Computer Interfacing and Automation: Hardware, Firmware and Software Design: Theory and Practice

Instrumentation and Computer Control course is specially designed to make the scientists and engineers capable of interfacing an experimental setup, automate the setup by computer controls, the book is unique in its treatment of the subject in terms of coverage and approach. The book adopts a learning through doing approach. Each chapter deals with a major topic in computer control system design related to hardware, firmware and software. The chapters proceed as a series of practical experiments -- the reader sets up a simple hardware system, develops and downloads a simple program, and immediately observes and tests the outcome. The book then reflects on the experimental results, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the technology or technique introduced, explores how precise the link is between theory and practice, and considers scaling up the applications in the wider context. This is one of a few books that explains how to automate a lab, industry etc., using own proprietary or commercially made instruments using hardware, firmware and software. The book can be used by automation engineers in the industry, physicists working in an experimental setup, embedded system engineers and students who are interested in PC interfacing projects. Every chapter includes all the interfacing buses, hardware firmware and software design.

Salient Features

• Hands-on introduction to the field of microcontroller interfacing, PC interfacing, automation, computer controls, and sensor data acquisition
• Focuses on fast prototyping of hardware, firmware and software for control and data acquisition
• Covers all latest basic embedded system concepts, through simple and effective experimentation
• Gives an understanding of ARM and ATMEL technology and interfacing, and their use in the world's leading technology companies
• Contains a practical introduction to embedded firmware programming using C++ basics
• Develops interfacing GUI using Visual Basic, Qt and LabVIEW
• Introduces: interfacing standards like RS232, GPIB, PLC Modbus, SCADA, CAMAC and VME
• protocols like http, RPC, SPI etc., and techniques like PID using Ethernet-based embedded web clients
• the network analysis tool wireshark
• and interfacing of PLC, VFD, HMI, CAN, ETHERNET, and USB Reference
• Combines the ARM mbed technology with a simple low cost breadboard approach for simplifying applications
• All key concepts are covered through simple and effective experimentation

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