It seems that a lot of small business people have a need for some customized embedded systems, but don't really know too much about the possibilities and cannot quite envisage them.
I had the same problem when trying to explain what Android could do; I was generally met with glazed eyes - and then I made a few demos. Somehow, being able to see something - to be able to touch it and play around with it – people have that cartoon lightbulb moment.
Even if it is not directly applicable to them, a demo starts them thinking about what could be useful to them.
The sort of person I am talking about may or may not be technical, but is certainly intelligent, having built from scratch a business which turns over millions.
Their needs are varied, from RFID or GPS asset & people tracking, to simple stock control systems, displays, communications, sometime satellite, sometimes VPN or LAN (wifi or RJ45). A lot of it needs a good back-end database with a web-site to display, query, data-mine …
So, to get to the question, I am looking for a simple project, or projects, which will cause that cartoon lightbulb moment. It need not be too complicated as those who need complicated solutions are generally tech-savvy, just something straightforward & showing what could be done to streamline their business and make it more profitable.
It would be nice it if could include some wifi/RJ45 comms, communicate across the internet (e.g not just a micro-controller attached to a single PC – that should then communicate with a server/web-site), an RFID reader would be nice, something actually happening (LEDs, sounds, etc), plus some database, database analysis/data-ming – something end-to-end, preferably in both directions.
A friend was suggesting a Rube Goldberg like contraption with a Lego Mindstorms attached to a local PC, but also controllable from a remote PC (representing head office) or web site. That would show remote control of devices. Maybe it could pick up some RFID tags and move them around (at random, or on command), representing stock control (or maybe employee/asset movement within a factory or warehouse (Location Based Services/GIS)), which cold then be shown on the web site, with some nice charts & graphs etc.
Any other ideas?
How best to implement it? One of those micro-controller starter kites like http://www.nerdkits.com/ ? Maybe some Lego, or similar robot kit, a few cheap RFID readers … anything else?
And – the $409,600 question – what's a good, representative demo which demonstrate as many functionalities as possible, as impressively as possible, with the least effort? (keeping it modular and allowing for easy addition of features, since there is such a wide area to cover)
p.s a tie with an Adroid slate PC would be welcome too
Your customers might respond better to a solid looking R/C truck which seeks RFID tags than to a Lego robot. Lego is cool, but it has a bit of a slapped-together 'kiddie' feel.
What if you:
scatter some RFID tags across the conference room.
add a GPS & wifi transmitter to your truck.
drive the truck to the tag
(manually - unless you want to invest a lot of time in steering algorithms).
have a PC drawing a real-time track of the trucks path.
every the truck gets within range of the tag, add it to an inventory list on the screen, showing item id, location, time recorded, total units so far.
indicate the position of the item on the map.
I'd be impressed.
Is it 'least effort'? I don't know, but I'd hope that if this is the type of solution you are pitching, that you already have a good handle on how to read GPS and RFID devices, how to establish a TCP or UDP connection with wifi, how to send and decode packets. Add some simple graphics and database lookup, and you are set.
Regarding hardware, I don't have any first hand experience with any of these, but the GadgetPC Wi-Fi G Kit + a USB RFID reader + a USB GPS reciever looks like a nice platform for experimenting with this.
Many chip manufactures have off-the-shelf demo boards. Microchip has some great demo boards for TCP/IP communications on an embedded system. I haven't seen one yet for RFID. Showing potential customers some of these demos could get them thinking about what is possible.
Related
I am looking for a wireless communication technology for exchanging data between devices via sound in ultrasonic frequencies.It is possible to communicate with two mobile devices.I want to communicate a mobile and an embedded device.Is it possible?Any device is working with this protocol?
Of course it is possible. Back in the 1970's my TV remote control used ultrasound to change the channel and turn the TV off. The control was somewhat rudimentary IIRC a short press changed the channel up and a long press turned the TV off. It worked quite reliably for these functions.
Providing more functionality would require a more complicated modulation scheme which, as has been said in another answer, would be prone to interference from other sound sources. This probably explains why infra-red communucation signals are used in more modern remote control systems.
It is possible - why shouldn't it be? Smartphones are just embedded computers too. I imagine getting CE/FCC/etc certifications with such an embedded device will not be so easy. And production testing ...
But is it feasible? Probably not. Power consumption is a lot higher than with any RF-link, it's more susceptible to noise (quite literally) and the required components (microphone+speaker) are bigger than RF-components (antenna).
And then there's a whole bunch of other things you need to keep in mind when working with ultrasound, starting with the plastic design of the embedded device. But also things like the effect of ultrasound on people and their pets etc.
I need to read GPS coordinates using a VB.NET program directly from a GPS device connected to the computer via USB (bluetooth also OK but prefer USB). My constraints are:
The computer running the software is NOT connected to the internet. It is a stand-alone machine in a moving vehicle.
I need to be able to read GPS coordinates from the device while the vehicle moves and use the device to perform location-aware queries on a local database
The GPS device can be anything (e.g. Garmin GPS or GPS card without display), as long at it can be purchased off the shelf or over the internet.
The user group for this solution is quite small (about 40 users).
I have already checked out GPSGate (http://gpsgate.com/) and emailed my requirements to them. They replied, and I quote: "I am sorry but we have no product for you." (end of reply).
I also checked out Eye4Software) and tried using their demo product but it does not pick up my Garmin Nuvi via USB. They responded to my questions but unfortunately their OEM product is an ActiveX dll and I am looking for a .NET based solution.
So if anyone has a "home-grown" solution based on the .NET framework, that can be easily duplicated, I would really appreciate it. Many thanks!
Most of the USB GPS pucks will speak a standardized protocol called NMEA 0183. There are several .net protocols out there that decode this protocol, see here for some pointers to get started.
So, if when shopping around you just check that the device is able to generate NMEA you should be up and running in a minimum of time, and at a reasonable cost.
EDIT: a "gps puck" is a GPS receiver shaped more or less like a hockey puck, like this one
For in-car use there are specific versions that can be fixed onto the vehicle's roof
They are pretty common (many online shops carry them) but select them based on the chip that's inside, the popular Sirf Star 3 is still a solid performer, stable and accurate. I haven't had the chance to play with its successor, the Sirf Star 4 yet, and I'm not implying these are the only good chips around, only that I got most experience with this chip.
I am a ME undergrad and am designing an implant device that requires programming knowledge. I honestly have no idea how to get started and am looking for advice. Basically what I need is a way to control a stepper motor. Stepper motor's use steps (pulses) to rotate the gear head. Now this motor I'm using needs 20 steps to revolve once. I need to be able to control the # of steps I want in a day per say. The motor I'm purchasing comes with an encoder which I'm guessing connects to the circuit board. Now what I want to do is have an external control (like a remote control for a toy)that can set these rates. I don't know anything about radio transmitters, or how to program the circuit board to do this for me. Any help would be appreciated, or books I can look into, websites, or tutorials. Thanks.
There are many ways of solving this problem, but it is more of a systems engineering question than a programming question; until you know what the system looks like, there is no way of determining what parts will be implemented in software. More details would be required to provide a specific answer.
For example what are the security/safety considerations?
What wireless technology do you need to use? e.g. RF or IR, if RF then licensing may be an issue, and that may vary from country to country. You could use BlueTooth, ZigBee, or even WiFi, but these technologies are probably more expensive and complex than necessary for such a simple application. If IR then is immunity from interference from TV remotes or PC IrDA ports or similar required?
If the commands/signals from the remote are complex you will probably need both the remote and the motor driver to incorporate a micro-controller and software. On the other hand if you just need increase/decrease functions then it would be entirely possible to implement the remote functionality you describe without any processing at all (depending on teh communication technology you choose).
What is the motor encoder for? Stepper motors do not normally need an encoder since the controller can simply count steps executed in either direction to determine position. Is the encoder incremental or absolute? If it is incremental, then it is certainly not needed; if it is absolute than it may be useful if you need to know the exact position of the motor on power-up without having to perform an initialisation or requiring end-stop switches.
You mentioned a "circuit board"; what hardware do you already have? What does it do? Do you have documentation for it? If it is commercially available, can you provide a link so we can see the documentation?
As you can see you have more system-level design issues to solve before you even consider software implementation, so the question is not yet ready to be answered here on SO. I suggest you seek out your university's EE department and team-up with someone with electronics expertise do design a complete system, then consider the software aspects.
Well worth taking a look at the Microchip site:
http://www.microchip.com/forums/f170.aspx
They produce microcontrollers that can be programmed to do exactly what you require (and a lot more).
I'd like to start messing around programming and building something with an Arduino board, but I can't think of any great ideas on what to build. Do you have any suggestions?
I show kids, who have never programmed, or done any electronics before, to make a simple 'Phototrope', a light sensitive robot, in about a day. It costs under £30 (GBP) including Arduino, electronics and off-the-shelf mechanics. If folks really get into mobile robots, the initial project can grow and grow (which I feel is part of the fun).
There are international robot competitions which require relatively simple mechanics to get started, e.g. in the UK http://www.tic.ac.uk/micromouse/toh.asp
Ultimate performance require specially built machines (for lightness) , but folks would get creditable results with an Arduino Nano, the right electronics, and a couple of good motors.
A line following robot is the classic mobile robot project. The track can be as simple as electrical tape. Pololu have some fun videos about their near-Arduino 3PI robot. The sensors are about £1, and there are a bunch of simple motor+gearbox kits from lots of places for under £10. Add a few £ for motor control, and you have autonomous robot mechanics, in need of programming! Add an Infrared Remote receiver (about £1), and you can drive it around using your TV remote. Add a small solar cell, use an Arduino analogue input to measure voltage, and it can find the sun. With a bit more electronics, it can 'feed' itself. And so it gets more sophisticated. Each step might be no more than a few hours to a few days effort, and you'll find new problems to solve and learn from.
IMHO, the most interesting (low-cost) competitions are maze solving robots. The international competition rule require the robot to explore a walled maze, usually using Infrared sensors, and calculate their optimal route. The challenges include keeping track of current position to near-millimeter accuracy, dealing with real world's unpredictably noisy environment and optimising straight-line speed with shortest distance cornering.
All that in 16K of program, and 1K RAM, with real-time interrupt handling (as much as 100K interrupts/second for some motor systems), sensor sampling, motor speed control, and maze solving is an interesting programming challenge. (You might make it 'easy' with 32K of program, and 2K RAM :-)
I'm working on a 'constrained' robot challenge (based on Arduino) so that robot performance is mainly about programming rather than having a big budget.
Start small and build up to something more complex. Control servos. Blink LEDs. Debounce inputs. Read analog sensors. Display text on an LCD. Then put it together.
Despite the name, I like the "Evil Genius" book for PIC microcontrollers because of the small, easily digestible projects that tend to build on one another. It is, of course, aimed at PIC programmers rather than the Arduino, but the material covered will be useful no matter what you're developing on.
I know Arduino is trendy right now, but I also like the Teensy++ development board because of its low price-point ($24), breadboard-compatible PCB, relatively high pin count, Linux development environment, USB connectivity, and not needing a programmer. Worth considering for smaller projects.
If you come up with something cool, let me know. I need an excuse to do something fun :)
Bicycle-related ideas:
theft alarm (perhaps with radio link to a base station which is connected to a PC by Ethernet)
fancy trip computer (with reed switch or opto sensor on wheel)
integrate with a GPS telematics unit (trip logging) with Ethernet/USB download of logged data to PC. Also has an interesting PC programming component--integrate with Google Maps.
Other ideas:
Clock with automatic time sync from:
GPS receiver
FM radio signal with embedded RDS data with CT code
Digital radio (DAB+)
Mobile phone tower (would it require a subscription and SIM card for this receive-only operation?)
NTP server via:
Ethernet
WiFi
ZigBee (with a ZigBee coordinator that gets its time from e.g. Ethernet or GPS)
Mains electricity smart meter via ZigBee (I'm interested now that smart meters are being introduced in Victoria, Australia; not sure if the smart meters broadcast the time info though, and whether it requires authentication)
Metronome
Instrument tuner
This reverse-geocache puzzle box was an awesome Arduino project. You could take this to the next step, e.g. have a reverse-geocache box that gives out a clue only at a specific location, and then using physical clues found at that location coupled with the next clue from the box, determine where to go for the next step.
You could do one of the firefighting robot competitions. We built a robot in university for my bachelor's final project, but didn't have time to enter the competition. Plus the robot needed some polish anyway... :)
Video here.
Mind you, this was done with a Motorola HC12 and a C compiler, and most components outside the microcontroller board were made from scratch, so it took longer than it should. Should be much easier with prefab components.
Path finding/obstacle navigation is typically a good project to start with. If you want something practical, take a look at how iRobot vacuums the floor and come up with a better scheme.
Depends on your background and if you want practical or cool. On the practical side, a remote control could be a simple starting point. It's got buttons and lights but isn't too demanding.
For a cool project maybe a Simon-style memory game or anything with lights & noises (thinking theremin-style).
I don't have suggestions or perhaps something like a line follower robot. I could help you with some links for inspiration
Arduino tutorials
Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web
20 Unbelievable Arduino Projects
I'm currently developing plans to automate my 30 year old model train layout.
A POV device could be fun to build (just google for POV Arduino). POV means persistence of vision.
As a hobby project to keep myself out of trouble, I'd like to build a little programmer timer device. It will basically accept a program which is a list of times and then count down from each time.
I'd like to use a C or Java micro controller. I have used BASIC in the past to make a little autonomous robot, so this time around I'd like something different.
What micro controller and display would you recommend? I am looking to keep it simple, so the program would be loaded into memory via computer (serial is ok, but USB would make it easier)
Just use a PIC like 16F84 or 16F877 for this. It is more than enough.
As LCD use a 16 x 2 LCD. It is easy to use + will give a nice look to your project.
LCD
The language is not a matter. You can use PIC C, Micro C or any thing you like. The LCD's interface is really easy to drive.
As other components you will just need the crystal and 2 capacitors as oscillator + pull up resister. The rest of the components depend on the input method that you are going to use to set the times.
If you are using a computer to load the list then you will need additional circuit to change the protocols. Use MAX 232 to do that. If you want to use USB, you need to go ahead and use a PIC with USB support. (18F series)
(source: sodoityourself.com)
This is a set of nice tutorials you can use. You can purchase the products from them as well. I purchased once from them.
I would go with the msp430. An ez430 is $20 and you can get them at digikey or from ti directly, then sets of 3 microcontroller boards for $10 after that. llvm and gcc (and binutils) compiler support. Super simple to program, extremely small and extremely low power.
There are many ways to do this, and a number of people have already given pretty good suggestions AVR or PIC are good starting points for a microcontroller to work with that doesn't require too much in the way of complicated setup (hardware & software) or expense (these micros are very cheap). Honestly I'm somewhat surprised that nobody has mentioned Arduino here yet, which happens to have the advantage of being pretty easy to get started with, provides a USB connection (USB->Serial, really), and if you don't like the board that the ATMega MCU is plugged into, you can later plug it in wherever you might want it. Also, while the provided programming environment provides some high level tools to easily protype things you're still free to tweak the registers on the device and write any C code you might want to run on it.
As for an LCD display to use, I would recommend looking for anything that's either based on an HD44780 or emulates the behavior of one. These will typically use a set of parallel lines for talking to the display, but there are tons code examples for interfacing with these. In Arduino's case, you can find examples for this type of display, and many others, on the Arduino Playground here: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Code/LCD
As far as a clock is concerned, you can use the built-in clock that many 8-bit micros these days provide, although they're not always ideal in terms of precision. You can find an example for Arduino on doing this sort of thing here: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Code/DateTime. If you want something that might be a little more precise you can get a DS1307 (Arduino example: http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1191209057/0).
I don't necessarily mean to ram you towards an Arduino, since there are a huge number of ways to do this sort of thing. Lately I've been working with 32-bit ARM micros (don't do that route first, much steeper learning curve, but they have many benefits) and I might use something in that ecosystem these days, but the Arduino is easy to recommend because it's relatively inexpensive, there's a large community of people out there using it, and chances are you can find a code example for at least part of what you're trying to do. When you need something that has more horsepower, configuration options, or RAM, there are options out there.
Here are a few places where you can find some neat hardware (Arduino-related and otherwise) for projects like the one you're describing:
SparkFun Electronics
Adafruit Industries
DigiKey (this is a general electronics supplier, they have a bit of everything)
There are certainly tons more, though :-)
I agree with the other answers about using a PIC.
The PIC16F family does have C compilers available, though it is not ideally suited for C code. If performance is an issue, the 18F family would be better.
Note also that some PICs have internal RC oscillators. These aren't as precise as external crystals, but if that doesn't matter, then it's one less component (or three with its capacitors) to put on your board.
Microchip's ICD PIC programmer (for downloading and debugging your PIC software) plugs into the PC's USB port, and connects to the microcontroller via an RJ-11 connector.
Separately, if you want the software on the microcontroller to send data to the PC (e.g. to print messages in HyperTerminal), you can use a USB to RS232/TTL converter. One end goes into your PC's USB socket, and appears as a normal serial port; the other comes out to 5 V or 3.3 V signals that can be connected directly to your processor's UART, with no level-shifting required.
We've used TTL-232R-3V3 from FDTI Chip, which works perfectly for this kind of application.
There are several ways to do this, and there is a lot of information on the net. If you are going to use micro controllers then you might need to invest in some programming equipment for them. This won't cost you much though.
Simplest way is to use the sinus wave from the power grid. In Europe the AC power has a frequency of 50Hz, and you can use that as the basis for your clock signal.
I've used Atmel's ATtiny and ATmega, which are great for programming simple and advanced projects. You can program it with C or Assembly, there are lots of great projects for it on the net, and the programmers available are very cheap.
Here is a project I found by Googling AVR 7 segment clock.
A second vote for PIC. Also, I recommend the magazine Circuit Cellar Ink. Some technical bookstores carry it, or you can subscribe: http://www.circellar.com/
PIC series will be good, since you are creating a timer, I recommend C or Assembly (Assembly is good), and use MPLAB as the development environment. You can check how accurate your timer with 'Stopwatch' in MPLAB. Also PIC16F877 has built in Hardware Serial Port. Also PIC16F628 has a built in Hardware serial port. But PIC16F877 has more ports. For more accurate timers, using higher frequency oscillators is recommended.