Result and Conclusion

The developed system has the following salient features:
All hardware interfacing on the PC side has been implemented in Visual C++. 
The project outputs are Dynamically Loaded Libraries (DLLs) that are used to 
interface the control programs with external hardware.  
The actual control algorithms have been developed in Visual Basic.

This Level of modularity allows us to do the following:

1.  Change the actual hardware level interfaces without changing the
control programs. For example, to implement the project using an ISA 
card. we would have to change the i/o DLL's code without modifying the
control program.

2. Ease of use.  The VB environment is more suited to Rapid Application Development
(RAD) and thus is signicicantly more simpler than assmbly or C coding.  
This allows our project to be redeployed without significant reprogramming time.

3.  Reduced Costs.  Using PCs as a control system avoids using custom
or non-standard hardware components.  This directly reduces hardware
costs which constitute a significant proportion of the total project
cost.

We have studied and successfully implemented realtime multiple inputs
as well as actuator control using the PC and 80C552.  The parallel
port as an i/o interface was studied along with the serial port. 
the Logitech and Microsoft mouse proocols were analysed and used to
interface mice with the 80C552 microcontroller.  Also, stepper motors
and their drives (Slo - Syn) were studied and subsequently used in the 
project.  The project's requirements were met since the system created 
was flexible enough to be remodelled and changed easily to meet
varied requirements.