DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY - DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL

ENGINEERING
MECH 3905 – INTRODUCTION TO MECHATRONICS
LAB #3: SERIAL I/O

Date: 8th February 2024

Debaprashad Bhowmik (B00907766)

Ahmad Usman (B00963449)

ARDUINO CODE

/*
Project Title: Arduino-MATLAB Serial Communication
Author: Debaprashad Bhowmik (B00907766)
Date: February 08, 2024

Description:
This sketch is designed for an Arduino to communicate with MATLAB via
serial communication. It reads a PWM value sent from MATLAB, applies this
value to control the brightness of an LED connected to pin D6, and reads the
intensity of light using a photoresistor connected to analog pin A0. The
Arduino then sends the photoresistor's reading back to MATLAB along with a
counter value to ensure synchronized communication. This setup can be used
for experiments requiring real-time data exchange between MATLAB and Arduino,
such as closed-loop control systems or data logging applications.

Components:
- Arduino board
- LED connected to digital pin D6
- Photoresistor connected to analog pin A0
- Resistor for the LED (if necessary, depending on LED specifications)
- Serial connection between Arduino and MATLAB

Features:
- High-speed serial communication at 115200 bits per second.
- Reading of PWM values sent by MATLAB to control an LED.
- Reading of light intensity using a photoresistor.
- Synchronization mechanism using a counter variable.

Setup:
- Ensure the LED is correctly connected to pin D6 with appropriate current-
limiting resistance.
- Connect the photoresistor to analog pin A0 in a voltage divider
configuration.
- Set the same baud rate in MATLAB's serial communication setup to match
the Arduino sketch.
*/

// Variable to store data received from MATLAB

int data_from_MATLAB;
// Counter variable for synchronized communication
int i = 1;
// Pin assignment for LED control
const byte LED = 6;
// Pin assignment for reading from photoresistor
const byte photoresistor = A0;

void setup() {
// Initialize serial communication with MATLAB
Serial.begin(115200);
delay(500); // Short delay to ensure serial communication stability

// Configure pins
pinMode(photoresistor, INPUT); // Set photoresistor pin as input
pinMode(LED, OUTPUT); // Set LED pin as output
}

void loop() {
int photoresistor_value; // Variable to store photoresistor reading
int pwm_value; // Variable to store PWM value received from MATLAB

// Check if there's data available to read from MATLAB

if (Serial.available() > 2) {
// Read the first valid integer (PWM value) from the incoming serial
stream
pwm_value = Serial.parseInt();

// Read the current value from the photoresistor

photoresistor_value = analogRead(photoresistor);
// Apply the received PWM value to the LED
analogWrite(LED, pwm_value);

// Send counter and photoresistor reading back to MATLAB

Serial.print(String(i) + "," + String(photoresistor_value));
Serial.write(13); // Carriage Return (CR)
Serial.write(10); // Linefeed (LF)
Serial.flush(); // Ensure data is sent before proceeding

i++; // Increment counter to track communication synchronization

}
}
MATLAB CODE

% MATLAB Code for Arduino Communication via USB

% Author: Debaprashad Bhowmik (B00907766)
% Date: February 08, 2024
%
% Description:
% This MATLAB script establishes serial communication with an Arduino UNO to perform
synchronized
% input/output operations. It sends PWM values to the Arduino, which controls the
brightness of an LED.
% The Arduino reads a photoresistor's value and sends it back to MATLAB, along with a
counter value to
% ensure synchronized communication. This script is useful for experiments involving
real-time data
% exchange between MATLAB and an Arduino, such as sensor data collection or control
systems.
%
% Usage:
% Before running this script, upload the "Arduino_basic_communication.ino" sketch to
the Arduino UNO.
% Ensure the Arduino serial port (COM port) and baud rate match those specified in
this script.
% Adjust 'COM7' and '115200' below to match your Arduino configuration.
%
% Components Required:
% - Arduino UNO
% - LED connected to a specified pin on the Arduino
% - Photoresistor connected to the Arduino
% - Proper circuit setup for LED and photoresistor on the Arduino

clear all; close all;

% Initialize serial port communication with Arduino UNO. Replace "COM7" with your
Arduino's COM port.
arduinoObj = serialport("COM7", 115200); % Resets Arduino and counter

pause(2); % Critical pause for MATLAB to establish serial port communication

% Configure terminator for serial communication to recognize end of line

configureTerminator(arduinoObj, "CR/LF");

% Flush any existing data from the serial buffer

flush(arduinoObj);

% Define the number of iterations for communication events

num_iter = 1500;

% Pre-allocate arrays for storing data to enhance performance

Matlab_pwm_value = zeros(num_iter, 1); % Array to store PWM values sent from MATLAB
Arduino_Counter = zeros(num_iter, 1); % Array to store counter values received from
Arduino
Arduino_Data = zeros(num_iter, 1); % Array to store data received from Arduino
Ts = zeros(num_iter, 1); % Array to store sample times
Time = zeros(num_iter, 1); % Array to store timestamps

start_time = tic; % Start timing for the entire communication session

i = 1; % Initialize counter

% Loop for a fixed duration or until a set number of iterations

while (toc(start_time) <= 16) % 16-second duration for this example
 start_iteration = tic; % Time each iteration for sample time estimation

Time(i) = toc(start_time); % Timestamp for current data point

% Generate PWM value using a sinusoidal function to simulate varying brightness

Matlab_pwm_value(i) = 128 + 127 * sin(Time(i));

% Send the PWM value to Arduino

writeline(arduinoObj, int2str(Matlab_pwm_value(i)));

% Wait for Arduino to send data back

while true
if arduinoObj.NumBytesAvailable > 0
break; % Exit loop when data is ready
end
end

% Read and process data received from Arduino

data = readline(arduinoObj);
tmp = split(data, ',');
num = str2double(tmp);
Arduino_Counter(i) = num(1); % First element is the counter
Arduino_Data(i) = num(2); % Second element is the photoresistor data

% Display counters to ensure synchronization

fprintf("%d, %d\n", i, Arduino_Counter(i));

Ts(i) = toc(start_iteration); % Calculate sample time for this iteration

i = i + 1; % Increment counter for next iteration
end

% Cleanup by closing the serial port

clear arduinoObj;

% Display average sample time

fprintf('Mean sample time: %2.1f Hz\n', 1/mean(Ts));
RESULTS

Figure 1: Photoresistor Readings vs Time.

Figure 2: Sample Time vs Time.

Figure 3: LED VOLTAGE reading / Volts vs Time