Portfolio

To illustrate the type of work Electronic and Software Solutions undertakes, here are just a few of the projects we have been involved with.

ADS
The ADS (standing for Adsorption Desorption System) was developed in collaboration with the University of Bristol School of Chemistry. It is part of a set of instruments which measure very low concentrations (parts per trillion) of ozone depleting compounds such as CFCs and HFCs in the atmosphere. Several of these systems are installed at locations all over the world. The ADS is the part of the system that samples the air and concentrates the compounds of interest before passing them to a gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer. It contains an air pump, a cryogenic unit, air sampling valves, a microtrap etc. These components are controlled by an 8031 based PCB.Our involvement was to design the circuit and PCB, write the embedded 8031 software and the PC hosted software which allows the system to be run unattended in remote locations.

POROMETER
The Porometer was developed in collaboration with Filters For Industry. It is an instrument which uses compressed air to measure the pore size distribution of porous materials such as membrane filters. It contains a pressure controller, a flow meter, and various solenoid valves. Our involvement was to design the 8031 based circuit and PCB and to write the embedded software.

MP MICRO
Again developed in collaboration with Filters For Industry, the MP Micro is a powder dryer used in the pharmaceutical industry. It is a bench-top machine comprising an air blower, a heater, solenoid valves, thermocouples etc. Our involvement was to design the three circuit boards and to write the embedded 8031 control software.

CHARTSTAR
The Chartstar was developed in collaboration with Tek Electronics. It is a table top electronic voice recording game designed for any age group. The Chartstar uses a PIC16F874 to handle the myriad buttons and LEDs and to control the game play. A smartmedia card holds pre-recorded music tracks and stores recordings from its microphone. The card also holds Chartstar's operating code which is boot loaded into the PIC the first time it is run or when a new or different version of the code is required. Our involvement was to design the prototype circuit and to write the software. A particularly challenging part of the software development was the simultaneous playback of a pre-recorded music track and recording from the microphone.

DRUM MACHINE
Again developed in collaboration with Tek Electronics, this is a mid range drum machine designed for stage performances, school or home use. It has both MIDI and audio outputs and has built-in MIDI loops for practice purposes. It uses one of the newer PIC devices, the PIC18F4420, chosen for its high speed, large code space and its 13 analogue inputs. Our involvement was to assist with the circuit design and to write the software.

SWING SPEED METER
Developed in collaboration with GolfSpeed the Swing Speed meter measures the speed of the head of a golf club using optical techniques. The circuit was based on a PIC16C923 and our involvement was to design the cuicuit, lay out the PCB and write the software.