The Engineering Projects

myRIO GPS Interfacing

Hello everyone! I hope you all will be absolutely fine and having fun. Today, I would like to provide a complete discussion on introduction to GPS and myRIO as well as myRIO GPS Interfacing as the most related part. First of all I would like to tell you about GPS, from what it is abbreviated, at which principle it works and how it plays its role in our daily life. GPS is basically derived from the word Global Positioning System. GPS is a complete network of satellites which are continuously rotating in their orbits and send information to earth about their accurate position in space. GPS receivers are used to receive the signals, and the received signals help us to estimate the precise time, position and speed of anything moving around. I have share GPS Library for Proteus in my previous tutorials, which is quite helpful for the engineering students. GPS plays a vital role in our daily life. It provides a complete map, i.e. it helps us to easily go through the places which we have never seen before. GPS first system was developed by Americans in 1960's. They introduced it to locate their ships in the ocean. This system has five (5) satellites which are used to locate their ships once in every hour. GPS has three basics parts named as satellites, control stations and receivers. All of these will be explained later. This entire system is able to provide us the information about altitude, precise position, speed etc. But there are also some errors while estimating all these things. The major cause of its error is the inaccurate time of the receivers clock. Due to this fact, we get same GPS coordinates for the different points and it becomes impossible to locate anything accurately. For example, in a small garden we want to locate a robotic lawn mower. But due to the error problem we get the same GPS coordinates, for the initial as well as the final position of the lawn mower. This system has a lot of real life applications e.g. mapping forests, military applications, intelligence applications, locating ship, navigating vehicles and aircraft, guide hikers etc.The further detail about the GPS and myRIO GPS interfacing will be provided later in this section.

Introduction to GPS Receiver Module

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is the network of satellites which are orbiting in their orbits and send information to the earth, about the precise position. This system plays a vital role in daily life. It was first introduced by Americans to navigate their ships. It is now enhanced to a great level and is able to provide information about forest mapping, guide hikers, locating air crafts, navigating vehicles and a lot more. If we want to go at newer places which we have never visited before, we can easily go there taking help from the GPS system by using GPS receiver. The GPS receiver or a GPS module is shown in the figure given below.

• You can see from the above figure, I have cut white and yellow wire because I am not using it.
• I have used the other four remaining wires for the communication between GPS module and myRIO.
• I have also provided the detailed article on Getting Started with myRIO and Introduction to myRIO, you should also go through this articles.

1. GPS Pins

• GPS has total six (6) pins, but we will use only four (4) of them.
• Each of the pins has different functions to perform.
• GPS module/receiver pins are provided in the table shown in the figure given below.

2. GPS Pins Description

• Since each pin is assigned with a different task, so must know about functions associated with each pin.
• GPS pin description are listed in the table given in the figure shown below.

3. GPS Receiver Operating Conditions

• Like all other devices, GPS receiver also works on certain conditions, which must be fulfill to get better performance.
• Normal operating conditions for this particular GPS receiver are listed in the table given in the figure shown below.

4. GPS Receiver Specifications

• The specifications are such parameters which show the efficiency of that device.
• GPS receiver specifications are provided in the table shown in the figure given below.

5. GPS Receiver Ratings

• Ratings tell us about the power, current and voltage requirement of any electronic device.
• GPS receiver absolute maximum ratings are listed in the table shown in the figure given below.

6. GPS Receiver Applications

• Most of the electronic devices are known on the basis of their applications.
• GPS receiver applications are listed in the table given in the figure shown below.

myRIO GPS Interfacing

In the previous section we have discussed i detail about the basics parameters of the GP receiver module and the different properties and applications associated with that particular module. Now, in this section of the tutorial myRIO GPS interfacing, I am going to tell the step by step procedure to be followed in order to interface a GPS receiver module with NI myRIO. So, the major focus of the section will be the only discussion on the interfacing of GPS receiver module using NI myRIO and NI LabVIEW. All the step are explained in detail below. So, do follow all the steps in the same way as I did.

1. myRIO GPS Interfacing Actual Wiring Diagram

• In my previous tutorial, I have shared the detail about Interfacing of GPS Module with Arduino in Proteus ISIS, you must have a look at this article for the better understanding of the current article.
• GPS receiver module interfaced with myRIO is given in the figure shown below.

2. NI LabVIEW Final VI for sReceiving GPS Data

• The Virtual Instrument (VI) is huge in size, so I have added it into three different parts.
• Each part of the entire VI is given in the separate figure.
• Below, I am going to share each part of the VI and will explain a bit about it later.
• The first part of the VI for receiving GPS data is given in the figure shown below.

• In the first part of the VI as shown above, I have used VISA Serial Port for the communication between GPS receiver and myRIO.
• VISA Resource Name is basically the MXP of myRIO as described in Introduction to myRIO.
• ASRL1 shows the GPS receiver is attached with the MXP A of myRIO.
• If you want to attach your GPS receiver with MXP B, then you have to select ASRL2.
• 9600 is the baud rate, shows the rate at which GPS is communicating with myRIO or vice versa.
• So, that was the discussion about the first part of VI for getting GPS data.
• The second part of the VI is given in the figure shown below.

• At the extreme left of the above figure, I have used a VISA Read block, which is reading continuously 100 characters when termination character encountered.
• Then I used a block Concatenate String which takes input from VISA Read and produces NMEA sentences, which are back to its input as feedback.
• Moving to the right the next small While Loop is for extracting the data fields.
• The next comparatively large loop is for getting latitude, longitude, UC time, speed etc.
• And at the top right corner of the above figure I have added a delay of 100 milli seconds.
• So, that was the detailed description of the second part of the VI for getting GPS data usig NI myRIO.
• The 3rd part of the VI for getting GPS data is shown in the figure given below.

• In the above figure, inside the While Loop, I have used Digital Input whose output is connected to and LED.
• The above step describes the monitoring of one pulse per second signal (1PPS) on the on-board LED 3. 
• Then I have used Merge Error block to produce a single final output.
• Then, I used a Simple Error block in order to visualize the error, if it occurs.
• At the end, I have used a Reset myIRO block, which resets the FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) target and all the input/output channels on myRIO.
• So, that was the detailed description of the third part of the block diagram window VI for receiving GPS data using NI myRIO.
• You can easily receive the data from GPS receiver by following all of the above steps carefully.

3. NI LabVIEW Final GUI for Receiving GPS Data

• I have made a complete VI in LabVIEW to receive GPS data.
• The arrangements of the blocks e.g.time, latitude, longitude and speed are made to provide a better look to the GUI.
• An LED on the right side shows the one pulse per second (1-PPS).
• On the bottom left of the above GUI, I have made a region to obtain all the data from the GPS receiver module.
• The final form of GUI (Graphical User Interface) is given in the figure shown in the figure below.

• In the above figure, at the bottom right you can see a button with a red colored small square inside it.
• Using this button, you can terminate your program when it is in running condition, this function can also be performed using Esc button from either your personal computer or from your laptop.

4. Received GPS Data

• The data obtained from the GPS receiver is displayed on the GUI.
• The GUI is given in the figure shown below.

• From the above figure, you can see that the longitude, longitude are properly obtained.
• At the top left corner of the above GUI, I have shown the exact time inside a Numeric Indicator.
• Date has also been displayed in the middle of the right side of the GUI.
• I have displayed longitude, latitude, time, date etc as shown in the figure above.
• So, that was the brief discussion on the results obtained from GPS receiver module.
• You can download the complete NI LabVIEW VI (Virtual Instrument) here by clicking on the button below.

That is all from the tutorial myRIO GPS Interfacing. I have covered almost all the necessary details about getting GPS data from the satellites using GPS receiver/module. I have also provided the detail about the GPS network and working of the whole network. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and hoping for your appreciation for this effort. I have shared the complete NI LabVIEW VI (Virtual Instrument) for myRIO GPS interfacing. Just by downloading it you will be able to get GPS data using any of the GPS receiver/module. I will further share interesting and informative topics in my later tutorials so, till then take care and bye :)

Ultrasonic Sensor Arduino Interfacing

Hello everyone! I hope you all will be absolutely fine and having fun. Today, I would like to provide a complete discussion on Ultrasonic Sensor Arduino Interfacing. I would like to tell you some detail about ultrasonic sensor, after that we will move towards ultrasonic sensor Arduino interfacing. Ultrasonic sensor is also known as SONAR sensor. SONAR basically stands for Sound Navigation and Ranging. Ultrasonic is mostly used for the distance measurements. It can also be used for measuring the depth of the sea. I have already shared Ultrasonic Sensor Library for Proteus. Ultrasonic/SONAR sensor is an electronic device used to estimate the distance of an object by continuously transmitting sound waves at a particular frequency and listens to that transmitted sound wave to bounce back. It measures the time between the transmission and receiving of that sound wave, which is actually equal to the distance of an object from the SONAR. An optical sensor has both a transmitter to transmit and a receiver to receive the waves. But in comparison to that optical sensor ultrasonic sensor has only a single element for both transmitting and receiving ultrasonic/sound waves. I have also shared Ultrasonic Sensor Simulation in Proteus. Ultrasonic sensor has four pins whose detail will be given later in this tutorial. This is another sensor similar to the ultrasonic sensor i.e. PNG sensor. PNG has three pins. Both of these sensors are designed for the estimation of the distance of an object from the sensor. In this tutorial I am going to use ultrasonic sensor. The basic principle of ultrasonic sensor is that, it transmits ultrasonic waves and receives it back after getting reflected back from the surface of the object and measures the time between transmitting and receiving of the ultrasonic wave. The further detail about ultrasonic sensor/SONAR will be given later in this article.

Ultrasonic Sensor Arduino Interfacing

Ultrasonic sensor is also known as SONAR. It is used for measuring the distance between the object and the sensor itself. It transmits ultrasonic waves and receives it back after reflecting from the surface of an object. Then its measures the time during entire process which is equal to the distance between object and the sensor itself. It has four pins and is very easy to use. It is easily available in the market and is available at very low cost. It has a wide range of applications e.g. estimating the sea’s depth and many more. SONAR/ultrasonic sensor along with proper labeling is given in the figure shown below.

1. Ultrasonic Sensor Pins

• Ultrasonic sensor has total four pins, each pin has to perform different task.
• Ultrasonic sensor all pins are listed in the table shown in the figure below.

2. Ultrasonic Sensor Pins Description

• Since each pin has different task to perform, so we must know about the functionality of each pin.
• Ultrasonic sensor pins description is listed in the table given in the figure shown below.

3. Ultrasonic Sensor Pinout

• Pinout diagram provides us the information about all the pins of electronic device.
• Ultrasonic pinout diagram is given in the figure show below.

4. Ultrasonic Sensor Working Principle

• Ultrasonic sensor transmits sound waves.
• These waves are reflected back from the surface of an object.
• Ultrasonic sensors receives the reflected waves.
• Then it measures the time elapsed during the entire process, from transmission to receiving, it is known as round trip time.
• This time is equal to the distance between an object and the sensor itself.
• I have also provide some visual, so that you can easily understand its working principle.
• Ultrasonic sensor principle is shown in the figure given below.

5. Ultrasonic Sensor Arduino Interfacing Wiring Diagram

• I have also shared Interfacing of Ultrasonic Sensor with Arduino in previous tutorial.
• I have discussed a detailed information on Interfacing of Multiple Ultrasonic Sensor With Arduino.
• Ultrasonic sensor Arduino interfacing completely labeled wiring diagram is given in the figure shown below.

6. Ultrasonic Sensor Arduino Interfacing Source Code

• I have provided the complete Arduino code for ultrasonic sensor Arduino interfacing.
• You need to just copy and paste the entire code in your Arduino software.
• After uploading it to Arduino board, you will be able to get the desired results.

// defines arduino pins numbers
const int trigPin = 12;
const int echoPin = 11;
// defines variables
long duration;
int distance;
void setup() 
{
pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT); // Sets the trigPin as an Output
pinMode(echoPin, INPUT); // Sets the echoPin as an Input
Serial.begin(9600); // Starts the serial communication
}
void loop() {
// Clears the trigPin
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
// Sets the trigPin on HIGH state for 10 micro seconds
digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
// Reads the echoPin, returns the sound wave travel time in microseconds
duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
// Calculating the distance
distance= duration*0.034/2;
// Prints the distance on the Serial Monitor
Serial.print("Distance from the object = ");
Serial.print(distance);
Serial.println(" cm");
delay(1000);
}

• First of all I have defined the pins for Echo and Trig pin.
• Then I changed their mode to input and output as well.
• Then I defined the formula to calculate the distance.
• You can download the wiring diagram and complete Arduino source code here by clicking on the button below.

7. Ultrasonic Sensor Ratings

• From the ratings of a device we can learn about its power, voltage and current requirement.
• Ultrasonic sensor ratings are listed in the figure shown below.

8. Ultrasonic Sensor Dimensions

• The dimensions of ultrasonic sensor are given in the figure shown below.

9. Ultrasonic Sensor Features & Formula to Measure Distance

• Ultrasonic sensor features are listed in the table given in the figure shown below.

• The formula to calculate the distance between an object and the sensor itself is given below.

Distance = (Speed of sound × Time)/2

In the tutorial Ultrasonic Sensor Arduino Interfacing, we have learnt about the pins and working principle of ultrasonic sensor to estimate the distance of an object from the sensor. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. I have provided all the important details about ultrasonic sensor Arduino interfacing. If you find something missing, please let me know in comments, so that I can update the tutorial correspondingly. I will share further topics in my upcoming tutorials. Till my next post take care and bye :)