- Fri Aug 05, 2005 7:23 pm
#6482
OK So I embarked on a project, and everything was going fine, until I wanted to do "more" and now need help...
I want to use the Serial Accelerometer V5 as a power meter. That is I want to measure the power in moving objects. A rollercoaster, a car, a model airplane, a horse, all over short time spans. Say 10 seconds.
I know what to do, I just don't know HOW to do it. That is, I know if I integrate the acceleration once I get velocity. And, If I multiply Velocity times Force, I get power. I get my force from F=mA. So in real-time I am looking to solve for Force and then multiply again by the integration of acceleration for Power.
Sooo...
I understand I could get velocity from the pic. That is to say the PIC will do the integration, but how would I handle the mass issue. Masses would change as the device is going to be used on several different things with different masses...
So it seems smarter to me to have the Accelerometer merely report acceleration, and do the number cruching on the receiving computer.
Which means...
I need a software program where I can enter in a mass, read the COM port, and control a logging time (start and stop) with a key stroke. The device is always "on" just only logging in real-time (Power and force) with the start keystroke. After the stop is pressed a log is kept and I can plot the power and force on a graph...
OK so now help me...please...
I want to use the Serial Accelerometer V5 as a power meter. That is I want to measure the power in moving objects. A rollercoaster, a car, a model airplane, a horse, all over short time spans. Say 10 seconds.
I know what to do, I just don't know HOW to do it. That is, I know if I integrate the acceleration once I get velocity. And, If I multiply Velocity times Force, I get power. I get my force from F=mA. So in real-time I am looking to solve for Force and then multiply again by the integration of acceleration for Power.
Sooo...
I understand I could get velocity from the pic. That is to say the PIC will do the integration, but how would I handle the mass issue. Masses would change as the device is going to be used on several different things with different masses...
So it seems smarter to me to have the Accelerometer merely report acceleration, and do the number cruching on the receiving computer.
Which means...
I need a software program where I can enter in a mass, read the COM port, and control a logging time (start and stop) with a key stroke. The device is always "on" just only logging in real-time (Power and force) with the start keystroke. After the stop is pressed a log is kept and I can plot the power and force on a graph...
OK so now help me...please...