Greetings, Though I have an educational background in computer hardware and embedded systems I have never taken on a blank slate project on my own, and I am having trouble as to where to begin. After a few minutes lamenting the high cost of my education versus the actual real world experience needed to accomplish anything I figured I would ask for some advice since starting from a blank piece of paper is hard when your new to real world applications.
The basic gist of what I want to accomplish is a rechargeable battery powered motor whose speed is controlled via software which is itself controlled remotely via a bluetooth connection to a PC, Phone, whatever. Ideally this device will sip power consciously, though that may be a reach goal for just starting out. I would also like to accomplish a code division, basically I want to design software that will live in a microcontroller's ROM that will in turn read information from say easily reprogrammable flash to determine motor action.
I figure I will need the following components:
1) A rechargeable battery 2) Some kind of circuitry to control the battery, its output, and its charging 3) A motor that supports variable speeds based on varying voltages 4) A power conscious bluetooth chip that supports basic data transfers, from my reading this seems to be a serial cable replacement bluetooth device 5) Some form of D/A converter to control the motor 6) A small amount of flash memory to contain motor control commands 7) A microcontroller to tie everything together (Bluetooth communication, Motor control, Battery/Power management, Accessing the flash memory) 8) Minimal interfacing components (LED's for functionality feedback, button for basic control/bluetooth pairing) 9) Connective tissue to hold this all together, and no fry the nice bluetooth chipMy background offers me the skills of knowing what I need in a general sense, but I am not sure how to go from that list to components that fit my need, but are not overkill. I feel very comfortable programming a microcontroller in either assembly or C, basic hardware design concepts are second nature, pouring over specs is fun, but starting from this place is new to me and I am unsure of how to correctly begin this process.
Any help would be very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Gadi