When you’re planning a project, for either yourself or a client, cost is undoubtedly a factor. Staying within your budget can mean the difference between finishing and not finishing, or getting that next contract and watching it go to someone else. That’s why it’s no surprise that cost is a significant factor in the majority of the projects we feature.

For instance, this month, we feature Stephen Manley’s application for data acquisition (p. 10). Stephen wanted to design a way to collect and display data for his embedded projects—in particular, a unit to sample the sensors in his car. Mindful of his budget constraints, a PC was out of the question. So, he asked himself, what has enough processing power and the ability to display colorful, clear graphics?

Stephen considered that Palm devices support serial communication. A PDA offers portability, low-power consumption, and ample memory—everything he was looking for. Most importantly, PDAs are reasonably priced and easily accessible. For the same reasons, Stephen chose an Atmel AVR to sample data and communication with the Palm device. The end result is a small, low-power, effective unit that won’t break the bank.

Cost was also a significant concern for Professor Terry Fleischman and his students at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin. Charged with building a system to monitor vehicle speed, they had to stay within a strict budget. The project was designed for the High Mileage Vehicle Challenge, which challenges racers to get the highest mileage from their gasoline-powered vehicles. As Terry explains in his article, their plan was to create a system to acquire each vehicle’s speed, send the data to an embedded controller on the vehicle, wirelessly transmit the data to a host computer, and then display the result (p. 20). With a GPS unit, a Motorola HC11 microcontroller, and a MaxStream RF modem, Terry and his students were able to complete the project within their budget.

In both of these projects, careful planning and creative problem-solving helped to get the job done. Whether you work in embedded systems development like Stephen or academia like Terry, the ability to develop low-cost, high-quality solutions is essential.

jennifer.huber@circuitcellar.com

Published: October 2003