Projects/PC software

From BlueMelon

There are a number of applications where a custom hardware design will require a PC communication interface. The PC can then be used to access enhanced functionality of the embedded device. Some examples:

• Debugging and monitoring
• Online firmware upgrades
• Remote configuration
• Remote access and control

The communications interface between PC and hardware can be based on several standardized protocols like Ethernet, USB or Wifi.

Remote control via the Web

We have seen many cases where the combination of an embedded webserver and ethernet interface open up a number of interesting possibilities:

• If an internet connection is available the hardware can be accessed from any place in the world.
• Via the PC the Web interface can be used to control the device.
  • No special software is needed as standard Webbrowsers are sufficient.
  • The Web interface is available on Windows, Apple and Linux.
  • Web functionality can be upgraded and tested easily.

Control via custom made software

In some cases a custom PC application will be preferred. Blue Melon has successfully employed the application platform Eclipse in a number of projects. Eclipse is an open platform which provides a rich basis for custom applications. A so-called Eclipse based Rich Client Platform application consists of a number of plugins with which the functionality of Eclipse is enhanced. Newly developed plugins can use the existing functions of Eclipse such as:

• OpenGL visualisation
• Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) visualisation
• Python scripting
• Online updates
• HTML help systeem
• Context aware user interface

Blue Melon developed a number of Rich Client Platform applications in which Eclipse was enhanced with plugins to allow communication over USB and to support visualization of 2D (SVG) images and 3D (Java3D) scenes.