Pocket pc app with GPS and angle sensor

[Candamir]

Hi,

we want to mount a pocket PC rotatable on a pillar and run a specific
software depending on the direction in which it currently shows. In
addition, it would be great if the application could determine its location
via GPS. To protect the stuff from fumbling users, a glass boxing is
planned. It must, however, be possible to press at least a "mouse button"
(tip on screen) by an external real button.

Can such a setup be realized by standard hardware components in general?
Which ones would you recommend with regard to ease of programming?

If the pocket pc has a built-in GPS, how can I access it in a CF
application?

How can I connect an a/d converter for the angle sensor and how the external
button?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Jaranga

 

[Brian Cross [MS]]

If the pocket pc is WM 5.0 or greater, you can access the GPS using the GPS
C# sample in the Pocket PC SDK (look in the samples directory).

As for hooking up to an a/d converter... i don't have a whole lot of
experience with this, but i can reference my wimobot site.
http://www.wimobot.com
the Wimobot site is all about creating a robot out of a windows mobile
device. I use bluetooth to talk to a OOPic microcontroller (which has a/d
converters). You can probably get a cheaper microcontroller and interface
it with the bluetooth chip like i did. This is probably overkill, but it IS
a way.

--
Brian Cross
Software Design Engineer
Windows Mobile Core and WiMobot Enthusiast

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Dick Grier]

Hi,

Connecting to an external A/D depends on the I/O capability of you PPC. In
general this will be some sort of serial connection, either hardware, or as
Brian suggests, Bluetooth. The only other practical I/O method would be via
WiFi, but this would require a substantial investment on the A/D side. If
your PPC has a built-in serial port (some do, some do not) AND if you A/D
supports serial I/O, then a wired connection may be the simplest.

Dick

--
Richard Grier, MVP
Hard & Software
Author of Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications, Fourth
Edition,
ISBN 1-890422-28-2 (391 pages, includes CD-ROM). July 2004, Revised March
2006.
See www.hardandsoftware.net for details and contact information.