assignments

Assignments

Group Assignment: Probe an input device(s)'s analog levels and digital signals

Document your work on the group work page and reflect on your individual page what you learned

Individual Assignment: Measure something: add a sensor to a microcontroller board that you have designed and read it.

All the important links are Here

Learning outcomes

Demonstrate workflows used in sensing something with input device(s) and MCU board

Group Assignment

For further information, please check our Group Assignment

For this week's group task, we were tasked with using test instruments like multimeters and oscilloscopes to observe the signals produced by a sensor. We opted to test an ultrasound sensor and utilize an oscilloscope to view the signal.

Understanding Oscilloscopes:

An oscilloscope is a tool used to visualize electrical signals. It takes these signals and turns them into visible waveforms displayed on a screen. Components of an oscilloscope include signal input probes, signal conditioning systems, and controls for vertical and horizontal display.

Arduino Code Setup:

To begin, we wrote Arduino code in the Arduino IDE to interface with the ultrasound sensor. We connected the sensor pins as follows:

Echo to Digital pin 6

Trig to Digital pin 7

Gnd to Ground

Vcc to Power

Viewing the Signal:

After several attempts, we successfully displayed the signal on the oscilloscope screen. This allowed us to visually observe the waveform produced by the ultrasound sensor, providing insights into its operation and behavior.

Sound Sensor Introduction:

In addition to the ultrasound sensor, we explored a sound sensor. This device converts sound waves into electrical signals, which can be analyzed by electronic circuits. Sound sensors offer both analog and digital output options, and we decided to focus on the analog signal for our testing.

Observations:

While testing the sound sensor, we encountered challenges in efficiently detecting sound waves. Despite this, we were able to visualize the analog signal using the oscilloscope and observe its behavior over time.

Conclusion:

Through this assignment, we gained practical experience in using test instruments to analyze sensor signals.

Individual Assignment

Measure something: add a sensor to a microcontroller board that you have designed and read it.

For this week, I wanted to try a NTC thermistor sensor since my final project uses one. I chose to print Professor Neil's NTC thermistor board to test how a NTC thermistor works and operates.

What is a NTC thermistor?

10K NTC thermistor (NHQ103B375T10)

An NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) thermistor is a small electronic component that changes its electrical resistance in response to changes in temperature. Unlike most materials, which become less conductive as they heat up, NTC thermistors become more conductive as the temperature rises. This unique characteristic makes them useful for measuring temperature in various applications. They're commonly found in electronic devices, automotive systems (like engine temperature sensors), and industrial equipment for monitoring and controlling temperature.

Milling the baord

Milling

Components

Soldered

Programming

I connected a programmable LED externally to test whether the NTC thermistor board was programmable or not.

After that I uploaded the following code to get the following outcome

                            #include <SoftwareSerial.h>
                            
                            SoftwareSerial mySerial = SoftwareSerial(1, 0);
                            
                            int sensorPin = 3;
                            int sensorValue = 0;
                            
                            void setup() {
                              mySerial.begin(9600);
                            }
                            
                            void loop() {
                              sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);
                              mySerial.println(sensorValue);
                              // if (sensorValue < 500)
                              // {
                              //   mySerial.println(" I sensed warmth.");
                              // }
                              // else if (sensorValue == 1023)
                              // {
                              //   mySerial.println(" Reading error.");
                              // }
                              // else if (sensorValue >= 540)
                              // { 
                              //   mySerial.println(" It's cold.");  
                              // }
                              // else 
                              // {
                              //   mySerial.println(" I feel normal.");
                              // }
                              delay(1000);
                            }

When I touched the sensor with my finger the temperature decreased beacuse my hand was cold and increased as the heat of my finger increased.