March 2014 – Small Golden Sceptre

Magnetometer IV: Code Size

Last time, I presented a working proof-of-concept of a digital compass based on a three-axis magnetometer. That version was running in userland on a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian, which is a whole lot more computer than the Atmel ATtiny85 I eventually want to target. It was also coded for clarity rather than for speed or size.

In this post, I’ll look at some quick-and-dirty ways to estimate program size for an AVR version (as well as some simple things we can do to save space). Read on for more.

Magnetometer III: Working Prototype

In previous posts, I talked about a method of transforming magnetometer readings to compass headings, then experimented with using those transformations on real (but static) data. In this post, I’ll present a working prototype of a vehicle compass using the methods I discussed earlier.
Read on for more details.

Silverware Dragon

Check out this dragon made of silverware, from Ohio artist Gary Hovey. (Long-time readers — both of them! — will noddingly remember the previous appearance of utensil-based dragon sculpture in these pages.)

Magnetometer II: Real Data

In a previous post, I speculated about a method of converting magnetometer readings to compass headings using affine transformations (specifically, three elemental rotations). In this followup, I’ll gather some real data, then see how those transformations actually work in the real world. Read on for details.