A Great Example of an MSP430 Based Instrument

I ran across an interesting article in reading the news during my lunch break today. A group at the University of Washington has been doing research in smart sensors that communicate through the established power lines in a house.  The page doesn't say specifically, but given the power consumption they mention I wondered if this was based on an MSP430.  A close up of the photo of the board looks like it might be, and you can just make out the TI logo on the chip.  Digging a little deeper, I confirmed that yes, this instrument is based on the MSP430.  The team is using a surface mount variation of the MSP430F2013.  This chip is also available in a 14 pin DIP package that is compatible with the TI LaunchPad.  Very cool idea.

In other news, my project is now at integration, and I have some extra time on my hands.  Watch for a couple new tutorials coming this week!