| 05/02/04: Wow, the project is finally over. It's been a long and winding road, but I got by with a little help from my friends. The presentation was last Wednesday, I think it went relatively well. I'll find out for sure come Tuesday. Since this will be the last update and journal entry, I suppose I'll get to listing everything that's new, there should be quite a bit. First, I actually have visual media available which you can see under the Visuals link. There are pictures of the compass there as well as the wheel prototype, and video of the prototype in action. There is also a ton of new stuff under Files, specifically the source code I've been promising to post and the powerpoint document I used for my presentation. There is also the file named documentation which is basically the current state of the project, instructions on how to use the code, and descriptions of built in possibilities for extension. Well, that's about it. This semester was probably the most busy semester I've ever experienced, due in no small part to this project. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm glad that it's over. Enjoy. |
| 03/21/04: It's been a while since the last update, little finicky details with the wheel prototype took longer than expected. Here's whats new... the wheel prototype is completely functional. This includes a motor turning the wheel which can be computer controlled for speed, as well as a motor which will allow for auto-calibration of the compass. The program accurately records revolutions of the wheel, now I just have to change things from command screen to windows GUI format. I also have the setup for getting the compass and computer to interface directly wired, I just need to hammer out some code which will get things to work properly. So far it looks like a lot of bit moving, yeah for assembly language. All in all, I'm right on track with my timeline, and it looks like its time for another meeting with Dr. Pankratz. The most pressing step that needs to be taken care of for the project is documentation. I need to get some of this code that is sitting on my laptop posted, photos of the prototype, and that sort of thing. |
| 02/15/04: Lots taken care of this week. I've got the compass and a program which reads in headings from the compass through the commboard. I've got the wheel simulator mostly built, and I've gotten started on the GUI. Seems to me that I'm really getting ahead of the game. I've also gotten what look like some pretty good leads on how to get the parallel port to simulate an SPI interface which will theoretically allow me to communicate with the compass directly, no need for the commboard. I'll be posting the basic command screen version of the program which polls the compass through the commboard soon, and hopefully I'll have a substantial portion of the GUI to post sometime next week. Then again, I'm probably being a little too optimistic on that count, but we'll see how things go. |
| 02/08/04: This has been a busy, busy week. Weddings tend to do that though... I've got to start convincing my friends to elope in Las Vegas. Still no compass in sight, UPS Tracking claims that it's somewhere in California. Not doing me a whole lot of good there, but things are still progressing. I've pretty much completed my RS-232 research, I now have code which opens up the COM1 port and is able to send and receive data. What's more, I've managed to acquire a nice old laptop running Windows 95 for the project. This is good because I now have a portable machine that I can dedicate exclusively to this project. Plus, running Windows 95, it's a little easier getting code to access the hardware compared with XP. The bad news, the interactive resume previously promised is not yet ready. Hopefully this coming week will provide opportunities to catch up on some work that I'm beginning to fall behind on. |
| 01/31/04: New England won? Well, worse things have happened this Sunday. The compass has not arrived, but time has not been wasted. I've been working on code dealing with the RS-232 interface. Some code samples will probably be posted by the next update, as well as additions to the website including an interactive version of my resume. Keen. For now, download the MS Word version here. Other than that, it has been a busy week. Second week of classes, and already I'm giving oral presentations. But the project, of course, is top priority. Strangely enough, I havn't found anyone willing to be photographed for my pictures portion of the site. |
| 01/25/04: I've spent the hours normally reserved for football this Sunday on constructing this website to display my project journal, that which you are reading now, as well as future digital photographs, code samples, and other information related to the project. Right now as you can see the website is rather sparse. Once the compass arrives however, things should fill in pretty well. |
| 01/22/04: After two days of intense digital compass research, I've found that the three most commonly utilized
are the PMI Vector, Devantech, and Dinsmore brand compasses. Based on the extensive technical specifications provided as well as the input
of Dr. Pankratz, primary advisor for the project, the compass decided upon for the project was the PMI V2Xe compass. Based on the fact that
this particular model of compass communicates via a Motorola compatable SPI protocol, the CommBoard was also ordered. This module translates
the SPI protocol into standard RS-232 or RS-485 interface. The compass, however, is unfortunately backordered until the end of the month.
Until it gets here, I'll be researching the RS-232 interface and working on the design of the apparatus which will be used to test the
functionality of the compass as a speedometer. The websites of the compass brands mentioned can be found in the Informational Links section of the website. |
| 01/20/04: First day of class, and the projects have been assigned. My mission, to turn a digital compass into a tachometer. The plan goes like this: affix the digital compass to a stationary surface near the wheel and then attach a magnet to a point on the outer circumference of the wheel. This way compass points at the magnet as it passes, and a program of my design would use this information to register one turn of the wheel. Being able to keep track of the time elapsed between rotations this way, it is a simple matter to calculate the speed of wheel rotation, and thus rate of travel. This leads me to phase one of the project... acquire the compass. |