It\u2019s finally there! This week, seven months of development finally resulted in a fully functioning completed prototype. Comprising of hardware, software, and mechanical aspects, WILFRED is now a completely usable wireless data logger.<\/p>\n
HARDWARE<\/strong><\/p>\n Unfortunately, this completion is about a month or two behind schedule. An essential component order being shipped from the US was hit by delay after delay, out of the project\u2019s control. This meant that only now am I able to complete the initial testing and debugging that should have been conducted weeks ago. And with the project report deadline looming, there\u2019s not that much time left.<\/p>\n Short of blowing a voltage regulator along the way, the hardware was pretty much perfect. This second PCB revision appears to have done the job, although has some room for improvement. The clearly visible free space on the PCB shows that the size could be reduced, bringing down the overall cost. In a final design, it would also be sensible to use surface mount components (instead of through hole) to further reduce cost.<\/p>\n SOFTWARE<\/strong><\/p>\n Most of the software had been previously tested, but that didn\u2019t mean it was bug free. Only by testing it in a fully functional system did the bugs become apparent. Issues ranging from standby mode to button pressing resulted in hours of scratching heads.<\/p>\n By far the biggest issue though was the wireless communication. As always, wireless isn\u2019t straight forward, and a pain to debug. With time running out, it seemed at one point possible that the wireless may not even be functional for the final prototype. Fortunately, however, all the issues were resolved with a day or two to spare, with a big sigh of relief.<\/p>\n I was even able to throw a program together which runs on a laptop, displaying the real-time measurements from the data logger on a graph. Although far from the \u2018final product\u2019, it\u2019s acts really well as a proof-of-concept, showing off the device functionality.<\/p>\n MECHANICAL<\/strong><\/p>\n Probably the part of the project I\u2019m proudest of is the 3D printed enclosure. It turns an amalgamation of hardware and software into a potentially marketable product.<\/p>\n It is evident, however, that there\u2019s much room for improvement in the design. For instance, the back-lit sensor symbols aren\u2019t that clear. What was intended to be a clearly recognisable symbol is more of an ominous glow. \u00a0The solution to this I believe is illuminated Perspex insets, however that doesn\u2019t seem straightforward in this case considering the accuracy of 3D printing.<\/p>\n Overall, the months of work have paid off. I\u2019ve spoken to course mates in the last few days who haven\u2019t got their project as far as they\u2019d liked, so I\u2019m really happy with the outcome for the data logger. Even with improvements apparent, the device has all the desired functionality initially set out, and could go into a classroom tomorrow. Talking of which, it will be! I\u2019m about to take WILFRED into a primary school for some road-testing, I\u2019ll let you know how it goes next post!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s finally there! This week, seven months of development finally resulted in a fully functioning completed prototype. Comprising of hardware, software, and mechanical aspects, WILFRED is now a completely usable wireless data logger. HARDWARE Unfortunately, this completion is about a month or two behind schedule. An essential component order being shipped from the US was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,37,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-student-experience","8":"tag-3rd-year","9":"tag-alec","10":"tag-undergraduate","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n