Microcontroller Altimeter (uCA)

Traditional altitude switch designs for harsh environments are mechanical in nature and operate by means of an inflatable bladder or bellows that mechanically depresses a push-button switch. The altitude trip point is set by mechanically adjusting the distance of the switch to the bellows. The mechanical action of the switch results in a loss of accuracy on the order of several thousand feet, forcing engineers to design interfacing systems with an extremely high error tolerance. Furthermore, these types of systems are typically large and unreliable, difficult to manufacture, and prone to failure under certain operating conditions. The Microcontroller Altimeter (uCA), developed by engineers at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, overcomes these limitations by combining the robust and cost-effective nature of modern Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and Solid-state technology to deliver a system that is one third the size of current systems while still maintaining the same switch channel density, and also providing auxiliary user outputs.