Design and Realization of a Prototype Hardware Platform for ...

The MegaWatch Wireless PlatformMaster's Thesis - Emanuel Corthay12 Conclusion12 ConclusionAt the end of this work, the following points were successfully completed:• 25 power supply boards were designed, mounted, and tested. They supply all thenecessary voltages for the system• 25 extension boards were designed, mounted and tested• 25 main boards were redesigned, of which one was mounted and tested. The remaininglot will arrive momentarily due to manufacturers delays.• A protocol has been proposed to offer wireless connectivity between units• The FPGA radio core can send and receive frames, with a variable length payload, itcontains FIFO buffers to store the payload• A CRC functions is present to discard erroneous frames• Ping and Emergency frame packet generator in hardware, controlled by buttons, allowingthe radio core to be tested directly, a simple Emergency frame forwarding in hardware ispresent for test purposes• Important performance factors of the radio link were identified• The programming of the radio circuit through the 3-wire FPGA core is possible• It is possible to print characters on the screen, read and print pressed keys and buttons anduse the microcontroller LEDs• It is possible to read the raw current measurement value directly on the screen• It is possible to use the buzzer• The ARM processor can run Linux, use a file system on the Flash memory. It will shortly bepossible to access the wireless 802.11 network through the compact flash card• A web site has been constructed• Improvements were proposed• From those proposals, 8 semester and Master’s thesis work project were proposed andadvertised• Three of these projects have been selected by students for the spring term 2004Within a limited time frame, the main goals have been reached, and the number of workingfeatures is very large, compared to the number of challenges encountered. The basis and firstprototype of the MegaWatch project is there!After further improvements, for which students were already found, a powerful, flexible, wirelessnetwork testing platform will finally be available for researchers in various fields. The work is asuccess.I personally greatly enjoyed working on it. I particularly liked having realized the first part of thiscomplete wireless communication system platform. It provided me with an great sense ofsatisfaction, and a lot of experience that be will of great importance for my future work career.78 / 83