Design and implementation of data storage system using USB flash drive in a microcontroller based data logger

Although Universal Serial Bus (USB) Flash Drives are commonly used as a portable storage medium, the use of them for a remote microcontroller based data logger are still rare. This paper discusses the design and implementation of data storage system using a USB Flash Drive on a microcontroller-based data logger. An expandable data logger was made based on microcontrollers with a master-slave system. A master board handles the entire processes that are including data acquisition, storage, and communication. The data storage system board acts as a slave using ALFAT OEM board and a USB Flash Drive. Its electronic schematic is described and its algorithm is explained. Some tests carried out to prove the design and implementation works properly. The test result showed 3.6% error in 2 minutes saving interval and 2.4% error in 5 minutes saving interval.