Systems and Control and Electronic Products

Programme Outline

The late twentieth century has seen a convergence of product design and electronic systems engineering. Many well-established electrical devices, such as washing machines and cars, now contain sophisticated computer-controlled sensing systems, and a range of completely new electronic products, such as games consoles and digital video disc (DVD) players, have appeared.

Designing and making electronic products and systems involves matching electronic components with modern materials and production methods, to provide products that protect both the components and user, and enable the user to interact with, and accurately control, the product or system.

Section 1

Music in space

One of the most amazing developments in electronics over the past thirty years has been the ability to record and manipulate sound. This section shows how a feedback system can be used to create music in an entirely new way, and to help a handicapped person learn how to live more independently.

00.20 - 00.45

Graham is profoundly handicapped, and quite unable to play a conventional musical instrument. Using a ‘Soundbeam System’, however, he is able to control the pitch and timing of sound waves.

00.45 - 03.05

At the heart of the process is a simple systems process. When an ultrasonic beam is interrupted, a signal is sent back to the Soundbeam, containing information about the distance and speed of movement that has triggered it. An operator is able to set up the pitch, note and musical sound produced in response to the input, leaving the user free to explore the musical landscape in front of him.

03.05 - 04.40

Pete McPhail, a music therapist, explains how the Soundbeam system provides unusual opportunities for handicapped people to control an aspect of their environment, and also access to the world of music composition. He emphasises the importance of the system to respond in a consistent way, i.e. that the same movement always produces the same sound.

04.40 - 5.05

It is through practice that handicapped people can improve their motor co-ordination skills. Soundbeam helps to provide interest and an incentive, and through learning how to control sound, handicapped people become better able to control other devices.

Section 2

Electronic Pigs

Feeding a farm full of animals exactly the right amount of food each, and keeping an accurate record of how much they eat and when, sounds like an almost impossible task. Unless, that is, you use an electronic system linked to a computer. This section shows how such a system works, and explains how the circuit boards were designed and made.

05.05 - 07.00

A transponder fitted to a tag worn by each pig on the farm gives it an unique electronic identification number that can be read by a sensor. As each pig enters a special feeding unit, the computer releases exactly the amount of food allocated for that particular animal. It then records how much (if any!) is left. The pig is then released. To check the system is working, a number of pigs are brightly marked and the computer is told to release them into a different pen. It is quick and easy to tell if the pigs are in the right place.

07.00 - 07.20

Unlike many electronic products, this one is hidden away in a very plain-looking rectangular box, designed to protect the components from the farmyard environment and animals.

07.20 - 9.00

The circuit board for the automatic feeder is designed using a CAD system. The computer provides electronic data to make the PCB. Various components are then added and carefully checked. Finally the circuitry is mounted into the feeding unit, and wired into place before being transported to the farm and put into action.

Section 3

Digital News

Electronic systems are having a major impact on many major industries, fundamentally changing the way things are done. In particular, new digital technologies make the transferral of information quicker, easier and cheaper. Whereas wave-based analogue signals are subject to distortion and interference, and deteriorate when copied, digital signals are precise, and produce an output of the same quality as the input. This section looks at how digital technologies are changing the way the newspaper industry works.

9.00 - 10.25

Working on a daily newspaper like The Guardian involves meeting tight deadlines, and a way of doing something quicker is to be welcomed. Although the text of an article can be dictated over a telephone and then typed up, conventional photographs are much more difficult to send from one place to another. Here we see how a photographer on location can now send his pictures back to the office in seconds.

10.25 - 12.10

Using a digital camera means that a picture can be electronically selected, cropped and enhanced on site, and then transmitted over a digital phone line, ready for placing into the newspaper’s DTP system.

12.10 - 14.00

Digital archives of photographs are easy to create, so editors have immediate access to hundreds of thousands of images that can be electronically sourced from across the world.