Two stage mechanical oscillator, measurement framework

[PaoloGigli]

Parallel Coordinates

is powerful visualization tool of multivariate data. Sometimes it is a very hard task to find out connections of two or more variables in multivariate data set as could be collected with measurement of TSMO behavior.

Here is a common link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_coordinates

and some specific link for playing with visualized data by parallel coordinates http://bl.ocks.org/jasondavies/1341281 with code behind.

You could change the place of some data by mouse clicking on the name of axes and moving left or right. You also could select data by "brushing" with mouse along part of axes. You could do it on multiple axes and have deeper insight in variables mutual connection. You could reset brushing by clicking out of selected data along axes.

With TSMO data we will have axes: acceleration of pendulum, displace of pendulum, force in pendulum rod, angle of pendulum rod, length of pendulum rod, angle of lever, ratio of lever, acceleration of pendulum pivot, displace of pendulum pivot, time frame.

One line connecting aforementioned axes represent data collected in the same time frame (in miliseconds). Brushing and coloring (another way of data selection) could help in deeper understanding of TSMO behavior.

Paolo 

[PaoloGigli]

Browsing MikroE boards leads us to knowledge that mikroBUS is not designed as stackable bus. Let us read http://www.mikroe.com/downloads/get/1737/mikrobus_specification.pdf with more attention. Pick up the attachment, it will be easier to follow me. Stacking boards mean that we want to put our mikroBUS boards in deck of a cards fashion meaning that all of them share the same lines (this is meaning of bus in electrical circuits).

mikroBUS has incorporated three serial communications standards for connection with parts on mikroBUS board:
Rx/Tx - RS232 or RS232C standard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232 (3-wire standard),
SPI - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Peripheral_Interface_Bus and
I²C - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C2%B2C

Using any of this standard mikroBUS board could receive or transmit data to master board (in our case PIC Clicker). We will not use Rx/Tx (for now...)
Other two serial standards has advantages and disadvantages but for us are important lines in black frame. SPI line CS - cheap select makes us a problem because it allow only one board to be selected. We have to isolate this pins and make separate connection for every mikroBUS board which use SPI bus. With this, PIC Clicker could choose SPI connected boards one at a time and communicate with them.
I²C bus is slightly easier. If we have two different boards we will put the address of a chip in a message. For more of the same boards, chip has 3 hardware address definition lines which is incorporated in global address of a chip. This means that we could have to 8 same boards (same kind of chip on the board).

Other two lines in black frame also should be separated for each other in order to allow PIC Clicker to RST - reset particular board or receive INT - interrupt from some of the boards. We need reset in initialization phase or latter if we have to reset particular board for any reason. Interrupt line is used for alert that some board finished a job. This is particularly important if we have to deal with fast processes.

I will try to represent stacking of mikroBUS drawing in next post.

Paolo

[PaoloGigli]

Well, it is time to share something about me, I think 

I am almost 60, still working. BSc in Mechanical Engineering. Strong background in electronics and computer science from hardware to software projects making, mainly with microcontrollers (from 1979 with Rockwell 6502, Z80, 8048, 8031, 69HC11, PIC and dsPIC). Worked mainly in chemical industry, from detergent production, Henkel Ceresit production doubling and new Ceresit factory building supervising, furniture to emulsion explosive production improvement and design. Divorced. Two daughters. PhD in Linguistics and BSc in Textile Engineering. I was radio amateur in heroic time (Moon bounce communication, Moon position software, meteor scatter communication, member of 12m parabolic antenna building project for Moon bounce).
And of course, Paolo Gigli is not my real name    I am using it in Internet communications like echo of 10 years I have spent in studding of Etruscan history and culture.
I spent free time making sculptures and exhibit them with other fellow sculptors. Some of sculptures are miniature like this portrait of women in stone and calcite. Other are in photos.

Paolo