Top 8051, AVR and ARM Microcontroller Based Projects for Electronics Professionals

Microcontroller, as the name suggests, is a small controller. It is like a single-chip computer, which is embedded into other systems to work as a processing and controlling unit. A Microcontroller communicates with other devices like sensors, switches, keypads, etc. Most of the microcontroller-based projects use 8051 microcontroller, and the microcontroller programming is done by using Keil compiler. For low-cost and low-powered embedded-systems-based applications, these microcontroller-based projects are the best choice.

Microcontrollers are classified into five types based on the instruction bits, memory architecture, architecture of the instruction set, and memory devices: 8051 microcontroller, AVR microcontroller, ARM microcontroller, PIC microcontroller and RENESAS microcontroller. The following are some of the microcontroller-based projects on 8051, AVR, and ARM for electronic professionals.

AVR Microcontroller Based Project

AVR microcontrollers are RISC based controllers, manufactured by Atmel group. They consist of built-in features like timers, analog to digital converters, etc. Different AVR microcontrollers are ATMega8, ATMega32, and ATMega328. ATMega8 is a 28-pin microcontroller with an 8KB of programmable memory and 1536 bytes of data memory. ATMega32 is a 40-pin microcontroller with 32-programmable input or output lines. ATMega328 is a 28-pin microcontroller with a program memory of 32KB and data memory of 3KB.

ATmega Based Garage Door Opening

This electronics kit based project is designed to unlock a garage door by using Android application with a unique password. Opening and closing of garage door involves a human labor, but in this project, automatic mechanism is done by using Android application. An Android application-based mobile is connected to the system through a Bluetooth device, which is attached to the microcontroller and programmed with the unique password for opening and closing of the garage door by its owner.

Remote operation is performed by using any Smartphone, tablet, etc., with an Android OS upon graphical user interface based touch screen operation. A Bluetooth modem is attached to the receiver end of the microcontroller. If the sent data matches with the password stored in the microcontroller, then it performs the mechanical operations to open and close the door through the relay operated motor. This system uses a lamp in place of a motor for visualization purpose. If the password is correct, then the lamp will glow, and if the password entered is wrong, the system generates a buzzer alarm.

In this project, an ATmega microcontroller is used as a main controller and is programmed by Arduino programming language. This microcontroller allows the Bluetooth modem to interface with it. Some more projects related to AVR microcontroller are given below

1. Home automation system using ATmega microcontroller
2. GPS Based Vehicle Theft Location Intimation Using ATmega8 Controller
3. Industrial Temperature Controller Using ATmega16 AVR controller
4. ATmega16 Based Security System Using RFID Technology
5. ATmega32 Based Bluetooth Controlled Robot with Android Mobile
6. Over Speed Detection on Roads using AVR Controller
7. Data Acquisition System for Industries using ATmega16 Microcontroller
8. ATmega8 Based Symmetrical Fault Detection in Transmission Lines
9. Developing of LCR Meter Based on ATmega8 Controller
10. Remote Patient Monitoring System Using AVR Microcontroller

ARM Microcontroller Based Projects

ARM microcontrollers are based on advance RISC-based processors. These are 32-bit microcontrollers and can be operated in two modes: thumb mode and normal mode. The ARM microcontroller families include ARM7, ARM9 and Cortex.

ARM Cortex (STM 32) Based Motor Speed Control

This project uses an ARM-cortex processor to control the motor speed. The speed of the DC motor is directly proportional to the voltage applied across the terminals. If the voltage applied across the terminals varies, then the speed of the DC motor also varies. This concept is implemented in the ARM-cortex microcontroller using PWM technique.

Push buttons are used in this project to vary the speed of the motor – either to decrease or increase the speed. The switch pressing depends on the pulse-width modulation technique to vary the voltage to the motor. A motor driver is used in this system for driving the DC motor and to control it in either direction.

When a switch is pressed, the microcontroller receives the signal – and, based on the programming, it sends the PWM signals to the motor driver which further drives the motor in desired speed.

ARM Cortex (STM 32) Based Solar Street Light

This project is designed to control the auto-intensity of LED based street lights using the solar power from photo voltaic panels. Solar panels are used for charging the batteries which converts sunlight into electricity. A charge controller circuit is used to control the charging process of the battery, and it also protects the battery from over-voltage and under-voltage conditions.

During the peak hours, the intensity of the street lights is high because traffic on the roads is high, and then the density gradually decreases during night time. Hence, the intensity of the lights reduces gradually till morning to save the energy of the battery. The photo-voltaic panels charge the battery during the day time using sun light and this charged battery is utilized from evening to morning. A programmable ARM Cortex is engaged to provide different intensities at different times during night times by using PWM technique. In addition to above, some more projects based on ARM controllers are

1. Industrial Automation System using GSM Technology Based on ARM controller
2. Automatic Touch Screen Vehicle Driving System Using ARM
3. ARM Based Temperature and Humidity Control System with Graphical LCD
4. Wireless Whether Monitoring System Using ARM Controller
5. ARM Microcontroller Based Biometric Security System with Face Detection
6. Advanced Electronic Voting System Based on ARM Microcontroller
7. Autonomous Robot Controlling System Using CAN Protocol Based on ARM Cortex
8. Wireless Patient Monitoring System using ARM Microcontroller
9. Energy Billing by Postpaid and Prepaid Energy Meter Using ARM Controller
10. GPS Navigation System with Voice Using ARM Cortex

8051 Microcontroller Based Project

8051 Microcontroller is a basic microcontroller and is of 40 pin, 8 bit microcontroller based on Harvard architecture wherein the program memory and data memory are different. The 8051 microcontroller consists of four Input / Output ports out of which one port pins can also be used as interrupt pins. The microcontroller works with an oscillator frequency of 11MHz.

Wireless Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)

This project processes the data that is acquired wirelessly under supervising control of the large- scale remote industrial environments through RF module. This Wireless SCADA helps in saving a lot of man power for monitoring and controlling the industrial processes.

In this proposed system, the temperature sensors are used for sensing the analog values of the temperature from different places in the industry. These values are converted into digital values through A to D converter, and then the digital values are sent to the microcontroller. For every temperature sensor, both low and high limits are programmed in the microcontroller, so these values are compared with the actual data. When the actual values violate the limits, then the microcontroller sends control signals to a relay driver which set the lamp to glow. Therefore, the lamp: the corresponding load is operated based on the temperature.

The temperatures’ data is also transferred to a remote computer through an RF module meant for remote monitoring of these temperature variables. This also allows the operator to send the limits of temperature sensor through the PC for remote controlling of the process. In this way, one can easily control and monitor various load parameters in an industry, remotely. Here is the list of more projects on 8051.

1. 8051 Based Dual Converter Using Thyristor
2. Remote AC Power Control by Android Application with LCD Display System
3. Remote Monitoring of Transformer Parameters Using Zigbee technology
4. 8051 Microcontroller Based Metal Detector Robotic Vehicle Operated By Android Application
5. Android based Remote Operation of Four Quadrant DC motor
6. Density based Traffic Control System with Remote Override Facility for Emergency Operation
7. Circuit Breaker Operation with Password Security System
8. 8051 Based Warfield Spying Robot with Night Vision Camera
9. GPS based Vehicle Tracking System Using GSM Technology
10. Load Scheduling of AC Power for Electric Utility Systems

These are the electronic project kits based on different microcontroller like ARM, AVR and 8051. We hope that these are some of the very good microcontroller based projects related to electronics and similar sort of topics. Please share your views on these projects in the comment section, and also contact us for any doubts on implementing these projects.