A SAMPLING OF DATA DESIGN'S CUSTOM DESIGN WORK


 While more often than not the custom design efforts conducted at Data Design are of a nature which must be kept confidential, a few projects have been presented in the press, entered the public domain, or are otherwise available for presentation.  This small group of projects offers a sampling of the range of technologies with which Data Design has experience.

PC ON-A-STICK Microcomputer Runs Embedded Linux

A customer required a highly compact single board computer with the following features.
- 80486 processor with math coprocessor
- 64MB memory
- 10/100Base-T Network
- VGA video
- High capacity hard drive
- Capable of running Linux and Windows operating systems
- Tiny, convoluted form factor
- Low power consumption

Based on the ZFx86 SOC PC from ZF Microdevices, IBM Microdrive technology, and several other SOC subsystems, this PC "on-a-stick" occupies as little as 3"x5".  The project exists as a "core technology" design ready to be adapted to specific needs.  Several projects have already adapted the design.

 

MARTIAN RIOMETER HF Receiver Analyzes Atmospheric Noise
Data Design was asked to participate in the design, software integration, and test of an HF riometer system, ostensibly aimed at eventual integration into a Mars lander.  Several such systems have been deployed here on Earth.  

A riometer measures levels of atmospheric noise using a sophisticated DSP algorithm which compares received noise (in this case in the HF band) with a noise reference.  The resulting information can be used to determine certain atmospheric properties, including the status of the planet's ozone layer.

 

THE PLASTIC MIRROR High Voltage Driver For Hubble Telescope Deformable Mirror
Researchers at a NASA contractor were proposing one of several methods for building a deformable mirror to improve the optical accuracy of the Hubble Space Telescope and ground telescopes.  The proposal involved a mirror element which could be changed in shape ever so slightly by an array of a thousand tiny piezoelectric actuators.  Under contract from NASA to build a conceptual prototype of the mirror, the researchers turned to Data Design to provide the high voltage drive electronics and the hardware and software hooks to connect the equipment to a desktop computer running a LabVIEW control program

 

LANL FGMM Frame Grabber Memory Module
  The Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) Frame Grabber Memory Module (FGMM) is a custom designed ultra high speed memory system for the capture of image data from a multiport digital camera. The FGMM is designed in principal to be flexible enough to allow adaptation to multiport digital cameras in general.  The initial design was built around the interface requirements of the LANL GY-11 custom high speed camera. The GY-11 is a 10-bit 16-port 512x512 pixel CCD camera capable of frame rates up to 4000 frames per second. 

The FGMM hardware is a VME system consisting of a VME connected x86 PC compatible computer, a real time controller board, and eight memory modules. The architecture is a fully complaint VME bus design. Using a VME connected PC compatible computer as the system controller enables rapid and flexible image rendering. Use of VME compatible system components provides significant system flexibility and reusability. 

 

GY-11 SIMULATOR 16 Port 10-Bit Digital Camera Simulator
In the development of the above LANL FGMM, a simulator was needed for the source camera, the LANL GY-11.  The resulting unit is a 16 port arbitrary digital pattern generator with 10 bits per port along with outputs for arbitrary video sync signals.  The unit is connected to a host PC through a SCSI-II cable and is operated from a rich graphical interface.  An open API provides the potential for rapid redeployment for simulation of other cameras or for other arbitrary data stream applications. 

 

SKIN CANCER PROBE Electric Bracelet Screens For Cancer
 

 

 

 Researchers at Morgan State University asked Data Design to develop a system which injects a small electrical current in the skin of a patient's forearm and reads the pattern of current appearing across the affected area.  The resulting data can be used to detect suspicious growths beneath the skin.

Data Design developed a miniature probe assembly worn like a bracelet.  The probe contains a signal generator and an array of analog to digital converters.  The data is read on a PC using a readily available digital I/O card.

While the science behind this project is hardly the forte of Data Design, we were quite able to create the needed instrumentation.  We understand that the project has met with some level of success. 

 

BLOOD VISCOMETER Instrument Electronics For Cardiovascular Research
An energetic startup company asked Data Design to improve on certain design details of an innovative instrument which measures the viscosity of blood for use in research on cardiovascular health.  Data Design provided a complete redesign of power supply and measurement elements related to the instrument's thermal controls.  A completely new layout of the entire electronics assembly was also completed to improve noise immunity, control cost, and meet regulatory requirements.

 

THE PUC Personal Utility Controller (PUC) Aids EMS Operators
This simple USB device provides emergency service operators with an ergonomic hand held tool to quickly access features of a radio dispatch system.  A small provider of network centric software design services was working with a major provider of radio equipment to the public service sector to meet customer demands for this capability.  Data Design was called on to provide the electronic and mechanical design for the PUC along with the associated USB driver software.  The design easily withstood substantial customer review including meeting specific size, weight, and maintenance access requirements.  Finally, Data Design filled a substantial production order for this product.