Development of Data Retrieval Station for Instrumentation System using RF Communication

Instrumentation system of an underwater vehicle performs various functions such as sensing of physical parameters from different sensors, other sub systems and records into the memory. To assess the performance of the vehicle, data recorded by instrumentation system needs to be retrieved. In order to retrieve the data from the Instrumentation system, it needs to be powered on. The aim of the project is to develop a data retrieval station for Instrumentation System that can download data without powering on the instrumentation system or any other vehicle systems. Basically this system consists of two parts. One is Dual Interface EEPROM and the other is “portable RF reader/writer”. All the data recorded by the Instrumentation system will be transferred to EEPROM in real time through IIC. The EEPROM receives serial data through IIC Port from the Instrumentation system and stores the data in built in memory of EEPROM. After the underwater vehicle recovery it is mandatory to retrieve the data recorded by instrumentation data to analyze the performance of the vehicle. Here instead of downloading the data from instrumentation system, we can download the data recorded in DUAL INTERFACE EEPROM using “Portable RF Reader/writer” without giving power to Instrumentation system. Unlike conventional way of downloading data from Instrumentation system, here no additional cables are required. EEPROM will generate the required power from the received RF signal. Further during testing/preparation of Instrumentation system, we can monitor all the critical data using “portable RF Reader/Writer” wirelessly. Here the EEPROM is accessed in IIC and RF mode simultaneously. Keywords— Data retrieval station, Data download wirelessly, Instrumentation system, Dual Interface EEPROM, IIC, RF communication.