Example Usefulness of Arduino & Its Applications
Arduinos can be useful in all sorts of applications. For example FPGA's can be used to quickly (quick and dirty) develop your circuit without the need to go through a cost and labor intensive fabrication process. Similarly, Arduinos can be used in all sorts of situation where there is a need for example a timer, or hardware-program interface with PC, ADC's and DAC's, and their usefulness can be further expanded with modules and addons such as sensors, servo controllers, and wireless communication units (such as Bluetooth and FM). Now yes just like FPGAs have their limits (FPGAs are bloated, slow, inefficient - or at least not optimized for maximum efficiency - and sloppy) but where applicable they are very useful and easy to use. Examples of how Arduinos were continued to be used after the ELEC 3907 course is shown below.
EXAMPLE 1 - Use with DCO controller as serial interface
The Arduino MEGA 2560 was used to interface and communicate between PC and digital controller for graduate thesis. The software below communicated with the Arduino with the serial controller; in which the Arduino interfaced with the DCO digital controller. The digital controller then would relay the PC commands to the actual DCO. See Fig.1 to Fig. 4 below on how the Arduino was used.
Fig. 1 - DCO Digital Controller Board with the Arduino MEGA 2560 interfaced underneath.
Fig. 2 - Software GUI used to control the DCO via the Arduino MEGA 2560.
Fig. 3 - Clearer image of how the Arduino is interfaced with the Digital Controller Board (seen from below).
Fig. 4 - How the entire setup is put together.
EXAMPLE 2 - Use of Arduino as a PC interface for current and voltage controller board used to bias a microwave amplifier
Fig. 5 - Arduino used to read biasing data of amplifier.
Fig. 6 - Software used to interface with Arduino to read biasing condition. The Arduino is disconnected from PC, that is why 'No Data' is being displayed.
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