AutoSmart - X-Y table color measurements

PC controlled X-Y table densitometer (new product line: 1984 to 1996)

• Intel 80251 assembly language (8 & 16 bits),  Keil A51

• Keil C compiler (C51 Version 5.0, C251), dScope-251

• Intel Intellec ICE51 and Nohau 8051 in-circuit emulators for debugging. (x51 & x251)

• Intel 80251 controlled, color measurement assembly - command and data transport via serial interface.

• PC keyboard Intel 8051 controller for operator control panel, 14 languages

• Add-in PCB: Cybernetics CY512 and CY525 motor controllers, dual processors for X-Y movement

• Add-in PCB: Intel 80251 table controller – Serial comm, vacuum control, motor power control

Summary: Color Measurement assemblies mirrored the above portable measurement devices for each of the 3 families, in a refactored form (no display, buttons, battery) 

PC Keyboard panel had 50 buttons and LEDs, translated alphabet sections, 5K LOC assembly. 

Table controller – 5K LOC C language

Last model has high speed color measurement feature for continuous scanning on samples, used in CLC printing press control. 

Mark was responsible for all firmware for color measurement assembly, table controller, and keyboard panel; plus all of the early PC based GUI, data collections and analysis software. Conversion to C language started in 1992 and completed in 1993 with one additional developer.

January 1984 to October 1996 – PC-based Software developer:  Starting in March 1984, Cosar started to develop an X-Y table driven computer system with the Pressmate optical system providing densitometer measurements on a stationary, printed sample. The AutoSmart® system was very successful in North America and Europe. The X-Y table was a high-powered stepping motor driven system, very accurate and repeatable. This system could measure standard colorbars and any area inside the production image. Alignment adjustment of measurement location was critical, and Mark was a part of a US patent to detect fiduciary alignment targets and automatically adjusting the measurement locations, even with significant deviations from the master locations. This system’s performance attracted the attention of a manufacture of printing press ink control systems, GMI. 

This color measurement system had 9 major releases of software, using a compiled BASIC language and several overlay driven features, needing over 300K lines of code. Mark was the sole software and firmware developer of AutoSmart system, until 1992. This Cosar product was awarded the GATF 1988 InterTech Technology Award, for automating color measurement of press production in important industry categories (commercial sheetfed, web carton, newspaper, metal decorating). Version 10 of AutoSmart V2 product was a C language update with major refactor to Windows-like GUI and press room production oriented workflow.

AutoSmart X-Y densitometer – skills and equipment

• MS DOS 2.0 to 6.22

• BetterBasic 1.0 to 3.0 – basic compiler language

• BetterTools 2.0 – add on library to BetterBasic.

• IBM MASM 2.0 assembler

• Digiboard buffered serial processors.

• PC keyboard-control panel

• MS C 6.0 and assembly language for PC based computers

• Greenleaf Communication Library

• Cybernetics CY512 and CY525 motor controllers (16 bit)

• Intel 80251 assembly language (8/16/32 bits)

• Keil C compiler

• Intel ISIS2 development system

• Intel Intellec ICE-51 in-circuit emulator for debugging.

• Serial communications: between GMI assemblies, computers

• Trapezoidal curve motion control algorithms for X-Y table movement

• ARCnet and Ethernet Network Controllers (add-in PCB)

• LANman network communications

• NetBIOS network communications

• Server based file storage on NT style servers (back office customer operations for production based data)

• Program functionality overlays in PC files

• PC based localization for non-English operator messaging and GUI

• Incremental software functionality delivery schemes (CI/CD)

•  Tektronix DSO and Logic Analyzer for debugging

Complete color measurement systems costs $50,000 to $80,000, depending on table size and industry