An Overview of ATmega AVR Microcontrollers Used in Scientific Research and Industrial Applications

Abstract

Nowadays, microcontrollers are commonly used in many fields of industrial applications previously dominated by other devices. Their strengths such as: processing power, low cost, and small sizes enable them to become substitutes for industrial PLC controllers, analog electronic circuits, and many more. In first part of this article an overview of the Atmel AVR microprocessor family can be found, alongside with many scientific and industrial applications. Second part of this article contains a detailed description of two implementations of ATmega644PA microprocessor. First one is a controller with PID regulation that supports a DC motor driver. Second one is a differential equation solver with 4-th order Runge-Kutta method implemented. It is used for solving a torsion pendulum dynamics. Finally, some general conclusions regarding the two presented implementations are made.