September 1, 2014

IoT Hardware and Technologies

  The following entry will cover some of the early research work undertaken in the Sensor Lab at Concordia University. The primary goal of this undertaking is to assess and evaluate IoT hardware
January 31, 2013

ezVID Serial Video Module

The ezVID is a serial video module made to be used with microcontrollers (such as Arduino) to add information to the video channel of a TV in order to write characters on it. To use it, connect
September 7, 2009

Shift Registers

Shift Registers are integrated components (IC) which allow one to control multiple inputs and outputs from a microcontroller i.e. Arduino. There are two basic types of Shift Registers – serial
August 3, 2009

Relays

In a given situation the digital output device you use i.e. motors, solenoids or light bulbs etc may require more voltage and amperage that a microcontroller's output pins can provide. Relays and transistors
August 3, 2009

Ultrasonic Range Finder

When you would like to detect an object(s) or person(s) at a distance greater than what the IR Range Finders support, the Ultrasonic Range Finders work well. In this overview we will look at the Devantech
August 3, 2009

IR Range Finder

A reliable way to measure short distances would be with the Sharp Infrared Range Finders. These Infrared sensors are inexpensive, relatively accurate and quite easy to use. In this overview, we will
November 8, 2008

RC Servo Motors

In the Arduino enviroment, the PWM signal (analogWrite) is most commonly used to control something i.e. a DC motor, solenoid or RC Servo. With DC motors, you can control if they are on or off, and the
November 2, 2008

GPS & NMEA Protocol

A wide array of devices and sensors make use RS-232 (Serial Data Protocol), and the most common configuration to be found is 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 Stop Bit and No Parity - as we have experienced
October 27, 2008

RF – XBee – Bluetooth

Radio Frequency (RF) Modules allow you to exchange data between suitably-equipped microcontrollers without wires - these are ideal for remote control applications, robotics and data collection. 433
October 20, 2008

RFID

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a simple and effective way to track and identify multiple unique objects in a space. The majority of sensor technologies do not support tracking multiple targets,
October 6, 2008

Capacitive Sensing

Capacitive Touch Sensors are ideal for when you would like to sense if a person is close to or touching an object or area of interest. These sensors are known as Charge-Transfer Sensors, and the ones
September 22, 2008

H-Bridge

Making movement. One of the most common motors you will come across is the DC motor. The DC motor has two electrical connections, and they spin continually when provided with enough voltage and current.
September 18, 2008

Multiplexers

Shift Registers and Multiplexers are integrated components (IC) which allow one to control multiple inputs and outputs from a microcontroller i.e. Arduino. Multiplexers are useful in that they can
September 14, 2008

Arduino – Max/MSP

SERIAL COMMUNICATION This tutorial covers the topic of Serial Communication between the Arduino and Max/MSP. The "serial" in Serial Communication means that the data is transferred one byte (8 bits) at