Design and Partial Implementation of a Computer Controlled Data Collection System.

A computer controlled data collection system was designed and partially implemented in software. The design concept is for a data collection unit to be placed inside the system being tested where it stores the test data in an internal memory. Post-test this internal unit is connected to and polled by an external control and data storage unit which archives the data. Both units are computers. This combination of an internal data collection unit and an external control and storage unit is intended for testing applications where it is either undesireable or not possible to connect the system being tested to external data recording devices during the test event. The partial implementation of this dual unit data collection system design was performed on a Zilog MCZ Z-80 development system in PLZ, a Pascal-like language, and Z-80 assembly language. Routines to improve the inputoutput and hardware access to PLZ were written and used. The software to implement the internal data collection unit and portions of the external control and data storage unit were also written. The internal unit routines employ a Zilog Counter Timer Circuit to generate sampling period interrupts. The analog to digital conversion is accomplished via a Zilog Analog Input Output AIOI board. The data collection system is not fully operational.