Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Handheld Rocket Tracker |
Ben Olaivar Manas Tiwari Max Kramer |
Sanjana Pingali | final_paper1.pdf other1.pdf proposal3.pdf video |
|
| # Handheld Rocket Tracker Team Members: - Ben Olaivar (olaivar3) - Max Kramer (mdk5) - Manas Tiwari (manast2) # Problem Locating a rocket after a launch can be difficult. When the rocket reaches apogee (peak height), it deploys parachutes and glides back to the ground, often landing several miles away from the launch site (check out this video from the Illinois Space Society). Some tracking solutions exist, such as altimeters and radio beacons, however they all suffer from similar issues of being clunky, unintuitive, or expensive. Radio beacons don’t send out their exact location, and are tracked by following the strength of their signal, which only gives the general direction of the beacon. Altimeters send out their exact location, but are costly ($380+) and often require a laptop to receive their position, which is inconvenient to carry during a search. A few handheld trackers exist, however they are costly ($475+), difficult to reconfigure, and unintuitive. Additionally, all of these solutions are limited to 1 device. # Solution We want to make a 2-part tracking system: A tracking beacon (referred to as a “puck” or “beacon”), and a handheld tracking device (referred to as “tracker”). The beacon will be placed inside the rocket, and will continuously transmit its coordinates. On the receiving end, the tracker will compare its own GPS location with the coordinates from the beacon. To make this intuitive, the tracker will display the direction (using an arrow on the screen), as well as the distance to the beacon. # Solution Components ## Subsystem 1: Microcontroller Processor (both beacon and tracker) This will house the codebase for this project. This will mainly be to display to the screen of the tracker and handle button inputs by the user. ## Subsystem 2: TRACKING SENSORS This subsystem consists of all required sensors/peripherals required for acquiring the location and direction from the tracker to the beacon - **GPS Module (both):** To get longitude and latitude values of both components - **GPS Antenna (both):** For connecting to satellites. - **Magnetometer(tracker):** For measuring the heading of the user. ## Subsystem 3: COMMUNICATION SYSTEM The entire project depends on successful communication between the beacon(s) and the tracker. Therefore we will need the following components to set up an ability for the tracker to search out certain frequencies and for the beacon(s) to send out the same frequencies. - **Transceiver (both):** Required generating signal between beacon and tracker - **Antenna (both):** Mid-ranged antenna capable of transmitting/receiving signals between 3-5 miles. Can be replaced in future with better antennas. ## Subsystem 4: BATTERY AND POWER SUPPLY Create a battery management system that supplies consistent 3.3V to the necessary sensors and MCU. - **LiPo Batteries (tracker):** 3.7V. Compact, have long battery life, and are readily available. - **Voltage Regulator (tracker):** Regulating voltage from battery pack to sensors/MCU (3.3V) - **Battery Holder (tracker):** Holding batteries ## Subsystem 5: DATA DISPLAY This will simply be the screen we use to display all needed information for the user to track their beacons using the tracker - **E-Ink Display:** For displaying compass, frequency, and distance data # Criterion For Success - Primary Criterion: Demonstrate that the “Beacon” or “Puck” can be found by an end user being guided by the “Tracker”’s on-screen information - Additional Criterion: Demonstrate the ability to change frequency at which the “Beacon” and “Tracker” Communicate # Github Link https://github.com/ben-olaivar/ECE445_software |
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