Industrial Handheld Magnetic Field Meter
Portable handheld device with touchscreen UI for real-time magnetic field measurement, built on STM32MP157 with dual-core architecture.
The Challenge
A leading Swiss sensor company needed a portable, low-cost handheld device to interface with their proprietary magnetic field sensor. The device required real-time data processing, a touchscreen UI, multi-screen functionality, data recording, export options, and PC connectivity — all in a compact, elegant form factor.
Our Approach
We designed a complete embedded solution leveraging the STM32MP157's dual-core architecture for simultaneous UI rendering and real-time sensor processing.
Dual-Core Architecture
The STM32MP157 multicore SoC runs OpenSTLinux on the Cortex A7 processor for the application layer, while FreeRTOS firmware on the Cortex M4 coprocessor handles real-time sensor communication via SPI.
Custom Display Integration
A Crystalfontz 2.4" LCD was directly integrated with OpenSTLinux using customized SPI Linux kernel drivers, with optimized device tree and kernel configurations.
Touch UI Application
A Qt6-based application provides multi-screen functionality including real-time data visualization via charts, data recording capabilities, and live data display.
PC Connectivity
The device interfaces with PCs through Ethernet/USB connections, complemented by a web-based configuration interface.
Technical Stack
- SoC: STM32MP157 (Cortex A7 + Cortex M4)
- OS: OpenSTLinux, FreeRTOS
- UI: Qt6
- Communication: SPI, Ethernet, USB
- Language: C++
Results
- Low-cost, easily portable handheld device with elegant touchscreen UI
- Real-time magnetic field measurement with high precision
- Data recording and export functionality for post-processing analysis