If you need a simple or advanced sampling system for a science project, Arduino might be a solution #Arduino
In any PhD project, we need to develop something new and implement it in a new and proper way to bring novelty and relevance to the science. However, this does not come with a challenge and often a solid cost.
In one of my research projects, I needed to measure treated plants for their vapours (smells) simultaneously, and for that, I needed a good system to control the opening and closing air lines.
I devoted an old laptop for this control and went to Birmingham University to do my ‘well-planned’ research. I got only 7 days of instrument time, and I planned 1-2 days for the setup and the rest for the measurements. But, my old laptop finally broke on the first day of set up, and I needed to get back the control, and I needed it fast.
Basically, I needed to de-novo make automated sampling system to control switching on and off the air-flow in and out of the chambers. I still remember my search agony in the hotel that night and the relief when I find the Arduino Uno. Arduino was not as popular back then so google search for the solution took at least 4 hours.
Nevertheless, I found it and a big surprise to me was that the Arduino microcontroller is so easy to program. Couple of lines of C++ like code and the needed magic happens:
digitalWrite(1, HIGH); // Turn on port 1
delay(10000); // Wait 10 seconds for the measurement
digitalWrite(1, LOW); // Turn off 1
digitalWrite(2, LOW); // Turn on port 2
delay(10000); // Wait 10 seconds
Yes, you can programme with this New Year Eve’s firework, custom train set movement, home heating/cooling system, and whatever needs switching on and off. And all that for a price of ~20 EUR (or <5 EUR if you go for a Chinese one).