classification, 2) RF-DNA fingerprints paired with generalized relevance learning vector quantized

Using Arduino microcontroller boards to measure response latencies.

PubMed

Schubert, Thomas W; D'Ausilio, Alessandro; Canto, Rosario

2013-12-01

Latencies of buttonpresses are a staple of cognitive science paradigms. Often keyboards are employed to collect buttonpresses, but their imprecision and variability decreases test power and increases the risk of false positives. Response boxes and data acquisition cards are precise, but expensive and inflexible, alternatives. We propose using open-source Arduino microcontroller boards as an inexpensive and flexible alternative. These boards connect to standard experimental software using a USB connection and a virtual serial port, or by emulating a keyboard. In our solution, an Arduino measures response latencies after being signaled the start of a trial, and communicates the latency and response back to the PC over a USB connection. We demonstrated the reliability, robustness, and precision of this communication in six studies. Test measures confirmed that the error added to the measurement had an SD of less than 1 ms. Alternatively, emulation of a keyboard results in similarly precise measurement. The Arduino performs as well as a serial response box, and better than a keyboard. In addition, our setup allows for the flexible integration of other sensors, and even actuators, to extend the cognitive science toolbox.

A Wind Energy Powered Wireless Temperature Sensor Node

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chuang; He, Xue-Feng; Li, Si-Yu; Cheng, Yao-Qing; Rao, Yang

2015-01-01

A wireless temperature sensor node composed of a piezoelectric wind energy harvester, a temperature sensor, a microcontroller, a power management circuit and a wireless transmitting module was developed. The wind-induced vibration energy harvester with a cuboid chamber of 62 mm × 19.6 mm × 10 mm converts ambient wind energy into electrical energy to power the sensor node. A TMP102 temperature sensor and the MSP430 microcontroller are used to measure the temperature. The power management module consists of LTC3588-1 and LT3009 units. The measured temperature is transmitted by the nRF24l01 transceiver. Experimental results show that the critical wind speed of the harvester was about 5.4 m/s and the output power of the harvester was about 1.59 mW for the electrical load of 20 kΩ at wind speed of 11.2 m/s, which was sufficient to power the wireless sensor node to measure and transmit the temperature every 13 s. When the wind speed increased from 6 m/s to 11.5 m/s, the self-powered wireless sensor node worked normally. PMID:25734649

The supply voltage apparatus of the CUORE experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnaboldi, C.; Baú, A.; Carniti, P.; Cassina, L.; Giachero, A.; Gotti, C.; Maino, M.; Passerini, A.; Pessina, G.

2016-07-01

The Electronics system of experiments for the study of rare decays, such as the neutrino-less double beta decay, must be very stable over very long expected runs. We introduce our solution for the power supply of such an experiment, CUORE. In this case the power supply chain consists of a series of ACDCs, followed by DCDCs and then Linear Regulators. We emphasize here our approach to the DCDC regulation system that was designed with a complete rejection of the switching noise, across 100 MHz bandwidth. In the experimental layout the DCDC will be located far from the very front-end, with long connecting cables (10 m). We introduced our very simple and safe solution to prevent huge over-voltages, due to the energy stored in the inductance of the cables, generated after the release of accidental short circuits, so avoiding destructive effects. Some micro-controllers are present on every board and take care of the DCDC operation. These micro-controllers are managed from the control room, via CAN BUS protocol coupled via optical fibres. CUORE is an array of 1000 cryogenic detectors that will need 30 of our DCDCs.

Measurement of urinary calcium using AT89C51RD2 microcontroller.

PubMed

Neelamegam, P; Jamaludeen, A; Rajendran, A; Raghunathan, R

2009-04-01

A simple and inexpensive absorption technique for determination of calcium ion in urine samples is developed, comprising a light emitting diode (650 nm) as the light source and photodiode as the detector with AT89C51RD2 microcontroller. The design of the system and details of interface, calibration, and procedure of operation are explained in this paper. Software is developed to monitor sample processing and to display the results in liquid crystal display screen. With 15 microl sample volume, a linear output is obtained in the range of 2.5-7.5 mM calcium with a detection limit of 0.06 mM. Interferences from other cations such as monovalent ion and divalent ion are investigated in the expected range, which are normally present in clinical samples, and absorption changes over the pH range of 3-12 are also determined. This system has been demonstrated successfully for the successive assay of calcium in urine samples, with the results comparing well to those achieved and in good agreement with values obtained with the current clinical spectrophotometric method at 95% of confidence level.

A wind energy powered wireless temperature sensor node.

PubMed

Zhang, Chuang; He, Xue-Feng; Li, Si-Yu; Cheng, Yao-Qing; Rao, Yang

2015-02-27

A wireless temperature sensor node composed of a piezoelectric wind energy harvester, a temperature sensor, a microcontroller, a power management circuit and a wireless transmitting module was developed. The wind-induced vibration energy harvester with a cuboid chamber of 62 mm × 19.6 mm × 10 mm converts ambient wind energy into electrical energy to power the sensor node. A TMP102 temperature sensor and the MSP430 microcontroller are used to measure the temperature. The power management module consists of LTC3588-1 and LT3009 units. The measured temperature is transmitted by the nRF24l01 transceiver. Experimental results show that the critical wind speed of the harvester was about 5.4 m/s and the output power of the harvester was about 1.59 mW for the electrical load of 20 kΩ at wind speed of 11.2 m/s, which was sufficient to power the wireless sensor node to measure and transmit the temperature every 13 s. When the wind speed increased from 6 m/s to 11.5 m/s, the self-powered wireless sensor node worked normally.

Gram staining with an automatic machine.

PubMed

Felek, S; Arslan, A

1999-01-01

This study was undertaken to develop a new Gram-staining machine controlled by a micro-controller and to investigate the quality of slides that were stained in the machine. The machine was designed and produced by the authors. It uses standard 220 V AC. Staining, washing, and drying periods are controlled by a timer built in the micro-controller. A software was made that contains a certain algorithm and time intervals for the staining mode. One-hundred and forty smears were prepared from Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria sp., blood culture, trypticase soy broth, direct pus and sputum smears for comparison studies. Half of the slides in each group were stained with the machine, the other half by hand and then examined by four different microbiologists. Machine-stained slides had a higher clarity and less debris than the hand-stained slides (p < 0.05). In hand-stained slides, some Gram-positive organisms showed poor Gram-positive staining features (p < 0.05). In conclusion, we suggest that Gram staining with the automatic machine increases the staining quality and helps to decrease the work load in a busy diagnostic laboratory.

An automated Y-maze based on a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microcontroller for the assessment of continuous spontaneous alternation in rats.

PubMed

Heredia-López, Francisco J; Álvarez-Cervera, Fernando J; Collí-Alfaro, José G; Bata-García, José L; Arankowsky-Sandoval, Gloria; Góngora-Alfaro, José L

2016-12-01

Continuous spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB) in a Y-maze is used for evaluating working memory in rodents. Here, the design of an automated Y-maze equipped with three infrared optocouplers per arm, and commanded by a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microcontroller is described. The software was devised for recording only true entries and exits to the arms. Experimental settings are programmed via a keyboard with three buttons and a display. The sequence of arm entries and the time spent in each arm and the neutral zone (NZ) are saved as a text file in a non-volatile memory for later transfer to a USB flash memory. Data files are analyzed with a program developed under LabVIEW® environment, and the results are exported to an Excel® spreadsheet file. Variables measured are: latency to exit the starting arm, sequence and number of arm entries, number of alternations, alternation percentage, and cumulative times spent in each arm and NZ. The automated Y-maze accurately detected the SAB decrease produced in rats by the muscarinic antagonist trihexyphenidyl, and its reversal by caffeine, having 100 % concordance with the alternation percentages calculated by two trained observers who independently watched videos of the same experiments. Although the values of time spent in the arms and NZ measured by the automated system had small discrepancies with those calculated by the observers, Bland-Altman analysis showed 95 % concordance in three pairs of comparisons, while in one it was 90 %, indicating that this system is a reliable and inexpensive alternative for the study of continuous SAB in rodents.

Automatization Project for the Carl-Zeiss-Jena Coudè Telescope of the Simón Bolívar Planetarium I. The Electro-Mechanic System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Núñez, A.; Maharaj, A.; Muñoz, A. G.

2009-05-01

The ``Complejo Científico, Cultural y Turístico Simón Bolívar'' (CCCTSB), located in Maracaibo, Venezuela, lodges the Simón Bolívar Planetarium and an 150 mm aperture, 2250 mm focal length Carl-Zeiss-Jena Coudè refractor telescope. In this work we discuss the schematics for the automatization project of this Telescope, the planned improvements, methodology, engines, micro-controllers, interfaces and the uptodate status of the project. This project is working on the first two levels of the automation pyramid, the sensor -- actuator level and the control or Plant floor level. The Process control level correspond to the software related section. This mean that this project work immediately with the electrical, electronic and mechanical stuffs, and with the assembler micro controller language. All the pc related stuff, like GUI (Graphic user interfaces), remote control, Grid database, and others, correspond to the next two automation pyramid levels. The idea is that little human intervention will be required to manipulate the telescope, only giving a pair of coordinates to ubicate and follow an object on the sky. A set of three servomotors, coupling it with the telescope with a gear box, are going to manipulate right ascension, declination and focus movement. For the dome rotation, a three phase induction motor will be used. For dome aperture/closure it is suggested a DC motor powered with solar panels. All those actuators are controlled by a 8 bits micro-controller, which receive the coordinate imput, the signal from the position sensors and have the PID control algorithm. This algorithm is tuned based on the mathematical model of the telescope electro-mechanical instrumentation.

A novel design for sap flux data acquisition in large research plots using open source components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawthorne, D. A.; Oishi, A. C.

2017-12-01

Sap flux sensors are a widely-used tool for estimating in-situ, tree-level transpiration rates. These probes are installed in the stems of multiple trees within a study area and are typically left in place throughout the year. Sensors vary in their design and theory of operation, but all require electrical power for a heating element and produce at least one analog signal that must be digitized for storage. There are two topologies traditionally adopted to energize these sensors and gather the data from them. In one, a single data logger and power source are used. Dedicated cables radiate out from the logger to supply power to each of the probes and retrieve analog signals. In the other layout, a standalone data logger is located at each monitored tree. Batteries must then be distributed throughout the plot to service these loggers. We present a hybrid solution based on industrial control systems that employs a central data logger and battery, but co-locates digitizing hardware with the sensors at each tree. Each hardware node is able to communicate and share power over wire links with neighboring nodes. The resulting network provides a fault-tolerant path between the logger and each sensor. The approach is optimized to limit disturbance of the study plot, protect signal integrity and to enhance system reliability. This open-source implementation is built on the Arduino micro-controller system and employs RS485 and Modbus communications protocols. It is supported by laptop based management software coded in Python. The system is designed to be readily fabricated and programmed by non-experts. It works with a variety of sap-flux measurement techniques and it is able to interface to additional environmental sensors.

A Reward-Based Behavioral Platform to Measure Neural Activity during Head-Fixed Behavior

PubMed Central

Micallef, Andrew H.; Takahashi, Naoya; Larkum, Matthew E.; Palmer, Lucy M.

2017-01-01

Understanding the neural computations that contribute to behavior requires recording from neurons while an animal is behaving. This is not an easy task as most subcellular recording techniques require absolute head stability. The Go/No-Go sensory task is a powerful decision-driven task that enables an animal to report a binary decision during head-fixation. Here we discuss how to set up an Ardunio and Python based platform system to control a Go/No-Go sensory behavior paradigm. Using an Arduino micro-controller and Python-based custom written program, a reward can be delivered to the animal depending on the decision reported. We discuss the various components required to build the behavioral apparatus that can control and report such a sensory stimulus paradigm. This system enables the end user to control the behavioral testing in real-time and therefore it provides a strong custom-made platform for probing the neural basis of behavior. PMID:28620282

Low-Cost Control System Built Upon Consumer-Based Electronics For Supervisory Control Of A Gas-Operated Heat Pump

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wetherington Jr, G Randall; Vineyard, Edward Allan; Mahderekal, Isaac

A preliminary evaluation of the performance of a consumer-based control system was conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Southwest Gas as part of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) authorized by the Department of Energy (DOE) (Mahderekal et al. (2013). The goal of the research was to evaluate the low-cost approach as a solution for implementing a supervisory control system for a residential gas-operated heat pump. The design incorporated two consumer-based micro-controllers; the Arduino Mega-2650 and the BeagleBone (white). Ten five-ton heat pump systems were designed, fabricated, and operationally tested in the Las Vega NV region.more » A robust data set was produced that allowed detailed assessment of the reliability and the operational perfromance of the newly developed control system. Experiences gained from the test provided important points of improvement for subsequent evolution of the heat pump technology.« less

A Low Power IoT Sensor Node Architecture for Waste Management Within Smart Cities Context.

PubMed

Cerchecci, Matteo; Luti, Francesco; Mecocci, Alessandro; Parrino, Stefano; Peruzzi, Giacomo; Pozzebon, Alessandro

2018-04-21

This paper focuses on the realization of an Internet of Things (IoT) architecture to optimize waste management in the context of Smart Cities. In particular, a novel typology of sensor node based on the use of low cost and low power components is described. This node is provided with a single-chip microcontroller, a sensor able to measure the filling level of trash bins using ultrasounds and a data transmission module based on the LoRa LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology. Together with the node, a minimal network architecture was designed, based on a LoRa gateway, with the purpose of testing the IoT node performances. Especially, the paper analyzes in detail the node architecture, focusing on the energy saving technologies and policies, with the purpose of extending the batteries lifetime by reducing power consumption, through hardware and software optimization. Tests on sensor and radio module effectiveness are also presented.

Platform Architecture for Decentralized Positioning Systems.

PubMed

Kasmi, Zakaria; Norrdine, Abdelmoumen; Blankenbach, Jörg

2017-04-26

A platform architecture for positioning systems is essential for the realization of a flexible localization system, which interacts with other systems and supports various positioning technologies and algorithms. The decentralized processing of a position enables pushing the application-level knowledge into a mobile station and avoids the communication with a central unit such as a server or a base station. In addition, the calculation of the position on low-cost and resource-constrained devices presents a challenge due to the limited computing, storage capacity, as well as power supply. Therefore, we propose a platform architecture that enables the design of a system with the reusability of the components, extensibility (e.g., with other positioning technologies) and interoperability. Furthermore, the position is computed on a low-cost device such as a microcontroller, which simultaneously performs additional tasks such as data collecting or preprocessing based on an operating system. The platform architecture is designed, implemented and evaluated on the basis of two positioning systems: a field strength system and a time of arrival-based positioning system.

Development of a Wearable Controller for Gesture-Recognition-Based Applications Using Polyvinylidene Fluoride.

PubMed

Van Volkinburg, Kyle; Washington, Gregory

2017-08-01

This paper reports on a wearable gesture-based controller fabricated using the sensing capabilities of the flexible thin-film piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) which is shown to repeatedly and accurately discern, in real time, between right and left hand gestures. The PVDF is affixed to a compression sleeve worn on the forearm to create a wearable device that is flexible, adaptable, and highly shape conforming. Forearm muscle movements, which drive hand motions, are detected by the PVDF which outputs its voltage signal to a developed microcontroller-based board and processed by an artificial neural network that was trained to recognize the generated voltage profile of right and left hand gestures. The PVDF has been spatially shaded (etched) in such a way as to increase sensitivity to expected deformations caused by the specific muscles employed in making the targeted right and left gestures. The device proves to be exceptionally accurate both when positioned as intended and when rotated and translated on the forearm.

Platform Architecture for Decentralized Positioning Systems

PubMed Central

Kasmi, Zakaria; Norrdine, Abdelmoumen; Blankenbach, Jörg

2017-01-01

A platform architecture for positioning systems is essential for the realization of a flexible localization system, which interacts with other systems and supports various positioning technologies and algorithms. The decentralized processing of a position enables pushing the application-level knowledge into a mobile station and avoids the communication with a central unit such as a server or a base station. In addition, the calculation of the position on low-cost and resource-constrained devices presents a challenge due to the limited computing, storage capacity, as well as power supply. Therefore, we propose a platform architecture that enables the design of a system with the reusability of the components, extensibility (e.g., with other positioning technologies) and interoperability. Furthermore, the position is computed on a low-cost device such as a microcontroller, which simultaneously performs additional tasks such as data collecting or preprocessing based on an operating system. The platform architecture is designed, implemented and evaluated on the basis of two positioning systems: a field strength system and a time of arrival-based positioning system. PMID:28445414

An Experimental Realization of a Chaos-Based Secure Communication Using Arduino Microcontrollers.

PubMed

Zapateiro De la Hoz, Mauricio; Acho, Leonardo; Vidal, Yolanda

2015-01-01

Security and secrecy are some of the important concerns in the communications world. In the last years, several encryption techniques have been proposed in order to improve the secrecy of the information transmitted. Chaos-based encryption techniques are being widely studied as part of the problem because of the highly unpredictable and random-look nature of the chaotic signals. In this paper we propose a digital-based communication system that uses the logistic map which is a mathematically simple model that is chaotic under certain conditions. The input message signal is modulated using a simple Delta modulator and encrypted using a logistic map. The key signal is also encrypted using the same logistic map with different initial conditions. In the receiver side, the binary-coded message is decrypted using the encrypted key signal that is sent through one of the communication channels. The proposed scheme is experimentally tested using Arduino shields which are simple yet powerful development kits that allows for the implementation of the communication system for testing purposes.

A Low Power IoT Sensor Node Architecture for Waste Management Within Smart Cities Context

PubMed Central

Cerchecci, Matteo; Luti, Francesco; Mecocci, Alessandro; Parrino, Stefano; Peruzzi, Giacomo

2018-01-01

This paper focuses on the realization of an Internet of Things (IoT) architecture to optimize waste management in the context of Smart Cities. In particular, a novel typology of sensor node based on the use of low cost and low power components is described. This node is provided with a single-chip microcontroller, a sensor able to measure the filling level of trash bins using ultrasounds and a data transmission module based on the LoRa LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology. Together with the node, a minimal network architecture was designed, based on a LoRa gateway, with the purpose of testing the IoT node performances. Especially, the paper analyzes in detail the node architecture, focusing on the energy saving technologies and policies, with the purpose of extending the batteries lifetime by reducing power consumption, through hardware and software optimization. Tests on sensor and radio module effectiveness are also presented. PMID:29690552

Thermostatic system of sensor in NIR spectrometer based on PID control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhihong; Qiao, Liwei; Ji, Xufei

2016-11-01

Aiming at the shortcomings of the primary sensor thermostatic control system in the near infrared (NIR) spectrometer, a novel thermostatic control system based on proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control technology was developed to improve the detection precision of the NIR spectrometer. There were five parts including bridge amplifier circuit, analog-digital conversion (ADC) circuit, microcontroller, digital-analog conversion (DAC) circuit and drive circuit in the system. The five parts formed a closed-loop control system based on PID algorithm that was used to control the error between the temperature calculated by the sampling data of ADC and the designed temperature to ensure the stability of the spectrometer's sensor. The experimental results show that, when the operating temperature of sensor is -11°, compared with the original system, the temperature control precision of the new control system is improved from ±0.64° to ±0.04° and the spectrum signal to noise ratio (SNR) is improved from 4891 to 5967.

Portable water quality monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nizar, N. B.; Ong, N. R.; Aziz, M. H. A.; Alcain, J. B.; Haimi, W. M. W. N.; Sauli, Z.

2017-09-01

Portable water quality monitoring system was a developed system that tested varied samples of water by using different sensors and provided the specific readings to the user via short message service (SMS) based on the conditions of the water itself. In this water quality monitoring system, the processing part was based on a microcontroller instead of Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) machines to receive the results. By using four main sensors, this system obtained the readings based on the detection of the sensors, respectively. Therefore, users can receive the readings through SMS because there was a connection between Arduino Uno and GSM Module. This system was designed to be portable so that it would be convenient for users to carry it anywhere and everywhere they wanted to since the processor used is smaller in size compared to the LCR machines. It was also developed to ease the user to monitor and control the water quality. However, the ranges of the sensors' detection still a limitation in this study.

Development of a multisensor-based bio-botanic robot and its implementation using a self-designed embedded board.

PubMed

Chang, Chung-Liang; Sie, Ming-Fong; Shie, Jin-Long

2011-01-01

This paper presents the design concept of a bio-botanic robot which demonstrates its behavior based on plant growth. Besides, it can reflect the different phases of plant growth depending on the proportional amounts of light, temperature and water. The mechanism design is made up of a processed aluminum base, spring, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and actuator to constitute the plant base and plant body. The control system consists of two micro-controllers and a self-designed embedded development board where the main controller transmits the values of the environmental sensing module within the embedded board to a sub-controller. The sub-controller determines the growth stage, growth height, and time and transmits its decision value to the main controller. Finally, based on the data transmitted by the sub-controller, the main controller controls the growth phase of the bio-botanic robot using a servo motor and leaf actuator. The research result not only helps children realize the variation of plant growth but also is entertainment-educational through its demonstration of the growth process of the bio-botanic robot in a short time.

An Artificially Intelligent Physical Model-Checking Approach to Detect Switching-Related Attacks on Power Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

El Hariri, Mohamad; Faddel, Samy; Mohammed, Osama

Decentralized and hierarchical microgrid control strategies have lain the groundwork for shaping the future smart grid. Such control approaches require the cooperation between microgrid operators in control centers, intelligent microcontrollers, and remote terminal units via secure and reliable communication networks. In order to enhance the security and complement the work of network intrusion detection systems, this paper presents an artificially intelligent physical model-checking that detects tampered-with circuit breaker switching control commands whether, due to a cyber-attack or human error. In this technique, distributed agents, which are monitoring sectionalized areas of a given microgrid, will be trained and continuously adapted tomore » verify that incoming control commands do not violate the physical system operational standards and do not put the microgrid in an insecure state. The potential of this approach has been tested by deploying agents that monitor circuit breakers status commands on a 14-bus IEEE benchmark system. The results showed the accuracy of the proposed framework in characterizing the power system and successfully detecting malicious and/or erroneous control commands.« less

Energy-efficient hierarchical processing in the network of wireless intelligent sensors (WISE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raskovic, Dejan

Sensor network nodes have benefited from technological advances in the field of wireless communication, processing, and power sources. However, the processing power of microcontrollers is often not sufficient to perform sophisticated processing, while the power requirements of digital signal processing boards or handheld computers are usually too demanding for prolonged system use. We are matching the intrinsic hierarchical nature of many digital signal-processing applications with the natural hierarchy in distributed wireless networks, and building the hierarchical system of wireless intelligent sensors. Our goal is to build a system that will exploit the hierarchical organization to optimize the power consumption and extend battery life for the given time and memory constraints, while providing real-time processing of sensor signals. In addition, we are designing our system to be able to adapt to the current state of the environment, by dynamically changing the algorithm through procedure replacement. This dissertation presents the analysis of hierarchical environment and methods for energy profiling used to evaluate different system design strategies, and to optimize time-effective and energy-efficient processing.

75 FR 30068 - Notice of Determinations Regarding Eligibility To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-28

..., Austin, TX: October 19, 2008 TA-W-72,981: TEVA Pharmaceuticals, IVAX Division, Congers, NY: November 20... Semiconductor, Inc., Microcontroller Solutions Group (MSG), Austin, TX: December 9, 2008 TA-W-73,200: Sabre...., A Subsidiary of Precision Dynamics Corporation, Dallas, TX: February 1, 2009 TA-W-73,463: Work-Fit...

Children as Innovators in Action--A Study of Microcontrollers in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Järvinen, Esa-Matti; Karsikas, Arto; Hintikka, Jouni

2007-01-01

In authoritative teaching methods, whereby the teacher controls the social interaction and other classroom activities, the actions of many children are often in response to what they perceive to be the teacher's expectations and the requirements of traditional school evaluation practices, such as examinations and tests. In this kind of school…

Enhancing the Programming Experience for First-Year Engineering Students through Hands-On Integrated Computer Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canfield, Stephen L.; Ghafoor, Sheikh; Abdelrahman, Mohamed

2012-01-01

This paper describes the redesign and implementation of the course, "Introduction to Programming for Engineers" using microcontroller (MCU) hardware as the programming target. The objective of this effort is to improve the programming competency for engineering students by more closely relating the initial programming experience to the student's…

Rad-hard computer elements for space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishnan, G. S.; Longerot, Carl D.; Treece, R. Keith

1993-01-01

Space Hardened CMOS computer elements emulating a commercial microcontroller and microprocessor family have been designed, fabricated, qualified, and delivered for a variety of space programs including NASA's multiple launch International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program, Mars Observer, and government and commercial communication satellites. Design techniques and radiation performance of the 1.25 micron feature size products are described.

Construction and Characterization of a Compact, Portable, Low-Cost Colorimeter for the Chemistry Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clippard, Carrie M.; Hughes, William; Chohan, Balwant S.; Sykes, Danny G.

2016-01-01

A low-cost and portable colorimeter was constructed featuring a low-voltage programmable color light sensor-to-frequency converter, a CMOS 8-bit microcontroller, and an LCD display. The instrument has successfully facilitated the introduction and application of spectroscopy to groups of middle school, high school, and undergraduate students. A…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herman, R.; O’Brien, S.

Using our own prototype sensor arrays that were deployed to collect microclimate data, we were able to visualize distinct differences in temperature, wind speed, and humidity over very small ranges of distance. We collected data across four polygons within the Barrow Environmental Observatory site. Our prototype microclimate arrays were based on an Arduino microcontroller, DS18B20 temperature sensors, DHT11 relative humidity/temperature sensors, and Vernier anemometers. Data were obtained in a small grid pattern with four sensors spaced 60 cm apart along the x-axis, and moved at 60 cm increments along a y-line across a polygon. Overlaying bird nest location with suchmore » data has allowed us to better answer our research question, “How do Arctic birds choose where to nest to maximize fitness in harsh Arctic environments?”« less

A High-Throughput Processor for Flight Control Research Using Small UAVs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klenke, Robert H.; Sleeman, W. C., IV; Motter, Mark A.

2006-01-01

There are numerous autopilot systems that are commercially available for small (<100 lbs) UAVs. However, they all share several key disadvantages for conducting aerodynamic research, chief amongst which is the fact that most utilize older, slower, 8- or 16-bit microcontroller technologies. This paper describes the development and testing of a flight control system (FCS) for small UAV s based on a modern, high throughput, embedded processor. In addition, this FCS platform contains user-configurable hardware resources in the form of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that can be used to implement custom, application-specific hardware. This hardware can be used to off-load routine tasks such as sensor data collection, from the FCS processor thereby further increasing the computational throughput of the system.

Detection of pulsed neutrons with solid-state electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatzakis, J.; Rigakis, I.; Hassan, S. M.; Clark, E. L.; Lee, P.

2016-09-01

Measurements of the spatial and time-resolved characteristics of pulsed neutron sources require large area detection materials and fast circuitry that can process the electronic pulses readout from the active region of the detector. In this paper, we present a solid-state detector based on the nuclear activation of materials by neutrons, and the detection of the secondary particle emission of the generated radionuclides’ decay. The detector utilizes a microcontroller that communicates using a modified SPI protocol. A solid-state, pulse shaping filter follows a charge amplifier, and it is designed as an inexpensive, low-noise solution for measuring pulses measured by a digital counter. An imaging detector can also be made by using an array of these detectors. The system can communicate with an interface unit and pass an image to a personal computer.