Difference between revisions of "Data Acquisition Box"

Revision as of 17:27, 5 January 2016

Overview

The Data Acquisition (DAQ) Box sits between the head mounted microscope and PC and mediates communication between the two. The DAQ box connects over super speed USB (USB3.0) to the PC and enumerates as a generic webcam using the USB Video Class (UVC) device protocol. This means that other open source or commercial webcam software should be able to control and stream data for the system. Below shows the default configuration of the DAQ hardware using the firmware provided on this wiki.

The PCB is roughly 3" x 2.25" and housed in a 3D printed box. The PCB is a 4 layer board with controlled impedance for the USB data lines.

Below is the schematic of the DAQ hardware.

Connectors

Status LEDs

Jumper Settings

Switch and Boot Mode Settings

Firmware

The firmware running the DAQ box consists of a USB descriptor, General Peripheral Interface (GPIF II) state machine, and ARM Cortex programming. All three of these components were written, and can be modified, using the Cypress EZ-USB FX3 SDK. The SDK also provides the needed software to flash the firmware onto the DAQ board through the USB connection. Below is a short description of the firmware components.

USB Descriptor

General Peripheral Interface (GPIF II)

ARM Cortex Programming

Guides and Tutorials