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MAGIX: A GSM enabled security system driven by an 8051 microcontroller.

Being used to program in Java at work, I still long to work on some embedded systems and firmware development in good old C. Moreover, the openness of some of the GSM phones amaze and attract me to do something with them, this is specially true for Sony-Ericsson and Siemens.

Hence, I planned for a generic security system with GSM integration, this could also be used as an add-on / plugin for other stand alone security systems to make them GSM enabled.

Implemented Features:

• Sending SMS messages to any cellphone
• Decode incoming SMS messages to extract text

Planned Features:

• Taking actions on the basis of incoming SMS
• Hooking up sensors for intrusion detection
• Controlling of devices via relays or optocoplers
• Stand-alone circuit design and implementation
• 220v AC power supply
• Power saving mode with wake-up via interrupts for automobile applications

Here you can see a SE T68i phone connected to a PJRC 8051 development board running the under-development firmware, the other serial port connects the the PC for interactive development under the PJRC monitor software.

Can you recognize that this is the same board as the previous post? Well now it has all the components anybody would ever need to learn every aspect of coding on this platform, really! It is a very simple and yet uses almost every pin/feature of the 8051. It is very cheap to build and covers the whole development life cycle of the controller just like for a production circuit, because you need to take out the chip and burn the new firmware then put it in again.

Features:

• 40-pin DIP controller 8052 or similar - ATmel being used here
• 12 MHz crystal
• Reset
• Buzzer
• LEDs on one port
• DIP switches on one port controlling the LEDs
• 5V regulator (can be powered by a 9V standard battery)
• 2 digit 7-segment display
• 2 push buttons, one to increment and one to decrement the number displayed
• RS-232 serial port can update numeric display and buzzer frequency, also send data of dip and push buttons to PC
• A simple PC application can show status of all connected peripherals

So I am back with my urge to do something on the hardware side, while being the regular expert in software, micro-controllers are the way to go. So I have some coding involved and less wires and components to debug in a different way this board just works, and the LED shows that it really does :p A lot more to come in this category though.

I have returned to the workbench after a long time in 2004. Apart from a game-port custom
controller my last work was in the labs for logic design, microprocessor interfacing,
and microprocessor architecture.
My major is computers so the masters degree is going pretty uneventfull, specially when
I have a specialization “Software Engineering”.
Anyways I dived in starting with the famous 8051 microcontroller with a couple of variants
and after the initial testing phase, I am now ready to go to unchanted waters.

TODOs and Ideas:

* A microkernel operating system for 8051 family to ease my application development

* Phone logger, to keep track of complete land line log like mobile phones
and apply provider rules to calculate monthly bills

* Car tracking and utility system (variation of car pc for extremely low power requirements)

* Serial to LAN hardware which can be used to connect a serial modem to a router (wireless)

* Home automation system with support for infra-red remote (with possibility of bluetooth)