Advanced Techniques

In order to pass AS91894 you will need to use at least 2 of the following advanced techniques:
● using embedded software 
● subsystem level design
● remote control
● advanced printed circuit board (PCB) development 
● data storage (EEPROM)
​● analogue to digital conversion (ADC). 

This section will help you decipher what these terms mean and hopefully give you some practical examples of where this could be used.

Embedded Software

Writing code to control a small computer (like a microcontroller) inside an electronics project. It’s like giving your project a brain to make decisions or perform tasks.

Bare Minimum Example: Use an Arduino (or similar microcontroller) with a simple program to turn an LED on and off based on a button press.

Project Part: You could program an Arduino to blink an LED at a specific speed using a few lines of code (e.g., digitalWrite and delay in Arduino’s language).

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Subsystem level design

Breaking a project into smaller, separate parts (subsystems) that work together. Each part has its own job, like power, sensing, or output.

Bare Minimum Examples: A circuit with an ultrasonic sensor measuring distance and an LED that lights up when something is close.

Project Part: You could use an Arduino with an ultrasonic sensor (HC-SR04) as the “sensing subsystem” to measure distance, connected to an “output subsystem” with an LED and resistor that turns on if the distance is less than 10 cm.

Bare Minimum Example: A light sensor controlling an LED based on brightness.
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Project Part: You could use a light-dependent resistor (LDR) with an Arduino as the “sensing subsystem” to measure light levels, connected to an “output subsystem” with an LED that turns on when it gets dark.

Remote Control

What it means: Controlling your project from a distance without wires, usually with infrared (IR), radio, or Bluetooth.
Bare Minimum Example: Use an IR remote (like a TV remote) and an IR receiver to turn something on or off.
Project Part: A student could add an IR receiver module (e.g., TSOP4838) to an Arduino and use a cheap remote to toggle an LED.

Advanced Printed Circuit Board Development

What it means: Designing and making a custom circuit board instead of using a breadboard or pre-made module. It’s a permanent, neat way to connect components.

Bare Minimum Example: Create a simple PCB with a microcontroller, a resistor, and an LED soldered onto it.
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Project Part: A student could design a basic PCB layout (using free software like KiCad or EasyEDA) to power an LED, then assemble it with minimal components.

Data Storage

What it means: Saving information in a special memory chip (EEPROM) so it stays even when the power is off, like a tiny hard drive for your project.

​Bare Minimum Example: Store a number (e.g., how many times a button was pressed) in an Arduino’s built-in EEPROM and display it later.

Project Part: A student could use Arduino’s EEPROM library to save a single value (like EEPROM.write) and read it back to control an LED’s state.

Analogue to digital conversion

What it means: Turning a real-world signal (like light or sound, which is analogue) into a number a computer can understand (digital).

​Bare Minimum Example: Use a light sensor (e.g., LDR) with an Arduino to measure brightness and turn an LED on when it’s dark.
Project Part: A student could connect a potentiometer or LDR to an Arduino’s analogue pin (e.g., A0), read the value with analogRead, and use it to adjust something simple like an LED’s brightness.

Bare Minimum Example: Use an ultrasonic sensor to measure distance and turn on an LED when an object is closer than 10 cm.
Project Part: A student could connect an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor (Trig to pin 9, Echo to pin 10) to an Arduino, measure the echo pulse duration with pulseIn(), calculate the distance, and light an LED on pin 13 if the distance is less than 10 cm.