Real-time data acquisition and processing of the Magnetic, Angular Rate and Gravity (MARG) sensor

Abstract

This research involves the development of a human-body motion tracking system constructed with the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) compo-nents. The problem to be solved is that the data from the motion tracking sensors must be transmitted wirelessly in real time from a microcontroller to a server computer. Due to the fact that the microcontroller does not support a standard OS, widely used PCMCIA cards or USB wireless modules cannot be used. The wireless communication module chosen for this purpose is the DPAC airborne, a highly integrated 802.11b module that can be easily integrated with the microcon-troller. The evaluation of the module was completed in four stages. The first part was to initiate communication with the DPAC module. The second part was to establish communication between the DPAC module and a TCP server. The third part was to establish communication between the microcontroller and the DPAC module. The fourth part was to increase the baud-rate to the desired high value of 230,400 bps. The evaluation result indicates that the DPAC airborne module meets the wireless communication requirements of the motion tracking system.