Overview
A control loop that had to close in real time needed hardware built around it, not adapted to it. The project delivered a purpose-designed board and the firmware that drives it.
Challenge
Tight timing margins, limited power budget, and no room for jitter in the control loop. Off-the-shelf boards couldn't guarantee the deterministic behaviour the application required.
Approach
Designed a custom PCB with the signal path and power rails laid out for clean, low-noise operation, then built a firmware stack on an RTOS to hold hard real-time deadlines. Instrumented everything to measure timing rather than assume it.
Outcome
A controller that closes its loop deterministically on hardware sized exactly to the task — measured, repeatable timing instead of best-effort.
By the numbers
[PLACEHOLDER — swap in real figures]
Deliverables
- Schematic & PCB layout
- RTOS firmware stack
- Bring-up & test report
Tools & Methods