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I have a specific problem :

  1. I'm working on a testing platform. It has to be absolutely isolated, so I cannot wire it back to my PC. I again reiterate it. There is no way to wire it to my PC. IT HAS TO BE ABSOLUTELY ISOLATED

  2. It has about 10 different sensors on it and I need to read sensor's data simultaneously at 100Hz. It is currently working fine with 16Hz, but I need to improve it further, so I think maybe in future sampling rates higher than 100 is beneficial. 7 Hz is the lowest possible value that doesn't botch the whole things up.

  3. I have a laptop on the platform which reads the sensor data via RS232, then it processes them in a fraction of a second and produce a control signal and send it to the actuators. It has to happen at real-time. Control algorithm is not heavy, it is several PIDs.

  4. It has 6 actuators with the fastest possible reaction time of 0.005 second.

  5. The main sensor currently is Microstrain 3DM-GX1. It is a very good sensors.

  6. I want to add a GY-80 sensor in parallel to 3DM-GX1. I want to test various filtering algorithms on the GY-80's output and compare them to 3DM-GX1.

  7. Platform has 6 degrees of freedom so I think laser transmission is not practical.

  8. Distance between the computer and the platform is at most 3 meters.

For some reasons I am not able to use the laptop anymore. I want to read the sensor's data with an Arduino, preferably Arduino Mega 2560. My problem is that I don't want to load the control algorithm to the Arduino.

IMHO the perfect solution is going to be a Wireless link between the Sensors via Arduino to my PC. This way my PC logs data and also the Control Algorithm can promptly calculate the feedback signal and send it to Arduino which will send them to the actuators. This immensely makes things easier for me.

I think I need a RS232 shield for the 3DM-GX1 & Arduino, + some wireless solution for sending data from both sensors to my computer. Then I need to send back the control signal back to the actuators wirelessly.

Now what is the fast and easy way to transmit the data between PC and Arduino in real-time?

Thank you in advance!

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    How much bandwidth do you really need? 100Hz isn't that fast, even 4800 baud could do it easily if each sensor has a 4 byte response. In any case "the fastest" is vague and hard to answer.
    – BrettAM
    Apr 5, 2015 at 20:43
  • He said he needs 100hz with 10 sensors. If each value is 16bit 4800 baud WILL NOT cover him. Also "fastest" means sample rate but it also means latency. For lowest latency use the highest baud rate / fastest data bus you can
    – benathon
    Apr 6, 2015 at 9:01
  • I updated the whole question. I'd be thankful if you could help me find a good solution.
    – arudino.tyro
    Apr 7, 2015 at 11:01
  • Ok well then some sort of rf would be better. I would look at bluetooth serial. I can find some links. What sort do latency are you looking to meet ?
    – benathon
    Apr 7, 2015 at 11:03
  • I think the type that can support 24 sensors at 16bit 100Hz + 6 actuators at 100Hz is enough. Plus the time my computer needs to send back the signal. I need it to be easy to implement with Arduino.
    – arudino.tyro
    Apr 7, 2015 at 11:09

1 Answer 1

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The fastest way would be to use a laser link!! Yeah lasers. You could go with wifi or some other custom wireless but lasers will guarantee the highest energy density and therefor best bandwidth. This guy claims near 10 MB/s with his setup:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Transceiver/

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  • I think the transceivers have to be pointed at each other all the times. Because my platform has six degrees of freedom. It is rotating around different axes. Please correct me if I am wrong.
    – arudino.tyro
    Apr 7, 2015 at 11:00

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