The Task: A Florida sensor company was developing a novel patented sensor technology to a market-ready product. From evaluation of sensor components to fully functional prototypes, hardware and software development was required in close cooperation with the science team.
The Challenge: With extensive research available on the sensor domain, we had to implement the best way to pick up, transform, process, and analyze the sensor information. The selection of sensor interfaces required in-depth knowledge of sensors available on the market, their properties, and interaction with the environment. Later project stages required rapid implementation of modified interfaces, integration of new sensor types, and continuous adaption of software. All in a COVID-world, off-site and remote.
The Project: Starting out with readily available off-the-shelf modules, an evaluation platform based on a flexible microcontroller was designed. User interaction was convenient through a wireless tablet, with recorded data downloadable through WiFi.
Later iterations were built into a custom plastic handheld enclosure with a TFT display based user interface.
As the science team made progress, the processing firmware required constant upgrades. Thanks to remote firmware upgrade capabilities, changes were possible within minutes. Improved battery power supply, charge management, data logging to a USB flash drive, and custom display.
Core technologies employed were:
- Optical sensors
- Magnetic field sensors
- Distance sensors
- Mechanical force sensors
- Highly sensitive analog voltage sensors
- Acceleration and orientation sensors
- Custom Wireless Touch Screen and TFT Display User Interfaces Sensor signal collection, processing, digital filtering, and analysis
- Offline data analysis and plotting
- Touch-screen interfaces
- Battery management
- Portable design
As development is moving forward, a new release is expected soon. Stay tuned for more!
