Faustino (platform)
Encyclopedia
faustino is a physical computing
platform geared towards process monitoring and control. The faustino platform consists of a single-board microcontroller
with embedded analog and digital I/O
support, an input module with LCD
, sensors and actuators in form of solid state relays
. The development software is based on Eclipse
and WinAVR, a variant of GCC
for AVR microcontrollers. For visual presentation of measurements, a XML
-configured Windows status monitor application is available.
microcontroller which can be connected to a PC via a FTDI-USB-serial
converter. An ATMega644 is used. The boards are powered by 6V - 9V AC and use a 18.4MHz crystal oscillator
.
Use of an AC power source permits zero cross detection
on the secondary side of the power supply and therefore phase control (PFC)
for connected solid state relays. The microcontroller is pre-programmed with a boot loader
. It is programmed by its USB port and does not require an external programmer.
The faustino platform is geared towards measurement and control engineering
by the hobby enthusiast. For that purpose, it is equipped with vibration resistant connectors, a wide temperature range (for example, silicone insulated leads are used), galvanic isolation
of the PC interface and support for typical sensors such as ratiometric pressure sensors, thermocouples
and a flow meter. Unlike other development platforms such as Arduino
, only a few I/O pins of the microcontroller are unassigned and available for use with or by other circuits.
Physical computing
Physical computing, in the broadest sense, means building interactive physical systems by the use of software and hardware that can sense and respond to the analog world. While this definition is broad enough to encompass things such as smart automotive traffic control systems or factory automation...
platform geared towards process monitoring and control. The faustino platform consists of a single-board microcontroller
Single-board microcontroller
A single-board microcontroller is a microcontroller built onto a single printed circuit board. This board provides all of the circuitry necessary for a useful control task: microprocessor, I/O circuits, clock generator, RAM, stored program memory and any support ICs necessary...
with embedded analog and digital I/O
Input/output
In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world, possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it...
support, an input module with LCD
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
, sensors and actuators in form of solid state relays
Solid state relay
A solid state relay is an electronic switching device in which a small control signal controls a larger load current or voltage. It comprises a voltage or current sensor which responds to an appropriate input , a solid-state electronic switching device of some kind which switches power to the load...
. The development software is based on Eclipse
Eclipse (software)
Eclipse is a multi-language software development environment comprising an integrated development environment and an extensible plug-in system...
and WinAVR, a variant of GCC
GNU Compiler Collection
The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...
for AVR microcontrollers. For visual presentation of measurements, a XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
-configured Windows status monitor application is available.
Hardware
The hardware is based on an Atmel AVRAtmel AVR
The AVR is a modified Harvard architecture 8-bit RISC single chip microcontroller which was developed by Atmel in 1996. The AVR was one of the first microcontroller families to use on-chip flash memory for program storage, as opposed to one-time programmable ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM used by other...
microcontroller which can be connected to a PC via a FTDI-USB-serial
Serial communication
In telecommunication and computer science, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits are sent as a whole, on a link with several parallel channels...
converter. An ATMega644 is used. The boards are powered by 6V - 9V AC and use a 18.4MHz crystal oscillator
Crystal oscillator
A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create an electrical signal with a very precise frequency...
.
Use of an AC power source permits zero cross detection
Zero cross circuit
A zero cross circuit is an electrical circuit that starts operation with the AC load voltage at close to zero-phase. This is in relation to solid state relays, such as triacs and silicon controlled rectifiers...
on the secondary side of the power supply and therefore phase control (PFC)
Phase fired controllers
Phase control , also called phase cutting, is a method of pulse width modulation for power limiting, applied to AC voltages...
for connected solid state relays. The microcontroller is pre-programmed with a boot loader
Booting
In computing, booting is a process that begins when a user turns on a computer system and prepares the computer to perform its normal operations. On modern computers, this typically involves loading and starting an operating system. The boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the...
. It is programmed by its USB port and does not require an external programmer.
The faustino platform is geared towards measurement and control engineering
Control engineering
Control engineering or Control systems engineering is the engineering discipline that applies control theory to design systems with predictable behaviors...
by the hobby enthusiast. For that purpose, it is equipped with vibration resistant connectors, a wide temperature range (for example, silicone insulated leads are used), galvanic isolation
Galvanic isolation
Galvanic isolation is a principle of isolating functional sections of electrical systems, thus preventing the movement of charge-carrying particles from one section to another, i.e. no direct current flows between the sections. Energy or information can still be exchanged between the sections by...
of the PC interface and support for typical sensors such as ratiometric pressure sensors, thermocouples
Thermocouple
A thermocouple is a device consisting of two different conductors that produce a voltage proportional to a temperature difference between either end of the pair of conductors. Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature sensor for measurement and control and can also be used to convert a...
and a flow meter. Unlike other development platforms such as Arduino
Arduino
Arduino is an open-source single-board microcontroller, descendant of the open-source Wiring platform, designed to make the process of using electronics in multidisciplinary projects more accessible. The hardware consists of a simple open hardware design for the Arduino board with an Atmel AVR...
, only a few I/O pins of the microcontroller are unassigned and available for use with or by other circuits.