plotting temperature contour from a string of temperature values/data into matlab

After I have received a string of data from a temperature sensor, how am I going to input with my temperature readings onto the matlab? The temperature readings have (eg: 230 which means it is 23 degree Celsius and so on...) 16 different values from a 4x4 grid. Next, I am suppose to "implant" these values and plot a temperature contour.

Is it the same method as using txt file?

I need a brief start so as to continue from there. Thank you.

[Amit]

how does the data on your text file looks like?

[Teo Shi Wei]

This is captured by the RealTerm but I can't even save the file,hence I snapshot it. I was thinking is it possible to type in the values into the txt file so that it can read the data? Because I'm still trying to figure how to save the txt file. The picture will be reading the last 16 values. (I capture this when it stopped reading before it can even read again)

[Walter Roberson]

If it is captured by RealTerm, does that imply that you are using a serial port (or perhaps TCP) to log in to another system and run a program there and collect the output?

[Walter Roberson]

Is it a serial port connected directly to an instrument?

[Teo Shi Wei]

It is connected to my laptop and "make all" or runs the program through programmer notepad and then reads the values from RealTerm.

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

Use the serial() function with 57600 baud to connect to the laptop. You can likely use fscanf() to read values from the device. You can set up BytesAvailableFcn callbacks at the serial() level to deal with data as it comes in. You would need to find out what line terminator is used between samples.

Example routines:

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/25519-collect-and-plot-data-from-an-instrument-in-real-time/content/real_time_data_plot.m

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/27290-collect-and-plot-data-from-a-tcpip-server-in-real-time/content/real_time_data_stream_plotting.m

The second of those uses TCP but the setting of callbacks is the same for serial and TCP (with the exception that TCP has a "packet termination mode" setting.)

[Teo Shi Wei]

Well, after this process, is it possible to plot the temperature contour? My main objective is to use the data and plot the temperature contour to see the colour difference between flat ground and slope.

[Teo Shi Wei]

I don't quite understand from the real time data plot. I just want to have a txt file, so that I can read from the txt file to input on matlab to show the temperature contour. Is it necessary to do that?

I'm sorry, I am not very good in matlab and stuff so I need to get clear of that first. Thanks for the help!

[Walter Roberson]

Certainly you can write to a file and plot later instead of plotting in real time. In terms of the code for the second File Exchange contribution #27290, the function localReadAndPlot would be changed slightly to write the data to a file instead of set()'ing a handle's YData parameter. You can use fprintf() to write data to a file.

Answer 2

[Teo Shi Wei]

I can't find this as I was following the 2nd link you gave. From "Control Panel > Add Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Component > Networking Services"

I was thinking to use excel file but I am uncertain how to use it. I can't get the 4x4 temperature reading as well.