In this chapter we will introduce how to utilize digital I/O and serial communication ports to drive external sensors, for example, an infrared (IR) sensor for motion detection in smart home applications. Driving sensors to collect data is an essential task in prototyping development. In this chapter's demo, an IR sensor is employed as the data acquisition input, driven by code that enables the system making use of the sensor data.
The following topics are discussed in detail:
Voltage shifting: Voltage conversion between the BeagleBoard and external devices
Digital I/O: Interfacing a device via the BeagleBoard's digital I/O
Serial communication: Interfacing a device via the BeagleBoard's serial port
Integration with data processing and control algorithms, and integrating a filtering algorithm when a motion is detected
Accordingly, we will demonstrate two different methods for driving sensors and acquiring data: using digital I/O in Simulink and writing...