This makes Arduinos potentially great platforms for sensor data acquisition. While there are a few really cool low cost data acquisition systems like the DATAQ DI-145 Electronic Strip Chart Recorder ($29) and the more advanced LabJack ($108), I’ve been exploring using an Arduino as a data acquisition interface to the real world.Įven a low end RedBoard (UNO compatible from SparkFun for $19.95) has six independent analog-to-digital converters (ADC), each with 10-bit resolution. The agreement of this simple ideal model and this real physical system is really remarkable.Īt the heart of this process is bringing the data into the computer.
A complete measurement system consisting of the sensor (modified speaker), the analog front end (an op-amp mounted in a breadboard), the data acquisition system (my Arduino), and a scope used for diagnostics and debugging.įrom the measured data, I can fit the resonant frequency and q-factor for an ideal damped oscillator. I used an analog front end to convert the induced current from the speaker into a voltage in the range an Arduino can measure with its analog pin.įIGURE 2. The setup for this measurement is shown in Figure 2. The agreement is excellent and even shows the onset of anharmonic behavior at small amplitude. Measured response from the speaker and the fit to an ideal damped oscillator model. This is the transient response of the system when perturbed, showing the damped oscillations.įIGURE 1. Why an Arduino Based Data Acquisition Systemįigure 1 is an example of the measured voltage from a modified speaker with a large hanging mass that is part of the sensor I use in a seismometer project. This is especially exciting when I can collect the measurements by computer and utilize the power of easy-to-use yet powerful tools to perform the plotting and analysis. Maybe it's because of my physics training, but even as old as I am, I still get a thrill when I can measure something and have it match the predictions of a simple model. Measuring things, plotting the results in a way to instantly visualize the behavior, and - most importantly - analyzing the results.
» Skip to the Extras Quick and easy data acquisition and display with an Arduino
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