The development of an operating system for the computer-controlled railroad is now complete, allowing a PC to control trains and switches on a model railroad layout. Within the operating system, trains act as processes while sections of track act as resources. This operating system monitors low-level activities that protect the trains, maintaining a safe environment for programmers to develop their own applications.

The primary goal of this project was to develop an application programming interface (API) for applications to interface a PC with the Vector 2Xe digital compass. I used this API to develop an application designed to measure revolutions of a wheel with an attached magnet. Broader users will allow any user with a digital compass to write program able to access the full functionality of the compass without having to learn how to communicate with the it directly.

Have you ever bought a new device for your computer and plugged it in and nothing happened? So, you get out the directions and after umpteen hours, you still can't get it to work! Well, I have eliminated this fuss for web cams by developing a packaged system that provides easy access to commands. With my system, you can simply tell the camera to turn on, and with no setup time, the camera "magically" turns on and begins to work. Other functions include changing the camera image to black and white, setting pixels, and yes, even turning off the camera. Now you can modify your web cam images in C++ or VB with simple function calls.