Improved and innovated universal DAQ microcontroller unit

Abstract

Abstract This paper is aimed at the description of hardware design, software equipment and the functionality of the second evolution of the intelligent multipurpose input/output microcontroller converter and control unit designed and assembled by the authors. Preceding stages of the unit development are concisely overviewed first, the deficiencies of which give rise to the primary motivation of this contribution. Then separate hardware parts of the novel unit are described in detail including electronic schematic diagrams. The device firmware and software capabilities are introduced as well. The advantages of the unit are highlighted compared to older versions. Its functionality, performance and efficiency are then verified by a laboratory control-related dynamic responses measurement example. In the contrary to previous evolutions, a more compact hardware design, increased A/D and D/A converter resolutions, added USB communication capability, better and more accurate analog circuits with more advanced operation amplifiers, the use of OLED instead of LCD display, the pulse-width modulated signal generated by the microcontroller unit itself can be considered among the most important improvements. Moreover, the direct use of the serial link may reduce noise significantly and makes the device more universal.