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Definition:
Data logging can be defined as the capture and storage of data for use at a later
time.
If you want some form of output, based on the data that is collected then data logging
can be used with control software. For example, you could monitor the temperature of a
greenhouse and if the temperature got to high a motor could be used to automatically
open a window.
Digital sensors - these are either on or off i.e. a light gate sensing something breaking a
light beam. Such sensors can often be connected directly to a computer as the data
output is already digital.
Analogue sensors - these measure some physical quantity by converting it into a voltage.
The voltage signal is then converted into digital form by an interface and either stored
or transferred directly to a computer. The vast majority of sensors are of this type.
Example: data logging equipment can record hundreds of readings in less than a second.
(Imagine asking a human to take 100 pressure readings inside a room as an explosion is
set off)
Many sensors produce analogue signals which must be converted to digital signals so
they can work with computers. An analogue to digital converter changes the varying
voltage from the sensor into pulses which are the digital equivalent of the voltage value.
The data can also be loaded into a spreadsheet program for analysis.
1 - In a hospital:
Advantages:
• 24 hour monitoring takes place without having to use
a human operator who would need breaks, could lose concentration or could get
tired and make mistakes.
• Alarms would be set off automatically if any measurements exceed a safe value.
• A continual record can be stored or printed out of everything that is being
measured.
Advantages:
• Many accurate reading can be taken at regular intervals over an extended period
of time without risk of 'human-error'.
• The data is digital so it can be transferred straight to software which can
display it or analyse it further.
Summary:
Data can be collected from Sensors can be designed to operate in outer space,
hostile environments radioactive areas, the ocean depths, high in the
atmosphere or at the poles.
Control:
The can use LOOPS to make part of a program repeat until a certain condition is met
(i.e. REPEAT
T = TEMPERATURE READING (from a sensor)
UNTIL T = 90)
The can use procedures (or macros). These a self-contained bits of program that are
used for commonly repeated tasks in the main program. This avoids having the same bits
of instruction coded repeated in lots of different places in one program. A procedure is
usually given a simple name by the programmer and then the main program uses this
name to run it.
These use a wide range of different commands and they are usually typed into the
computer line by line. When the program runs it starts at the first line and then either
moves through the program one line at a time or is directed from one set of instructions
to another depending on the way the program is written. The way the commands are
entered has to be exactly right (this is called the SYNTAX) and it can take a long time
to learn.
Unfortunately, many different control languages will use a different syntax to do
exactly the same job. For example:
Program 1 Program 2
REPEAT 10 LOOP
T=TEMPERATURE T=TEMPERATURE
IF T>10 THEN END UNTIL T>10
END REPEAT END
Logo:
This is simple command line computer language that is usually used to draw shapes on a
computer screen but it can also be used to move a motorised buggy or "turtle" around
the floor.
Flowsheets:
An example of this is Flowol. To construct a program, commands are dragged
and dropped onto a screen and connected by lines. When the program starts
it moves from one command to the next along the connecting lines. The
individual commands can be edited and include Input commands, output commands and
decision commands etc.
Flowsheet programs are usually easier to follow than command line programs.
TASK
Ask your teacher for the WinLogo exercise booklet as well as the Flowol exercise
booklet