CS0701: CUSTOM DATA ACQUISITION MODULE – PNEUMATIC NAILER

Problem Statement

Develop data acquisition module for pneumatic nail gun. Module must be small size, light weight and undetectable by the user. Customer usage profile data to be used for design modification to increase product durability.

Solution

• Developed custom data acquisition hardware and software utilizing USB communications for data download via a laptop.
• Special software that allows the system to determine specific events like when nailer is fired or dropped.
• Module measures up to 8 analog channels and 5 digital channels including a timestamp for each data point.
• Utilized very low-power electronics and automatic ‘sleep mode’ to maximize battery life to allow for data collection and storage in the field for over 1 month.
• Future developments included cell phone data retrieval and real-time GPS tracking.