Microcontroller-Based Data-Acquisition Systems
We are working to develop a miniature, microcontroller-based data-acquisition system to be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum. Currently, the primary focus of this project, funded by the GE GRANT, is to develop a simple system that will be used to introduce first-year engineering students to the fields of data acquisition, data reduction, and electronics, specifically microcontrollers. The system will also be used in several undergraduate aerospace, mechanical, computer science, and electrical engineering courses.
The custom-made microcontroller based system (currently under development) consists of a microcontroller with eight 12-bit A/D channels and two serial communication ports, a 64 kB EEPROM memory chip, and a custom-made 1100 mAh, rechargeable NiMh battery pack, which will be capable of supplying power for continuous use of up to 6 hours.
Students can use this system to conduct predefined experiments or to investigate their own curiosities. Because of the system’s small size, low weight, and freedom from wires that tether computer-based data acquisition systems, a broad range of interesting and informative “real-world” experiments can be performed. Using similar systems, applications to date have included studying the accelerations acting on a swinging pendulum, measuring acceleration and velocity profiles during a model rocket launch, and determining the temperature profile of a nearby lake using a remote control boat.
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My Slide for the AME Graduate Student Conference (25 Oct 2002 -- Notre Dame, IN)