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ELJonline: NIC Contest Winners (May, 2002)
Don Marti

In our second contest, winners took a humble desktop thin client and connected it to the wider world.

Many of the techniques, parts and code used by our winners will be useful for Linux desktop users who want to connect their computers to something other than the Net. If you're reading this because you're a Linux desktop user or a hobbyist who simply wants to figure out how to connect a radio or a temperature probe, welcome to the world of embedded systems.

The other finalists also came up with great ideas, hardware and software. You can see the remaining finalists' websites here.

As always, watch for future hardware overviews and contests in upcoming issues of Embedded Linux Journal.




Grand Prize Winner: CanDetect, by Alexander Perry -- website

William Gibson wrote that "the street finds its own uses for things", and it looks like the runway does too. Far from the NIC's office-bound roots, this project does nondestructive testing for cracks in aircrafts (Figures 1 and 2). And, it was recently presented as a paper to the NDE and Health Monitoring of Aerospace Materials and Civil Infrastructures conference in San Diego, California on March 19, 2002. CanDetect makes innovative and cost-effective use of the NIC's sound hardware to drive a probe, and it displays results using the xoscope oscilloscope utility (Figure 3). The project website gives a thorough explanation of how it's done, along with an abstract of the conference paper, entitled "Near-DC eddy current measurement of aluminum multilayers using MR sensors and commodity low-cost computer technology".

Figure 1.
CanDetect's magnetic probe runs straight off the NIC's sound card.


Figure 2.
CanDetect in use on an aircraft.


Figure 3.
The free xoscope program displays CanDetect data.





Runner-Up: Shortwave Radio Educational Kiosk, by Jay Sissom -- website

What do you get when you combine the NIC with a Ten-Tec computer-controlled RX-320 shortwave radio and a graphical application that gives the user control of the radio and explains the shortwave bands? A cool exhibit for your local science museum, that's what. In this project, the NIC provides an easy-to-use front end to hear faraway radio stations for the first time (Figure 4). This project uses GTK+ as the GUI widget set. When you burn the CD to run the exhibit, you can install a TIFF image easily that will customize the on-screen look of what might be a kid's first look at real radio. This well-thought-out project includes heavy-duty arcade game buttons for intensive public use.

Figure 4.
A screenshot of the Shortwave Radio Education Kiosk in use. It shows information on radio bands as the user selects them.





Runner-Up: NIC-Based Adaptive and Efficient Residential HVAC Control, by Phil Zumsteg -- website

Air conditioning is actually most efficient when the outside air is cooler, but a conventional thermostat runs it when the house heats up. You can pre-cool the house, but that's a waste when the weather will be cool enough not to need it. So what do you do? Predictive heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are expensive and only for big buildings, but this project can help. Using weather forecasts, the "NIC-aerc" can determine the most efficient course of action--to pre-cool or not to pre-cool. With it, users can save big money when the local utility offers off-peak discounts (Figure 5). The website includes good documentation on interfacing the necessary Dallas Semiconductor MicroLAN devices to monitor internal and external temperatures and to control the thermostat. The NIC uses its built-in modem to get on-line weather forecasts (Figure 6). Check out this site if you're interested in real-world examples of using the Dallas Semiconductor devices. And even with all that capability, this project isn't much more expensive than a seven-day programmable thermostat.

Figure 5.
The NIC-aerc saves energy and money by running the heater or air conditioner at the most efficient, least expensive times.


Figure 6.
How the NIC-aerc connects to the Internet and the HVAC system.





Copyright © 2002 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. All rights reserved. Embedded Linux Journal Online is a cooperative project of Embedded Linux Journal and LinuxDevices.com.

(Click here for further information)


FUEL Database on MontaVista Linux
Whether building a mobile handset, a car navigation system, a package tracking device, or a home entertainment console, developers need capable software systems, including an operating system, development tools, and supporting libraries, to gain maximum benefit from their hardware platform and to meet aggressive time-to-market goals.

Breaking New Ground: The Evolution of Linux Clustering
With a platform comprising a complete Linux distribution, enhanced for clustering, and tailored for HPC, Penguin Computing¿s Scyld Software provides the building blocks for organizations from enterprises to workgroups to deploy, manage, and maintain Linux clusters, regardless of their size.

Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
Unlike ordinary debuggers, NightStar LX doesn¿t leave you stranded in the dark. It¿s more than just a debugger, it¿s a whole suite of integrated diagnostic tools designed for time-critical Linux applications to reduce test time, increase productivity and lower costs. You can debug, monitor, analyze and tune with minimal intrusion, so you see real execution behavior. And that¿s positively illuminating.

Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
This paper highlights Vyatta's unique ability to virtualize networking functions using Vyatta's secure routing software in service provider environments.

High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
This white paper discusses a high-availability messaging solution relying on the AXIGEN Mail Server, Heartbeat and DRBD. Solution architecture and implementation, as well as benefits of using AXIGEN for this setup are all presented in detail.

Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
Will open source pay off? Open source is becoming standard within enterprises, often because of cost savings. Find out how much of a financial impact it can have on your organization. Get this methodology and calculator now, compliments of JBoss.

Embedded Hardware and OS Technology Empower PC-Based Platforms
The modern embedded computer is the jack of all trades appearing in many forms.

Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.

7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.

 


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