International Journal of u- and e- Service, Science and Technology

Vol.7, No.2 (2014), pp.113-126

http://dx.doi.org/10.14257/ijunesst.2014.7.2.11

Developing Low Cost Laboratory Apparatus for Hardware

Interfacing System
Catherine S. Lacsamana1, Tomas U. Ganiron Jr2 and Harold S. Taylor3
1

Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Tartu, Estonia

2
International Associations of Engineers (IAENG), Hongkong
3
Department of Computer Engineering, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ
1
[email protected],[email protected],
3
[email protected]
Abstract
Hardware interfacing system for visual C++ plays an important role in co-design of the
embedded computer system. It links the software part and the hardware part of the system.
The design process supports software interface implementation and hardware interface
synthesis. This paper shows the hardware and software interfaces can be implemented by
using low cost laboratory apparatus in embedded computer system, which includes the
primitive interface, the synchronous interface and the data communication protocol between
the hardware and the software.
Keywords: Accelerometer, algorithm, hardware interfacing, visual C++

1. Introduction
The effectiveness of the teacher, which is the very foundation of the teaching-learning
process in the classroom, has been given various definitions and implied meaning. [1], saw it
as the teachers effect in the realization of some values which is usually the attainment of
some educational objective in terms of student behaviors, abilities, habits, or characteristics.
Aside from knowing that classroom is a gathering of students with different values, practices,
norms, and culture that adapted from their families, communities or region and in their classes
since they started their formal schooling. The teacher must be innovative enough in adapting
various techniques to become effective.
Instructional materials helps teacher to meet individual differences of the learners in the
class by using aids that appeal to different senses. Instructional materials are used to
supplement verbal explanation of concepts or any description so that the lesson could be real
to the students. These instructional materials are categorized into audio visual, audio and
visual. These are materials that when teacher used them can appeal to student both sight and
hearing. These can be electronically operated materials like television, radio, film, slide
motion; computer and non-electronic ones such as chalk board, charts, burners, models and
many more. The absence of these materials in teaching of physics could make the class very
uninteresting to student and discourage learning thereby lead to low or poor achievement.
Instructional materials are very important because what students hear can easily be forgotten
but what they see cannot be easily forgotten and last longer in their memory. In contribution
of [2], to the importance of instructional materials to teaching and learning process, the
primary purpose of instructional materials is to make learning more effective and also
facilitate it and the teachers would not be able to do much where these materials are not

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available; therefore improvisation become necessary. [2, 3], posited that instructional media
or materials can be used by lecturers to overcome noise factors, such as misconception,
referent confusion and daydreaming. In this age of information and communication
technology [ICT] teachers must be able to use available local resources to produce
instructional and learning materials in schools. As good as improvisation might be in teaching
and learning if learners are not taken part in the process of improvisation its aim may not be
fully achieved. Learner participating in improvisation of instructional materials makes them
exposed to creativity, innovation and curiosity, all of which are fundamental to teaching and
learning of science [4]. Improvisation in science teaching is an important issue in science
Education which has attracted a lot of contributions from science teachers [5].
In the University of Tartu, the Department of Physics uses different types of apparatus for
data acquisition to perform experiments that demonstrate the different topics in the Physics
subjects. The authors intend to fully automate these data acquisition apparatus using
electronic circuits that convert measurable data through sensors to a readable bit format for
the parallel port of the computer. A survey was done to determine which of the apparatus can
be readily automated and can be replaced by readily available low cost materials. One of the
experiments that showed possible automation was the calculation of the acceleration of the
different moving bodies. It was observed that the error from this experiment was mainly due
to the reaction time of the students. By substituting the apparatus with electronic circuits that
are inexpensive, rugged and reliable, students can obtain data with ease and can focus more
on the concept rather than its procedural and computational parts. Another advantage of
automating the experiment through the computer is that a customized Graphical User
Interface (GUI) can be used through the Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) of Visual C++.
This also helps in the automatic data logging of the results.

2. Literature Review
Microprocessors can be defined simply as computers on a single chip. While the idea
of placing all the required transistors for a computing on a single piece of silicon has
been around since 1969, the first truly successful chip to do so was Intel's 808 0. The
8080 was introduced in 1974 and became the heart of the world's first PC, the Altair.
The chip, while state-of-the art at the time, is almost laughable by today's computing
standards. The chip ran at 2 MHz, with an 8-bit architecture, and had 6,000 transistors.
For comparison, an Intel Pentium 4, introduced in 2000, runs at 1.5 GHz, with a 32 -bit
architecture and has 42 million transistors [3, 6].
This humble chip gave birth to all microcomputers. As manufacturing technology
improved, the additional silicon space was utilized for one of two purposes. The
microprocessor, which sits at the heart of every personal computer, followed the path of
using the extra silicon for more speed and computational power. Mathematical
operations in the 8080 could be performed 8-bits at a time and usually took one clock
cycle. By 1978, the Intel 8088 has moved onto a 16-bit architecture and 5 MHz clock
speed, meaning not only could the additions be performed on numbers twice as large,
but they could be carried out more than twice as fast.
On the other hand, in 1976 Intel introduced the 8748 which is considered the first
microcontroller. This processor maintained the 8-bit architecture but added internal
memory both in the form of random access memory (RAM) for temporarily storing
information and erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) for storing code,
which survived even when power to the chip, was turned off. Even today,
microprocessors are dependent on external RAM and ROM (hard drives), while almost
all modern microcontrollers have both types of memory internally. The designers also

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added additional input-output (I/O) lines so the chip could interface with other devices
and an 8-bit timer, which counted the clock cycles so time-dependent events could
programmed.
Chips like the 8748 became known as microcontrollers because they saw their
biggest market as control systems, such as the ones you would find in washing
machines and traffic lights. In 1980, Intel's 8051 became the standard for all
microcontrollers. It contained over 60,000 transistors with 4 kB ROM, 128 bytes of
RAM, 32 I/O lines, a serial port, and two 16-bit timers. To this day, most
microcontrollers maintain the 8051 processor at their core. They have added more
memory, serial ports, I/O lines, and other features such as analog-to-digital (A/D)
conversion, but everything is backwards compatible to the original 8051.
2.1. 8051 features
A microcontroller, like any digital circuit, is simply a collection of transistors etched
into silicon. These transistors, when arranged properly, allow for simple logical
operations such as AND, OR, etc.; arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction,
etc.; and memory storage capabilities. A block diagram of these features is shown in
Figure 1.

Figure 1. Block Diagram of the Intel 8051 Microcontroller

2.1.1. Central Processing Unit: The central processing unit (CPU) of a microcontroller, like
the CPU of a computer, is the part of the chip that carries out the code provided by software
by performing the required computations. The CPU in very simplified form, consist of five
parts. The first is the program counter (PC). This is a memory array that holds the address of
the next instruction in the code to be executed. On a chip reset, this array is populated with
zeros so as to start the code at the first location. When the code begins, it will go to the first
memory location, as indicated by the PC, and load the instruction in to the instruction register
(IR). This simply holds the 8-bit instruction during its operations. The IR itself is rather
mundane. The meaning of the code is determined by the instruction decode and control unit.

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This unit processes the instruction and ensures that its purpose is carried out. Any arithmetic
or logical operations that need to be carried out are done in the aptly named arithmetic and
logic unit (ALU). This array of transistors is where the term 8-bit logic is applied. If the ALU
is 8-bits wide, then the microcontroller is an 8-bit architecture since operations will be carried
out 8-bits at a time. The two bytes to be operated on are loaded into the \top" of the ALU. As
they descend \down" the ALU are acted upon (ANDed, ORed, carried over, etc.) as dictated
by the instruction decode and control unit. The output from the ALU appears at the bottom.
Finally, several registers, simply reserved memory locations, provide temporary space to
house the bytes to be operated on and the results of the calculations. The CPU is connected to
all other parts of the chip via data buses. In this way data from the memory (either internal or
external), A/D converter, or serial port decoder can be used by the CPU and passed
between the different chip peripherals. As an example, if an instruction in code is
calling on the CPU to obtain a byte of memory from RAM, the instruction decoder will
send the address for the desired byte along with a read instruction to memory and then
process the returned byte sent into the CPU by memory. This byte would temporarily be
stored in an unused register. The ALU would then act upon this byte as specified by the
next instruction, again placing the result in a register. The result might then be passed
back into memory, or used by a succeeding instruction that might perform a logical
operation on the result, such as that called for by an \IF" statement in the higher-level
code. The result of the logical operation could then be used to set the PC, leading to the
code to jump to one of two subroutine locations, and so on. It is important to note that
most programmers will never actually involve themselves directly in writing the
instruction set carried out by the code. This machine language comes as the result of a
compiler, a program that transforms higher level code such as assembly language or C
into machine code.
2.1.2. Memory structure: The 8051 consist of two types of memory, ROM and RAM, both
of which can be either internal or external. The ROM is used for code storage. In the original
8051, programmers would send their code to the factory to have it permanently etched into
the internal ROM. Using internal ROM allowed for faster operation, but meant that code
could not be changed once it was etched into the silicon. Later use of EPROM, which allowed
memory to be changeable and yet retainable during power loses, meant almost all
microcontrollers began using internal EPROM for code memory. The RAM is used for
variable storage and functionality control. It is volatile, because its content is lost on power
loss. There are four sections of RAM as shown in the memory diagram in figure 2. The first
type of RAM is the general purpose RAM. This is what is used to store variables in the code.
This can be accessed by the CPU as described in the example in the previous section. The
second type of RAM is the bit-addressable RAM. This memory section allows the
programmer to used single bit variables. This is useful because it is faster to read and operate
on a single bit than operating on an entire byte, not to mention much more compact since in
the other seven bits in a byte operation would go unused. The third group is the memory
locations reserved to function as registers. There are four resister banks reserved at the
beginning of the memory stack. While these locations can be used simply as general purpose
RAM, they have the additional capability of serving as the registers for the CPU described in
the previous section. Their biggest advantage is that the CPU can be programmed to see the
address of these banks as a single byte rather than the usual two bytes required access other
memory locations. This allows for faster operation, an important consideration when moving
data into and out of the registers with nearly every operation. The final class of RAM is the
special function registers (SFRs). The SFRs are used to control the operation of all the

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attached peripheral devices. The SFR location in memory was purposely sparsely populated
so as to allow for the addition of future functionality. The exact operation of these SFRs will
be discussed when their associated peripherals are discussed in more detail below.

Figure 2. 8051 RAM Memory Map

2.1.3. Ports: The original 8051 had four, eight-pin, general-purpose input/output (IO) ports.
These pins could be set either high or low by writing to the Port n (Pn) SRF, where \n" refers
to the port number. When a one is set, the pin is pulled high internally. These ports can also
be used as inputs, where an external device grounds the pin to make the read value of the Pn
SFR a zero. The Pn SFR can either be written to or read from as a byte or one bit at a time.
SFRs with this capability are referred to as bit-addressable and easily allow the user to change
a single bit without concern for the values of the other bits in the register. The ports also
served as pins for the other peripherals on the chip. Ports 0 and 2 serve as both the address
and data lines for any external memory. Port 3 serves as the pins for the timers, external
interrupts, and serial ports described below. Port 1 is always reserved for general I/O. If a pin
is being used with a peripheral device, it cannot be used as an I/O pin. The original 8051 was
not capable of sourcing or sinking much current. Later derivatives added direct sourcing and
sinking capability meaning external devices, such as an LED, could be powered directly from
the microcontroller pin rather than through a transistor. For this functionality, the user must

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specify whether the pin is to be a push-pull output or act as an open-drain input. This requires
an additional SFR for each port.
2.1.4. Interrupts: Interrupts are event-driven interruptions of the main program. This allows
the microcontroller to respond to important occurrences when they happen, rather than having
to continuously check for them. Interrupts can be generated by any number of sources,
primarily from the on-chip peripherals. For example, the serial port system can generate an
interrupt saying a byte was just received. The A/D system can generate an interrupt saying its
conversion is complete. A user can also generate an interrupt by pushing a button tied to one
of the external interrupt pins. Note that these can occur at any time in the codes operation and
their exact timing cannot be predicted. When an interrupt is received, a flag is set in one of
several SFRs corresponding to the interrupt source. Setting this flag initializes the interrupt
service routine (ISR). The ISR will store the current memory pointer for the code, load the PC
with the memory location for the routine to be executed based on the interrupt source, and at
the completion of that routine, point the main program back to its original place. In this
manner, the CPU can give the appearance of performing several operations simultaneously,
although in reality it is simply hopping from one subroutine to another. .Interrupts must be
either enabled or disabled by setting the Interrupt Enable (IE) SFR. This SFR acts as the ono_ switch for all the interrupts (later 8051-derivatives with more peripherals have added
additional SFRs). Each bit in the register corresponds to a particular interrupt. Setting a one in
a position will enable that interrupt. Setting a zero disables it. In silicon, the memory location
acts as an input to an AND gate along with the interrupt flag bit. Only when a one is present
in both, will the ISR be activated. Bit seven of the IE register is the global interrupt enable.
All interrupts, regardless of the individual states are only enabled when this bit is set to one.
This allows the programmer to easily suspend all interrupt occurrences without having to
disable each individual interrupt source. To avoid conflicts of multiple interrupts, or receiving
one interrupt while executing the routine of another, a very specific interrupt polling sequence
is enforced. The programmer can modify this sequence slightly by setting each interrupt to
one of two priority levels using the Interrupt Priority (IP) SFR. The higher level interrupts are
first executed and the then lower level ones. The order within the level is still fixed by the
polling sequence. When multiple interrupts do occur, the lower level interrupt is held and
executed after the higher level one is finished. It is worth mentioning that the reset pin can be
considered to function as an interrupt that is always enabled. There are no means to disable
the reset pin in software. On a reset, the chip is set back to its initial state and the PC set to
memory location zero.
2.1.5. Timers: Timers are simply counters of a specific length that increment with each
incoming clocking source transition. The original 8051 had two 16-bit timers. The clocking
source can come either from the main system clock (in which case it is pre-divided by 12 so
as to allow for reasonable rates) or from an external source such as reserved timer pin or an
external interrupt pin. A counter works in much the same way a human adds long numbers.
When the sum of two numbers is greater than ten, a one is carried to the next column and the
remainder placed in the original column. When adding in binary, any number greater than one
result in a carry. With only a fixed number of bits with which to work, an overflow occurs
when the most-significant bit (MSb) generates a carry. The counter will go from having all
ones to all zeros with a carry bit being passed out. The MSb's carry bit is used to set the timer
interrupt flag. In this way interrupts can be generated at regular intervals. If the length of the
timer were the only parameter that could be set, the possible frequencies that could be used
would be quite restrictive. To obtain the full spectrum of possible frequencies, the user can

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initialize the timer to some value, thus generating the interrupt sooner based on the number of
clock cycles left until overflow. There are four modes of operation for the timers as illustrated
in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Block Diagram of the Four Modes of Operation for Timer 0

Mode 0 operates the timer in 13-bit mode, meaning the counter is 13-bits long. This mode
is for backwards compatibility with the 8051 predecessor the 8048. Mode 1 operates the timer
in 16-bit mode, meaning the full 16-bits are used for counting. The disadvantages of Modes 0
and 1 are that if the user specifies the time to overflow by setting the initial value of the timer,
it becomes necessary to do so after every overflow to ensure regularly timed interrupts. Mode
2 makes use of a feature called auto-reload. The timer functions in an 8-bit mode with the
lower byte serves as the counter and the upper byte holding the initialization value. On the 8bit overflow, the lower byte is set to the value stored in the upper byte. Mode 3, which is only
available for Timer 0, allows the timer to function as two independent 8-bit timers. All of the
parameters mentioned above are set by the Timer Control (TCON)and Timer Mode (TMOD)
SFRs. Modes, clocking sources, interrupt flags, and run enables for both timers are contained
in these two SFRs. The values of the timers themselves can be accessed using the TH0, TL0,
TH1, and TL1 SFRs where \H" and \L" refer to the high and low bytes and \0" and \1" to the
timer number. Later 8051-derivatives have added additional timers and many have given
those additional timers full 16-bit auto-reload capability. This is particularly useful for baud
rate generation for serial port applications.
2.1.6. Serial port: The original 8051 came with a single serial port system. The serial
port consist of two pins, TXD and RXD for transmit and receive, respectively. The
serial port can be operated in one of four modes. Mode 0 allows for 8-bit synchronous
communication. Mode 1 allows for 8-bit asynchronous communication. Modes 2 and 3
are the same as 0 and 1 except with 9-bits transmitted. The serial port modes, enables,
and interrupt flag are set in the Serial Port Control (SCON) SFR. The two modes of
interest are Modes 0 and 1. When in Mode 0, the serial port acts as a simple shift
register. Data written in the Serial Port Buffer (SBUF) SFR is clocked out over the

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RXD line one bit at a time at a frequency set by the system clock divided by twelve.
The TXD line is used to pass out the clock pulses. The receiving party uses the rising
edge of the clock to sample the data line. Incoming data also comes over the RXD line
with the microcontroller continuing to generate the clock pulses over the TXD.
Received bytes are also placed in the SBUF register. In Mode 1, the serial port operates
as a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART). This is the mode most
computer users are familiar with from dealing with their computer's serial port. Here the
RXD and TXD lines are used in their traditional receive and transmit roles with the
timing on the lines coming from one of the timers. The original 8051 used Timer 1 to
generate the baud rate, although later derivatives allowed additional timers to be used,
as well as allowing different baud rates to be used for receive and transmit. The timer
overflows are further divided by either 32 or 16 depending on the desired baud rate. For
every byte to be transmitted, ten clocking cycles are used. First a start bit that is always
a zero is sent, then the eight data bytes starting with the least significant bit (LSb) are
transmitted, and finally a stop bit that is always a one is output. Interrupts are generated
either after transmit or after a successful receive. For a successful receive, a proper start
bit must be detected (as opposed to spurious noise on the line), and any previously
received bytes have had to been read by software. Upon a successful transmit or
receive, the TI or RI interrupt flags are set in the SCON register, and, if enabled, the
serial port service routine activated. Since the same routine is called transmit or receive,
it is necessary for the programmer is checking the status of the interrupt flags to see
which occurrence caused the interrupt. For this reason, the interrupt flags are not
cleared by hardware and must be cleared in software. Failing to clear these flags will
result in missed receive bytes since received bytes will not be loaded into the SBUF
register if the RI flag is not zero?
2.1.7. A/D conversion: While not an original feature of the 8051, A/D conversion, because if
its importance to this project, will be briefly explanation below. The conversion specifics for
the Signal C8051F020, the microcontroller used for this project will be described. The Signal
C8051F020 has an eight-channel, 12-bit A/D system. The eight channels can function as
either eight single-ended inputs, four differential inputs, or any combination of these two
states (i.e. four single-ended and two differential inputs). The channel functionality is set by
the Analog Multiplexer Configuration (AMUX0CF) SFR. The A/D converter is not capable
of simultaneous sampling. Rather is uses only a single A/D converter with an analog
multiplexer to select which of the eight lines to sample. The multiplexer is controlled by the
Analog Multiplexer Channel Selection (AMUX0SL) SFR. An internal operational amplifier
provides the capability of gaining the incoming signal. By setting the appropriate bits in the
A/D Conversion Configuration (ADC0CF) SFR, gains of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 can be set for
the selected line. Conversions start based on the mode of operation of the A/D converter as
set by the A/D Converter Control (ADC0CN) SFR. The four possible conversion start events
are writing a one to AD0BUSY bit of ADC0CN, a Timer 2 overflow, a Timer 3 overflow, and
a rising edge detected on the external Conversion Start (CNVSTR) pin. In all cases the
AD0BUSY bit is set high. At the completion of a conversion, the AD0BUSY bit is set low,
the conversion complete flag AD0INT is set high, and if enabled, the A/D Conversion
Complete interrupt initialized. The result of the conversion is stored in the ADC0H and
ADC0L SFRs.

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3. Methodology
The implementation of the acceleration measurement device has gone through two
revisions. The first revision consisted of four sensors that heavily relied on the algorithmic
flow of the Visual C++ API [1]. The second implementation uses only two sensors and relies
on the internal clock of the computer accurate up to the millisecond. Another revision is being
designed that includes the use of advanced thread synchronization and embedding assembly
language into the Visual C++ code to allow for more versatility and low-level accuracy.
3.1. Revision 1
Figure 4 is the schematic diagram of the revision 1 prototype of the accelerometer. A laser
pointer was used for the light source and LDRs for light detectors. When the body interrupts
the light, the potential (voltage) in the LDR will change. This signal (either high or low) will
then be fed up to parallel port that will compute for the time elapsed.

Figure 4. Schematic Diagram of the Accelerometer

Figure 5 is the state diagram of the application. Upon running the program, it enters the
READY state. This state waits for a flag that is activated by the Active button. When the
start flag is set, the program reads the parallel port where the four light sensors are connected.

Figure 5. State Diagram of the Accelerometer Application

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The state moves to STATE1 when the ball is placed on the first sensor and moves to
STATE2 upon leaving the same sensor. It moves to the different states (STATE3 and
STATE4) upon interrupting the next set of light sources and detectors. When the last light is
interrupted, the program calculates the time elapsed between those points and outputs the
velocity v and acceleration of the body [7, 8].
3.2. Revision 2
Figure 6 shows the schematic diagram of the acceleration measurement device.
Similar to Revision 1, a laser pointer was used for the light source and phototransistor
(WPT440F) for the light detector [3, 8]. The values of the sensors are constantly polled
every millisecond and depending on the data taken through the parallel port, the time
between the activation and deactivation of the two sensors are logged. [9, 10].

Figure 6. Schematic Diagram of the Accelerometer

4. Data Gathering
In performing the experiment for revision 1, the acceleration of a solid spherical ball
was used. It was assumed that the frictional force between the ball and the inclined
plane is negligible and therefore does not contribute to the torque brought about by its
rotation [11, 12]. The angles 11 and 13.5 inclination for the plane were used and a
2cm diameter spherical ball. Ten trials were performed for each angle. The following
formulas were used [13]:

where:

g = gravitational acceleration (980 cm/s 2)

= angle of inclination (degrees)
S = displacement of the body (cm)

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The above equations was obtained by considering the rotational and linear velocity of
the body as it rolls down the plane [13,14]. The a experimental is the average acceleration of
the body taken from its acceleration as it passes the three other sensors.
In performing the experiment for revision 2, the acceleration of a sliding body
(collision cart) was computed. It was assumed that the frictional force between the body
and the inclined plane is negligible. The angles 15 and 20 were used at a traveling
distance of 62 cm. Ten trials were performed for each angle. The formulas used were:
aaccepted = gSin

and

a experimental = 2S/t 2

5. Result and Discussion

For revision 1, the acceleration computed by the program was compared to that of its
theoretical value. An error of 13.63% was recorded when the angle is 13.5 and 16.38% when
the angle is 11. These errors were believed to be caused by the following: (1) during the
release of the ball, the body is trying to overcome its moment of inertia causing its
acceleration to deviate from its theoretical value; (2) just before the body reaches the last
sensor, the effect of its rotational velocity becomes negligible, causing its acceleration to
approach its linear acceleration only and (3) the delay (time response) of the LDR is
suspected to be longer compared to that photodiode that are usually used as switch causing an
error in the computed acceleration. The sources of errors in these data were used to form the
second revision conditions such as the change from an LDR to a phototransistor and the
change in the device being measured [15,16].
For revision 2, the acceleration computed from the experiments was also compared to the
theoretical value. A 12.58 % error was found on the 15o angle and an error of 7.20 % was
found on the 20o angle. The errors were attributed to the following: (1) data from the parallel
port is not directly sent to the computing side of the processor due to the inherent delays
between chipsets; (2) reliability of software on low level operations are limited to the
millisecond due to the nature of the programming language used (Visual C++) and (3) the
capturing of the internal clock may be limited to the delays caused by the multiple cycle
commands of the different Visual C++ APIs[17, 18].

6. Conclusions and Recommendations

The prototypes in the conducted experiments were used to continually improve the
methodology in creating a device that is low cost, easy to use and accurate for the
experiments where it is going to be used. Revision 1 has shown the different sources of errors
that are inherent in the first prototype. The sources of errors came from the object whose
acceleration is being measured and the response time of the sensor (LDR). To eliminate the
factor of the object trying to conquer its moment of inertia, a sliding cart was used, which is
assumed to be frictionless with the inclined plane in Revision 2. A phototransistor was also
used in the second revision so as to increase response time of the sensors.
The results of revision 2 have shown other sources of errors. The delay due to the different
commands in the Visual C++ API is speculated to be one of the sources of errors. The lowest
sampling time that Visual C++ can handle is 1 millisecond but due to the execution of other
commands, the sampling time is not achieved consistently every 1 millisecond. This can be
remedied by optimizing the Visual C++ code to perform the least number of necessary
commands during operation and to include the use of using embedded assembly language
code in the Visual C++ code to allow for more low-level control together with advanced
thread synchronization. This is the planned design changes for the next revision.

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Another recommendation would be to use a separate circuit in between the parallel port
and the sensors as show in figure 7. The data logging circuit consists of a microcontroller
whose sole function is to store the data sent by the sensors to a memory element that can later
be retrieved by the computer through the parallel interface.

Figure 7. Block Diagram of Suggested Configuration

References
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[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]

[8]

[9]
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[11]
[12]

[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]

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Authors
Catherine S. Lacsamana was born in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte. She
received both BS and MS Accountancy from De La Salle University, in
Manila. Ms. Lacsamana has been pursuing research in financial
accounting and corporate governance. She has published over 25 referred
papers in relevant journals and conferences, which majority focus on the
areas of social, environmental and ethical accounting and reporting, and
corporate and social responsibility.

Harold S. Taylor received the BS Civil Engineering degree at

University Canterbury in 1983 and earned his MS (1985) and PhD (1987)
degrees in Civil Engineering at University of Auckland. He has published
several research papers in national and international journals in the area
of hydrology, water resources engineering, waste treatment plant and
river engineering. He has also authored books viz, Ocean Engineering,
River and Sediments, Water Resources and Engineering, and Fluid
Mechanics Students Handbook.

Tomas U. Ganiron Jr. This author obtained his Doctor of

Philosophy in Construction Management at Adamson University
(Philippines) in 2006, and subsequently earned his Master of Civil
Engineering major in Highway and Transportation Engineering at Dela
Salle University-Manila (Philippines) in 1997 and received Bachelor of
Science in Civil Engineering major in Structural Engineering at
University of the East (Philippines) in 1990. He is a registered Civil
Engineer in the Philippines and Professional Engineer in New Zealand.
He has received the Outstanding Civil Engineer in the field of Education
given by the Philippine Media Association Inc. (1996), ASTM Award
CA Hogentogler (2008) by IPENZ in New Zealand and Outstanding
Researcher (2013) in Qassim University, Buraidah City.

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